Petko Staynov

Biography

Petko Staynov (Bulgarian: Петко Стайнов; December 1, 1896 – June 25, 1977) was a Bulgarian composer and pianist. He enriched the Bulgarian musical culture and contributed considerably to its development. A composer of great creative talent, of wide musical and general culture, possessing a keen sense for the topical ideas of modern time, he dedicated his entire life and all his abilities to Bulgarian music and musical culture, and to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Life

At the age of six Staynov injured one of his eyes; as a result, the other eye was also infected. At 11, he lost his sight completely. He graduated from the Institute for the Blind in Sofia (1915), where his talent for music showed for the first time. Later he studied music with Andrei Stoyanov and made his initial attempts at composing.
In 1920 he left for Germany for a year of studies at the Private Musical Lyceum in Braunschweig. In 1923 he graduated from the Dresden Musical Conservatory, majoring in composition under Alexander Wolf and in piano under Ernst Munch. Having returned to Kazanluk in 1925, he created his first major work: the Thracian Dances symphonic suite in three movements. He later added an additional movement to the suite, Mechkarsko (The Bear Warder's Dance, 1926).
In 1927 he moved to Sofia and began teaching piano at the Institute for the Blind.
Petko Staynov worked mainly in the genres of symphonic and choral music. Being equally talented in both, he generalised some trends in Bulgarian musical creativity and opened new vistas to its development. He adapted the European musical tradition to the Bulgarian way of thinking, to the abilities of both performers and listeners, to the natural process of advancement of the national music. From European music Staynov adopted some expressive devices and forms, the resources of the symphony orchestra, the construction of a well-engineered structure. What characterises him as a markedly Bulgarian musical creative artist is the introduction of a Bulgarian musical style of his own. This style was expressed to its fullest in the completely independent melody (without direct quoting of folk music) and in the harmonic language of his work. The idea of his compositions is clarified through the lyrics of his choral songs and ballads and through the programmatic titles of most of his symphonic works.

Public offices

Petko Staynov held the chair of the Union of Folk Choirs in Bulgaria (the Bulgarian Singing Union) and of the Contemporary Music Association of Bulgarian Composers (1933–44), and served as Director of the National Opera (1941–44). In 1941 he was elected Regular Member (Academician) of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and in 1948 he became Director of the newly founded Institute for Music with Museum (later Institute of Musicology) with the Academy; held this position to the end of his days. He was also member of the Presidium of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Academician-Secretary of the Department of Arts and Culture at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences was among the other positions he held. Under his wise and competent direction, these institutions, unions, associations and other organizations reached the highest levels of their achievements.
In 1965, he founded National Festival of Bulgarian Folk Art with Rayna Katsarova and Anna Kamenova.
Petko Staynov's ideas about the social functions of music, about the significance of folk music for the creativity of Bulgarian composers, about the creation of a Bulgarian musical style, choral singing, choirs, school musical education, composers and their works, performers and events in the country's musical life were laid down in numerous articles, most of which were published in the collection Petko Staynov: On Bulgarian Musical Culture, 1967.
Petko Staynov held numerous high state awards. He died on June 25, 1977.