Ivo Varbanov
Bulgarian pianist Ivo Varbanov became a prominent concert and recording artist in the mid-2010s, both in southeastern Europe and beyond. He is notable for having maintained a parallel career as a top winemaker, in a country with a competitive wine scene, in the midst of his busy concert schedule.
Varbanov was born in Pleven, Bulgaria, into a family of musicians. His mother was a cellist, who held a chair in the San Remo Symphony Orchestra in Italy, and when he was nine his mother took him to that country. He studied with Hungarian teacher Iloncka Deckers and did well enough to win admission to the Royal Academy of Music in London. In England, his teachers were Sulamita Aronowky and Frank Wibaut. Since his graduation in 1998 he has made London his home, but he has maintained strong connections with his native country, giving masterclasses at the National Music School in Sofia. Varbanov first became interested in winemaking in Italy; when his career became established, he invested in Bulgaria's Bratanov vineyard and began producing his own wines.
Varbanov's recording career began in the early 2000s with a recording of piano music by Mussorgsky on Bulgaria's Gega label. He formed the Voland Quartet -- not a typical piano quartet, but a piano-and-percussion ensemble devoted to contemporary music -- and recorded for Gega with that group as well. In the 2010s he moved to the ICSM label, founded by himself and his wife, Fiammetta Tarli. There he released a series of recordings of music by Brahms, Beethoven, and Stravinsky. The year 2017 brought the release of a Varbanov album on Hyperion, devoted to music by Bulgarian composer Dimitar Nenov.
In Bulgaria itself Varbanov is a prominent figure. He is a recipient of the Ivan Vazov Award for the popularization of Bulgarian culture abroad, and in 2011 he was awarded the Silver Lion Award from Bulgaria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has performed in Bulgaria, Italy, the U.K., France, Spain, Ireland, Slovakia, Germany, Holland, Poland, Russia, Turkey, and the U.S.A., giving recitals in top venues including Wigmore Hall (London), Carnegie Hall (New York), and Philharmonic Hall (Saint Petersburg).
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Discographie
9 album(s) • Trié par Meilleures ventes
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Dimitar Nenov: Piano Concerto & Ballade No. 2
Ivo Varbanov, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Emil Tabakov
Classique - Paru chez Hyperion le 2 juin 2017
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Petrushka & Le sacre du printemps (Version for Piano 4 Hands)
Classique - Paru chez ICSM Records le 3 juin 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms on the Piano, Vol. 3
Musique de chambre - Paru chez ICSM Records le 1 juil. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Modest Musorgsky
Musique de chambre - Paru chez Gega New le 2 janv. 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms on the Piano, Vol. 1
Classique - Paru chez ICSM Records le 1 mai 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Legacy
Classique - Paru chez ICSM Records le 1 mai 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms on the Piano, Vol. 2
Classique - Paru chez ICSM Records le 1 mai 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dimitar Nenov: Piano Concerto & Ballade No. 2
Ivo Varbanov, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Emil Tabakov
Classique - Paru chez Hyperion le 2 juin 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ildebrando Pizzetti - World Premieres
Musique de chambre - Paru chez Gega New le 8 janv. 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo