Born in Sofia on February 28, 1923, a descendant of Macedonian Bulgarians, Iliya Temkov graduated from the State Music Academy – Sofia (today the National Music Academy "Prof. Pancho Vladigerov"), specialized in Dresden and Berlin, and performed concerts in Leipzig, Halle, and Weimar. For a short time, he was a conductor at Radio Berlin, where he made recordings of classical and contemporary German and Bulgarian music. He returned to his homeland and, from 1960, at the suggestion of Sasha Popov, took his position as chief conductor of the Ruse Symphony Orchestra. Having gained experience and knowledge from his stay in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), as well as close professional and friendly contacts, the newly appointed conductor organized the first visit to Ruse of the Berlin Radio Orchestra. This was followed by a debut tour of the Ruse Philharmonic at the invitation of the Radio Committee of the GDR, where under the baton of Iliya Temkov they made studio recordings of Bulgarian composers and also gave a concert in Dresden.
The result of the bilateral visits, the trust gained from the orchestra members, and the support of the local authorities was the organization in Ruse of the first specialized forum in Bulgaria, conceived by Temkov as a festival for symphonic and cantata-oratorio music. To finance the first concerts, the principal conductor created a Fund for the Development of Cultural Relations Abroad, into which the orchestra members invested personal funds. Alexander Vladigerov (conductor in Ruse 1961 – 1968) formed a Big Band, with which he gave concerts in Ruse, Razgrad, Silistra, Tarnovo, and others, and the proceeds were used to host guests from the GDR. In this way, the 38-year-old conductor founded the prestigious festival stage for classical music – the International Festival "March Music Days" (MMD). From the first concerts (March 10–24, 1961) to today, following the idea of its founder, the festival always ends with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. For decades, always in March, large-scale symphonic and choral-orchestral works (cantatas and oratorios) have been performed in Ruse, along with world premieres and guest appearances by giants of music, establishing the city as the "Danube capital" of classical music.
Following the successful launch of the MMD in January and February 1966, featuring works by Mozart, Temkov initiated the Winter Music Evenings, which remain a fixture in the city’s cultural program to this day. The following year, together with his many like-minded colleagues, he founded the first Philharmonic Society in Bulgaria, which later took the name of conductor Dobrin Petkov.
In 1967, Ilia Temkov organized Bulgaria’s first competition for young instrumentalists. Under the auspices of the Ruse Philharmonic, a distinguished jury - comprising conductors Karl Stryja (Poland) and Iosif Konta (Romania), concert violinist Dina Schneiderman - joined the following year by French Radio conductor Michel Gano - uncovered the talent of future world-renowned musicians such as Mincho Minchev, Vanya Milanova, Pavlina Dokovska, Plamen Dzhurov, and others. (Today, the competition is held in the town of Provadia, the birthplace of composer Svetoslav Obretenov). Temkov also handed the baton to the young and exceptionally gifted musician Emil Tabakov, as well as to the 20-year-old French pianist Jean-Bernard Pomier.
Generations of Ruse residents remember the music education concerts held on Sunday afternoons at the House of Culture (now the Philharmonic Hall). Children and their parents listened to Temkov’s captivating narration, and the little ones had the chance to touch musical instruments for the first time. And today, engaging with children remains a priority for the management of the Ruse State Opera. The orchestra members continue the tradition begun in the 1960s by visiting schools and kindergartens with several educational programs.
And in 2015, the Children’s Opera was founded for the young residents of Ruse, and a special team was formed to train and work with the children.
Ruse cherishes deeply the memory of Temkisha (as he is known to colleagues, friends, and admirers) and the emotional attachment to the legacy left in the city by this unique figure - the conductor Ilia Temkov!
In 2000, he was named an honorary citizen of Ruse.
* Автор: д-р Веселина Антонова, архивист на Държавна опера – Русе
