On September 20, a monument to Academician Petko Staynov - one of the most prominent Bulgarian composers, who created works that are significant for Bulgaria’s national culture will be unveiled. Before we tell you more about the event, let us remind you that in addition to his creative activity, Academician Staynov was the first chairman of the Society of Bulgarian Composers which was founded in 1933 and was named “Contemporay Music”. He was also the founder and the first director of the Institute of Music at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He will be remembered also as the founder, and since 1933 - long-term chairman of the Union of Bulgarian Folk Choirs.

December 1, 2021 marked the 125^th anniversary of Petko Staynov’s birth. On this occasion, at the beginning of last year, a National Initiative Committee was created, led by Academician Julian Revalski - Chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. “Thanks to this initiative, as well as to the letters that Acad. Revalski sent to various institutions, the anniversary was widely covered both in Sofia and in the country, despite the complicated pandemic situation. Of course, we had planned more events, but not all of them were carried out, so we decided to continue the celebrations until December 1, 2022," says Petko Stainov-grandson, chairman of the foundation that bears the name of his prominent grandfather. ‎

Established 22 years ago, the Petko Staynov Foundation carries out a wide range of cultural activities, one of which is the systematization and digitization of the huge archive of the notable Bulgarian composer.

More in an interview with Petko Staynov-grandson for Radio Bulgaria:

“The main credit for this goes to my father – Architect Stefan Staynov, one of the founders of the foundation and its long-time leader,” says Petko Stainov-grandson. “Thanks to him, we have a fully digitized archive. It so happened that the foundation had limited but still sufficient funds to be able to develop its activity. Our main goal is to promote and preserve the memory of Petko Staynov's personality, but among our priorities is also the popularization of Bulgarian classical music in general. We have always been ready to cooperate with other organizations that have similar goals.”

One of the initiatives of the Petko Staynov Foundation during the anniversary year is the completion of the project for the monument, which was the work of Prof. Valentin Starchev and his son Kamen Starchev. The architect of the composition is Ivan Avramov. It will be placed in Sofia’s Borisova garden in close proximity to the summer open-air stage and the monument to another outstanding Bulgarian composer Pancho Wladigeroff.

Together with the Union of Bulgarian Composers and the Union of the Blind in Bulgaria, the Petko Staynov Foundation is the initiator and also the main investor. "We are grateful for the support provided by Sofia Municipality as well as to everyone "in the chain" who helped bring this undertaking to a successful end," the grandson of the celebrated composer stresses.

The opening is scheduled for Tuesday, September 20, followed by a concert. According to Petko Stainov - grandson, it has been planned for a long time and coincided with the opening.

The choir of the Union of the Blind with conductor Petar Matev and the Sofia Wind Orchestra with conductor Vasil Deliev will take part in the  concert. Works by Petko Staynov will be performed, and the Sofia Wind Orchestra will also perform works by foreign composers, thematically related to Staynov's work.

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English version Rositsa Petkova