Thracian Dances is the first work that P. Staynov wrote after graduating from the Dresden Conservatory (majoring in piano and composition) and returning to his hometown of Kazanlak in 1924.
The first version of the symphonic suite dates from 1925 and comprises three movements – Paidushko, Khoro, Rachenitsa. This cycle was intended for a chamber amateur orchestra in Kazanlak under the title Bulgarian Dances. After settling in Sofia, Staynov reworked the music for a large symphony orchestra, added a new movement after the first – Mechkarsky Dance and renamed the suite Thracian Dances. At the premiere in Sofia on January 4th, 1927 by the People’s Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Todor Hadjiev, the work and its author received standing ovations.
The symphonic opuses of P. Staynov (among which two symphonies), as belonging to one of the first composers with a professional musical education, overcame the initial stage of “static” folk quotation in Bulgarian music.