Karastoyanov, Assen

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Karastoyanov, Assen

Karastoyanov, Assen, Bulgarian composer; b. Samokov, June 3, 1893; d. Sofia, Sept. 8, 1976. He studied flute at the Sofia Music School (1914–18), and subsequently took courses with Juon (harmony) at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik (1921–22), Dukas (composition) at the École Normale de Musique in Paris (1930–31), and Raphael (composition) at the Leipzig Cons. (1931–32). He taught at the Sofia State Academy of Music (1933–44), where he was a prof. (1944–58).

Works

7 operettas, including Michel Strogoff, after Jules Veme (1937–40); 7 patriotic cantatas; A Balkan Suite for Orch. (1928); 4 syms.: No. 1, Miner’s Symphony (1940), No. 2, Danubian, for Brass Orch. (1960), No. 3, Rhodopean (1973), and No. 4, Proto-Bulgarian (1975); Flute Concerto (1959); A Bogomil Legend for String Orch. (1973); 2 string quartets (1937, 1970); 2 suites for Flute and Piano (1955, 1968); Capriccio for Violin and Piano (1970); Scherzino for Piano (1933); Piano Sonata (1938); songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire