On June 29, on International Danube Day, the Ruse State Opera invites the public to a festive symphony concert at the Philharmonic Hall, which brings together musical messages from various European cultures and eras. Under the baton of Ukki Sachedina, the Ruse Opera Orchestra will present a program inspired by the spirit of the Danube - the river that connects people, traditions, and artistic worlds.
The concert’s special guest is the young Bulgarian violinist Maxim Tzekov, who will make his debut on the Ruse stage with Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra - one of the most dazzling works of the 20th century, combining romantic virtuosity and cinematic imagery. A graduate of prestigious music institutions in Vienna and Berlin, with an active international career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician, Maxim Tzekov represents the new generation of Bulgarian performers who are confidently carving out their path on the European music scene.
In the interview, he talks about Korngold’s musical world, the lessons he learned from his teachers and mentors, his connection to the Bulgarian musical tradition, and the path along which talent, curiosity, and perseverance continue to lead him toward new creative horizons.
The Korngold concerto you will be performing in Ruse was written by a composer who brought the language of classical music to Hollywood. If you had to describe your interpretation as a movie, what genre would it be, and what character would you play in it?
The good thing is that I don’t actually have to imagine scenes, because Erich Korngold used many of the themes from his scores for the films "Another Dawn", "Anthony Adverse", and "The Prince and the Pauper" in this concerto. If, however, I had to choose another film, it would be “The Flash” (the 2023 Warner Bros. film) - then it would be easier for me to play the fast passages in the third movement.
After your studies in Vienna and Berlin, as well as your work with renowned musicians and orchestras in Europe, which of these different musical schools has had the greatest influence on your artistic style?
It was important to my teachers that I gain a wide variety of high-quality experience. On the one hand, through my participation in major international competitions and master classes in solo performance; my work over the past two years as a substitute orchestral musician with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera (in over 40 operas); in chamber music courses with the Artemis and Eben quartets, as well as in music education programs at the Luxembourg Philharmonic and the Musikverein in Vienna. This intense and wide-ranging musical mix has, in fact, shaped my musical path.
The most important people in my musical career, aside from my current professor at the Hans Eisler Academy in Berlin, Ulf Wallin, were Professor Lique te Winkel and Ivan Dimitrov - a longtime concertmaster with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and my mentor since childhood, with whom I still maintain very close ties to this day.
You play an exceptional instrument - a 1769 violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini. What is it like to play an instrument with such a rich history, and how does it influence your interpretive approach?
For the past year, I have had the good fortune to play this wonderful instrument as a scholarship recipient of the German “Musikleben” Foundation. It is a violin with exceptional soloistic qualities and expressiveness, which at the same time can lend warmth to intimate moments. The process of discovering one’s own voice through the violin is complex and varies depending on the repertoire. For the Korngold concert, this instrument seems as if it were created specifically for it.
Bulgarian music is also part of your repertoire and projects, including the premiere of “Smilyana” by Georgi Andreev and your work with folk elements in the SMS trio. What role does the Bulgarian musical tradition play in your creative work?
Bulgarian folklore is incredibly rich - from its dances and rhythms to its moving songs and choirs with phenomenal harmonies. It’s only natural that, from an early age, I’ve sought to explore this rich diversity of folklore that is deeply rooted in my heritage.
In fact, in 2024, I had the honor of performing the premiere of Georgi Andreev’s “Smilyana.” In it, he beautifully combines song with the possibilities of a string orchestra. With the “SMS” trio, we use dance and rhythm as a starting point for our own arrangements. Here, we worked closely with the Vladigerov Brothers, who, as is well known, have found their own wonderful voice in Balkan jazz.
The concert on June 29 is dedicated to Danube River Day. If your musical journey so far were a river, what would be its most turbulent bend, and where are the waters carrying you right now?
There have been - and continue to be - many turbulent periods. But I firmly believe that those are the times when you learn the most. Right now, I’m enjoying a lot of engagements and various interesting concerts (such as this one, my debut in Ruse), but this also requires careful planning to maintain the highest level of performance, so that the audience in front of me gets an emotionally rich musical experience, rather than just a performance of the notes.
I still don't know where all this will take me - whenever I've tried to plan or control something, things have always turned out differently. That's why I'm happy to let myself be surprised!
