Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

BNR Big Band surprises with film music by Milcho Leviev in new ‎arrangement

Photo: BNR

The BNR Big Band with conductor Antoni Donchev will honour with a special ‎concert this evening (23 February) one of the most emblematic Bulgarian jazz musicians - ‎Milcho Leviev. The event dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the birth of Milcho ‎Leviev will take place in Studio 1 of the BNR, where his stellar career began - from ‎‎1962 to 1966, he was the conductor of the Big Band of the BNR.‎

Born in 1937 in Plovdiv, Milcho Leviev is highly valued as a composer, arranger, ‎performer (pianist, keyboardist and conductor), teacher of classical and jazz ‎music. He worked with some of the biggest world names in jazz, most actively ‎with Don Ellis in the period 1970 - 1977. Milcho Leviev's biography is full of ‎successes, awards and recognition for his musical activity, both in Bulgaria and ‎abroad.‎
A notable place in Milcho Leviev's work is occupied by his compositions in the ‎field of film music. Tonight, Milcho Leviev's music written in the 1960s  for ‎emblematic Bulgarian films will be played in the First Studio of the BNR. The new ‎arrangements were created especially for this concert by Vasil Spasov - a ‎significant representative of the newer generation in the contemporary Bulgarian ‎jazz scene, who specialized in the field of piano and film music at the Berklee ‎College of Music in Boston. 

The programme of the concert will include previously unreleased works ‎such as "Alone" (the theme from the movie "Hot Noon"), "Autumn Sun" (from the ‎movie "Autumn Sun"), "Detour" (from the movie "Detour").‎

A special guest at the concert tonight will be the jazz singer Vicky Almazidou - Milcho ‎Leviev's creative and life partner. ‎





Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Lubo Kirov closes national tour "25 Years on Stage" with two concerts in Sofia

Lubo Kirov will conclude his national tour "25 Years on Stage" with two concerts at Hall No 1 of the National Palace of Culture in Sofia — on October 16 and 17. During the concerts, the singer’s music hits will be performed with the accompaniment of..

published on 10/16/25 10:40 AM

BNR Folk Orchestra Opens 73rd Season with Georgi Dobrev’s “Plovdiv Melodies”

The Bulgarian National Radio Folk Orchestra is kicking off its 73rd season. On 16 October, 7pm sharp, Studio One will host the opening concert – a night of premieres written exclusively for this legendary ensemble. Under the baton of maestro..

published on 10/15/25 2:42 PM
Orenda trio in the studio of Radio Bulgaria, Sofia

Paris-based trio "Orenda" presents an entirely Bulgarian repertoire in Sofia for the first time

To make your dream come true in a Bulgarian rhythm and on French soil. Thus, metaphorically, we can begin the story of Bulgarian musician and pedagogue Stefka Miteva and the Bulgarian-French trio "Orenda" , in which she is complemented by..

published on 10/15/25 11:25 AM