Prof. Mintcho Mintchev

Prof. Mintcho Mintchev, born 17 September 1950 in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, started playing the violin at the age of four.

1959 - first solo concert.

1963 - beginning of his career as a soloist of big orchestras.1963-1967 - laureate of all national competitions for instrumentalists.

1967 - laureate of the Henryk Wieniawski International Competition in Poland.

1970 - second prize (first prize not awarded) in the Paganini Competition in Italy.

1972 - laureate of the Carl Flesch Competition in London.

1974 - first prize, the prize of the audience and prize for best performance of a Beethoven sonata in the Carl Flesch Competition in London.

1975-1990 - soloist of the Sofia Philharmonic and the Varna Philharmonic.

Since 1990 - violin professor at Folkwang Hochschule, Essen (Germany).

Since 1992 - leader of the International Summer Violin Master Class in Arkoutino, Bulgaria, established with the assistance of the Ministry of Culture and the St. Cyril and St. Methodius International Foundation.

From 1993 till 2001 – Art Director of the Varna Summer International Music Festival.
1993 - elected President of the Pancho Vladiguerov Foundation and Director of the Pancho Vladiguerov International Competition for Pianists and Violinists.

Since January 2000 - Art Director of the Emil Chakurov Music Festival in Bourgas (Bulgaria).

Soloist of RPO, LSO, BBC, London Mozart Players, St. Martin in the Fields, St. Goldsmith Orchestra, Radio Suisse Romana, Moscow Radio and Television, etc.
Performances in Carnegie Hall (New York), Kennedy Center (Washington), Bolshoy Theater and Tchaikovsky Hall (Moscow), Festival Hall and Royal Albert Hall (London), Herkules Saal (Munich), etc.

He has worked with famous conductors, including Sir Nevil Mariner, Sir Lenard Slatkin, Alexander Gibson, etc.

Recordings for DECCA, Balkanton, Capriccio, Integral, WDR, Radio Sofia, Radio and Television Bucharest, Radio and Television Belgrade, Radio Geneva, etc.
Violin master classes in Mexico, Cuba, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Slovakia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, etc.

Jury member of prestigious international competitions, including Carl Flesch (London), R. Lipitzer (Italy), Yfrah Neaman (Germany), etc.

Since 1977 plays a Stradivarius 1716 - Baron Wittgenstein violin, bought especially for him and presented by the Bulgarian State. Since 2002 he has been Art Director of the International Summer Academy – Varna Summer International Music Festival.

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