Lullaby by Vasil Kazandjiev is part of the new CD of pianist Daniela Dikova, which was released in late May. The CD features works by Bulgarian composers and came out on the occasion of the Viva Piano Competition. The popular competition is designed for amateur pianists of all ages and Daniela Dikova is its founder. Speaking to the audience at Hall 6 at the National Palace of Culture, the pianist said more about the idea to create the disk:

"With my colleagues from Ardenza Trio we decided to visit libraries throughout the country, alongside our concerts. So I carried out research of all Bulgarian music pieces, published from 1946 until the end of the 1980s. Let me recall that this initiative was launched in 2012 when the first edition with Bulgarian piano pieces by Artin Poturlian was released. The new collections contain works by Lazar Nikolov, Konstantin Iliev, Vasil Kazandjiev and many other composers. I am very fortunate to have come across unpublished works by Mikhail Pekov. We were able to release them on the eve of the competition. The collections include pieces published long ago or ones that have never been published so far, like for instance the pieces of Ivan Spassov. The last one among them was written in 1995: A Little Piece in Folk Style. In making this selection, I realized how many lullabies Bulgarian composers have actually written. Then I heard the theory that when young children under 3 years of age listen to music in their dream, they are likely to show affinity to it at a later stage in life. This is how the idea came to record a CD with the name Nani, Nani (traditionally, the opening line of most lullabies). I believe that the works in it will have a positive effect on adult listeners too who will find this music relaxing after a hard day working. I remembered my first steps as pianist and how my teacher explained to me the piece Granny’s Tale by Parashkev Hadziev.”

English Daniela Konstantinova

The audio to this feature includes the following recordings of pianist Daniela Dikova:

1/ Lullaby by Vasil Kazandjiev

2/ Granny’s Tale by Parashkev Hadzhiev

3/ Two-Voiced Song by Mikhail Pekov

4/ Lullaby by Dora Draganova