Marin Goleminov

London BG Choir

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marin Petrov Goleminov (Bulgarian: Марин Петров Големинов) (29 September 1908 – 19 February 2000) was a Bulgarian composer, violinist, conductorand pedagogue.

Goleminov was born in Kyustendil; the son of an attorney, he studied law before switching to music. Having studied music at Sofia, Paris and Munich, in 1943 he was appointed to the faculty of the State Academy of Music in Sofia to teach orchestration, conducting and composition. From 1954 to 1956 he served as Rector of the Sofia Opera, and as Director of the same organization from 1965 to 1967. In 1976 he was presented with the Gottfried van Herder Award of the Vienna University, and in 1989 was made an Academician of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He died in Espinho, Portugal.

Goleminov's compositions draw heavily on the traditional rhythms and melodic patterns of Bulgarian folk music, while also exploring more modernist classical trends. His son Michail is also a composer.

Teacher, violinist, composer and conductor, Marin Goleminov (1908-2000) composed numerous works that have their roots in the melody, metres and rhythm of Bulgarian folk music. His work initiated a music movement in Bulgarian culture marked by the use of Bulgarian traditional music elements interwoven with an original style and vision. He educated generations of Bulgarians. He studied in different countries, Bulgaria, France and Germany.

Since 1943, and for over four decades, he had taught music instruments, orchestration, conducting and composition at the State Academy of Music in Sofia. He was elected Rector (1954-1956) and Director of the Sofia Opera (1965-1967). He won the Gottfried von Herder Award of the Vienna University (1976). He joined the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and was promoted to Academician (1989). He died on 19 February 2000 in Espinho, Portugal. His influence spread throughout the region.