Petko Staynov facts for kids
Petko Staynov (born December 1, 1896, died June 25, 1977) was a famous Bulgarian composer and pianist. He was born in Kazanlak. Petko Staynov helped make Bulgarian music and culture much richer and better. He was a very talented composer with a great understanding of music and the world around him. He spent his whole life working for Bulgarian music and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Life of Petko Staynov
When Petko Staynov was six years old, he hurt one of his eyes. This injury caused problems with his other eye too. By the time he was 11, he had completely lost his sight.
He went to the Institute for the Blind in Sofia and finished there in 1915. It was at this school that his amazing talent for music first became clear. Later, he learned more about music from Andrei Stoyanov and started trying to write his own songs.
In 1920, Petko Staynov traveled to Germany. He studied music for a year at the Private Musical Lyceum in Braunschweig. In 1923, he graduated from the Dresden Musical Conservatory. He studied how to compose music with Alexander Wolf and how to play the piano with Ernst Munch.
After returning to Kazanluk in 1925, he created his first big work. It was a symphonic suite called Thracian Dances, which had three parts. He later added another part to it in 1926, called Mechkarsko (The Bear Warder's Dance).
In 1927, he moved to Sofia. There, he began teaching piano at the Institute for the Blind. Petko Staynov mostly wrote symphonic music (music for a large orchestra) and choral music (music for choirs). He was very good at both types of music.
He helped shape Bulgarian music and showed new ways for it to grow. He took ideas from European music and mixed them with Bulgarian ways of thinking. This made his music easy for Bulgarian performers and listeners to understand. He used things like orchestra sounds and strong musical structures from Europe. But what made his music truly Bulgarian was his own special style. This style showed up in his unique melodies, which didn't just copy folk music. It also showed in the way he used harmonies. The meaning of his music was often clear from the words of his choral songs or the titles of his orchestral pieces.
Petko Staynov's Musical Works
Petko Staynov wrote many important symphonic pieces. These include the suites Thracian Dances (from 1925 and 1926) and A Fairy Tale (1930). He also wrote symphonic poems like A Legend (1927) and Thrace (1937). Other works are Symphonic Scherzo (1930) and concert overtures like Balkan and Youth Overture (from 1936 and 1953). He also composed two symphonies (in 1945 and 1949).
His symphonic works often showed the beauty of his home country. They captured the energy of folk dances and created images from fairy tales. His two symphonies explored deep and thoughtful ideas. Many of his symphonic works, like Thracian Dances and Thrace, became symbols of Bulgarian music.
Petko Staynov's choral songs showed different sides of the Bulgarian people's character. Some examples are A Fir Tree Is Bending, A Bright Sun Has Risen, and Hey, Ivan. Until the early 1930s, he followed the style of earlier choral composers. But he also added his own unique touch to these songs.
Staynov also started a new type of music in Bulgaria with his choral ballads. In these ballads, he told stories about important and dramatic events from Bulgaria's past and present. This gave his ballads a special national sound. Some famous examples are The Secret of Struma River (1931) and Horsemen (1932). He also wrote One Hundred and Twenty Men (1935) and A Maiden's Lament (1936).
For his ballads, Staynov used elements from Bulgarian folk music. However, he didn't just copy folk tunes exactly. He wanted to be free to create powerful and dramatic stories through his music. Staynov's ballads are quite challenging for choirs to perform. Even today, they are a true test of how good a Bulgarian choir is.
His work in both symphonic and choral music helped develop parts of Bulgarian music that had been overlooked. This made him a very important person in Bulgarian musical culture.
Public Roles and Contributions
Petko Staynov held many important positions in the world of music. He was the head of the Union of Folk Choirs in Bulgaria, also known as the Bulgarian Singing Union. He also led the Contemporary Music Association of Bulgarian Composers from 1933 to 1944. From 1941 to 1944, he was the Director of the National Opera.
In 1941, he became a full member (called an Academician) of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. In 1948, he became the Director of the new Institute for Music with Museum, which later became the Institute of Musicology. He held this important job until the end of his life. He was also a member of the main leadership group of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He held other roles too, like Academician-Secretary of the Department of Arts and Culture. Under his smart and skilled leadership, these groups and organizations achieved great things.
In 1965, he helped start the National Festival of Bulgarian Folk Art with Rayna Katsarova and Anna Kamenova.
Petko Staynov wrote many articles about his ideas. He believed music had an important role in society. He also wrote about how folk music was important for Bulgarian composers. He shared his thoughts on creating a unique Bulgarian musical style, choral singing, and music education in schools. These articles were collected in a book called Petko Staynov: On Bulgarian Musical Culture in 1967.
Petko Staynov received many high awards from the state. He passed away on June 25, 1977.
