Khristov, Dobri

Khristov, Dobri, Bulgarian choral conductor, pedagogue, and composer; b. Varna, Dec. 14, 1875; d. Sofia, Jan. 23, 1941. He began to teach himself music in his youth. While attending secondary school in Varna, he began to compose. He founded its choir and gained experience as a conductor before being invited to serve as conductor of the choir of Gusla, the town’s music soc. After teaching school, he pursued training with Dvorak at the Prague Cons. (1900–1903). Following further work as a conductor and teacher in Varna, he settled in Sofia as a teacher in 1907. In 1908 he became chorus master of the Opera. In 1922 he became a teacher at the State Academy of Music, where he later was a prof. (1926–33) and director. In 1935 he was made choirmaster of the Alexander Nevsky Memorial Church. In 1928 Khristov was made a member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the first Bulgarian musician to be so honored. He was the author of Tekhnicheskiyat stroezh na baigarskata narodna muzika (The Technical Structure of Bulgarian Folk Music; Sofia, 1928; 2^nd ed., 1956). His works were principally inspired by Bulgarian folk music. He was especially esteemed for his choral output.

Works

orch.: 2 Balkan suites (1903, 1914); Ivailo, festive overture (1907); Tutrakan epopoeya (1917). vocal: Numerous choral pieces; hundreds of songs; sacred music; many folk-song arrangements.

Bibliography

I. Kamburov, D. K. (Sofia, 1942); V. Krastev, D. K. (Sofia, 1954); idem, ed., Muzikalno-teoretichno i publitsistich.no nasledstvo na D. K. (Sofia, 1971).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire