Pianist and Teacher
Dimitar Dimitrov was born on September 13, 1987, in Dobrich, Bulgaria. By age 2, he was already playing melodies on his accordion. His musical education began when he received his first piano lesson at age 5.
While a student in Michael Slavov’s piano class at the National Music School “Lubomir Pipkov” in Sofia, he won several piano competitions:
In 2004, Dimitrov was chosen by audition to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the orchestra of the National Music Academy “Pancho Vladigerov,” Sofia.
Upon finishing his secondary school musical education in 2006, Dimitrov entered the Prins Claus Conservatorium, Groningen, the Netherlands’ most progressive music conservatory, where he studies with the renowned pianist, Dr. Tamara Poddubnaya.
Even before his first year at Prins Claus had ended, Dimitrov had garnered victories in 3 Dutch competitions: “Prinses Christina Concours,” The Hague, 2007; “Harten Aas Trofee,” Groningen, 2007; and “Grachten Festival,” Amsterdam, 2007. Following the Prinses Christina Concours and “Harten Aas Trofee,” the jury called him a “young lion of the piano,” in the tradition of the great Russian pianists of the past.
Dimitrov represented the Prins Claus Conservatorium at the Grachten Festival, where the best musicians from Dutch conservatories had assembled to compete. He won both, the youth category and the main jury prize, a “first” in the history of this competition, an honor which brought him an invitation to participate in the prestigious Master Class Program at the Banff Centre (Alberta, Canada) in July 2008. Previously in 2008, he had received the Grand Prix at “Maria Yudina International Competition,” St. Petersburg.
In the spring, due the arrangements of Princess Christina Competition, Dimitar performs in Paris.
In the summer of 2008 he was invited to the United States to participate in the 4th International Piano Festival in Portland, Maine, followed by “Music without Borders,” the 2nd International Piano Festival held at Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine, 3 weeks of study, with almost daily master classes, public recitals, and interviews.
In August 2008 Dimitar wins the 1st Prize at the LISMA Foundation International Piano Competition in New York.
In November 2008, Dimitrov’s earlier victory in the “Prinses Christina Concours” earned him the spotlight with The North Netherlands Orchestra, Michael Tabachnik, principal conductor, as he performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 during a 3-day tour of the Netherlands. Dimitrov often presents programs at Prins Claus upon the occasion of visits by ambassadors and other important guests.
In March, 2009, Dimitrov was invited by violinist Quirine Scheffers, concertmaster of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, to join her in presenting compositions by Mozart and Prokofiev in a recital at the New Church in The Hague, and he will be playing another recital with her. In late April 2009, he traveled to the USA to play recitals at Long Island Conservatory in New York, Gould Academy in Bethel and at the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston, Maine.
In June, 2009, Dimitar and the ensemble he plays with in Prins Claus Conservatory, were invited to perform Brahms – 1st Piano Quartet in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.
In August, 2009, Dimitrov performed the Rhapsody in Blue by G. Gershwin with the “Harmonie St.Michael” in Thorn, the Netherlands, which was followed by invitation for several performances in January 2010 in the concert hall of Tilburg and the theatre “Oranjerie” in Roermond, the Netherlands with the conductor Ivan Meylemans.
In November, 2009, he participated in “Koffie bij de Piano”, a highly valued part of the classical music program in the “ Theater aan de parade”, s’Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. After the vote of the public, Dimitar received the highest result ever in these series and in June 2010 he was chosen from the public and the youth jury as a winner..
After participating in the “Young Pianist Foundation” Competition in Amsterdam, Dimitar won the “Mozart prize” and the prize of the Best participant in category C. He received great praise by Marcel Baudet, Dmitri Bashkirov, Oxana Yablonska, Victor Rosenbaum and president of the jury Sieuwert Verster. They described him as a great talent with big hopes for his future career.
In june 2010 Dimitar received his Bachelor degree at the “Prins Claus Conservatory” in Groningen.
At the end of August 2010, Dimitrov took part in the International Holland Music Sessions in Holland, where he was taught by the famous pianist Klaus Hellwig. After Dimitar’s successful recital in the city of Bergen, where the festival took place, he was chosen to play in the final concert of the Holland Music Sessions.
After an invitation by Jan Wijn, one of the Netherlands most highly regarded pedagogues, Dimitar joined his piano class in September 2010 at the conservatory of Amsterdam.
In October 2010, Dimitar was accepted as one of the 24 Quarter Finalists for the prestigious Liszt International Piano Competition in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
In September 2011,during his master with Jan Wijn, Dimitar is awarded the famous in the Netherlands – Huygens Scholarship for outstanding achievements in his education.
In November 2011, Dimitrov was selected as one of the 4 finalists of the Dutch Classical Talent Competition, which is held in Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. As a result Dimitar performed solo recitals in the season of 2012-2013, in 10 of the best concert halls in the whole Netherlands.
In March 2013 Dimitar received his “Master of Music” diploma.
Dimitar Dimitrov has participated in the master classes of Victor Chuchkov, Jeni Zaharieva, Agate Leymony, Walter Craft, Tamara Poddubnaya, Milena Mollova, David Wilde, Vladimir Tropp, Martin Perry, Frank Glazer, Hamish Milne, Anton Kuerti, Paul Komen, Pascal Devoyon, Ilona Timchenko, Igor Roma, Geoffrey Madge, Leslie Howard, Klaus Hellwig, Victor Rosenbaum and Jerome Rose.