Rossen Milanov, Associate Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Artistic Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts

Rossen Milanov

2008-2008 Season

A sought-after guest conductor on the international music scene, Rossen Milanov has been hailed as “one who bears watching by anyone who cares about the future of music” (Chicago Tribune). He currently holds the positions of associate conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra and artistic director of The Philadelphia Orchestra at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts. In addition, Mr. Milanov serves as music director of New Jersey’s Symphony in C (formerly the Haddonfield Symphony), one of America’s premier professional training orchestras; music director of the New Symphony Orchestra in his native city of Sofia, Bulgaria; and chief conductor of the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony.

During the 2008-09 season—in addition to conducting The Philadelphia Orchestra in subscription, Family, educational, community, and holiday concerts—Mr. Milanov debuts with Swedish Royal Opera, the New Jersey Symphony, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Singapore Symphony, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the San Antonio Symphony,  and the Charlotte Symphony. He also makes return engagements with the Seattle Symphony, the Seoul Philharmonic, and the National Orchestra of Mexico.
Mr. Milanov’s recent highlights include guest conducting appearances with Tokyo’s NHK Symphony, London’s BBC Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the Indianapolis Symphony. He also led the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in a new double bill production of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Petrushka with the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève.

With The Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Milanov’s recent concert highlights have included critically-acclaimed concerts on the Orchestra’s summer series at the Mann Center; “Best of …”concerts at Verizon Hall; subscription performances of Adams’s Violin Concerto, Stravinsky’s Petrouchka, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15; performances at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival; concerts as part of the Bernstein Festival; and a highly-praised production of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale. Mr. Milanov has led the Orchestra in the world premiere of Nicholas Maw’s English Horn Concerto and Andrea Clearfield’s Kabo omowale (Welcome Home Child). Dedicated to the engagement of new audiences, Mr. Milanov often provides insightful commentary from the podium inviting listeners to experience a deeper connection with the music.

Mr. Milanov has led concerts and tours with the Rotterdam and Seoul philharmonics; the Baltimore, Colorado, Honolulu, and Lucerne symphonies; the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; the Civic Orchestra of Chicago; the Residentie Orchestra of the Hague in the Netherlands; and the Teatro Colón Buenos Aires. He was music director of the Chicago Youth Symphony from 1997 to 2001, and he has participated in numerous summer festivals, including those of Aspen, Grand Teton, and Tanglewood.

As music director of Symphony in C, Mr. Milanov has led that orchestra in performances throughout southern New Jersey and in its debut at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Milanov and Symphony in C have been featured in broadcasts on WRTI’s Sunday Afternoon Concert series, WHYY’s Sunday Showcase, and WQXR’s McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase. 

An active opera conductor, Mr. Milanov has conducted numerous productions. Recent highlights include Argento’s Postcard from Morocco and Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, both with the Curtis Institute. In summer 2008, he led critically-acclaimed concert performances of Puccini’s La bohème with The Philadelphia Orchestra both at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts and the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. He has worked with all of the most important Bulgarian opera singers, including the legendary bass Nikolai Ghiaurov, Krassimira Stoyanova, and last season led the Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra in a European tour featuring mezzo-soprano Vesselina Kasarova.

A native of Sofia, Bulgaria, Mr. Milanov retains a close association with his hometown. As music director of the New Symphony Orchestra, Eastern Europe’s first privately funded orchestra, his work has included commissions and premieres of new works and the introduction of American music to Bulgarian audiences. Currently, he is in the midst of leading a multi-year Mahler cycle with the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony. Mr. Milanov has received the Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Bulgarian Culture, awarded by the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture. In 2005 he was chosen as Bulgaria’s Musician of the Year. 

Mr. Milanov studied conducting at the Juilliard School (recipient of the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship), the Curtis Institute of Music, Duquesne University, and the Bulgarian National Academy of Music. 

 

Danail Rachev

2008-2009 Season

Danail Rachev was appointed assistant conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, beginning in the 2008-09 season. This season also includes Mr. Rachev’s debuts with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Eugene Symphony, and the Eastern Connecticut Symphony.

Mr. Rachev comes to Philadelphia from the Dallas Symphony, where he had been assistant conductor since the 2005-06 season, leading classical concerts, pops programs, and family concerts, as well as school and outreach programs. Of his last Casual Classics concerts with the Dallas Symphony, the Dallas Morning News wrote: “If there’s anything fair in life, Danail Rachev should be on his way to becoming a star orchestral conductor.” In the 2007-08 season, Mr. Rachev also led concerts with the Baltimore Symphony, the City Music Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, and the Camerata Winds in Dallas, of which he is also artistic director. 

From 2002 to 2005 Mr. Rachev served as conductor of the Juilliard PreCollege Symphony, and in the 2002-03 season he was the first ever conducting fellow of the New World Symphony, where he studied with Michael Tilson Thomas and worked alongside him on many occasions. Mr. Rachev’s debut and subsequent appearances in numerous subscription, family, and chamber music concerts were met with consistent critical acclaim.

Mr. Rachev’s other positions have included cover conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony; guest conductor of Baltimore’s Opera Vivente; assistant conductor of the Columbia Orchestra; and assistant conductor of the Baltimore Opera Company for productions of Strauss’s Elektra, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and Rossini’s La Cenerentola. In his native Bulgaria, Mr. Rachev has worked with several ensembles including the Russe State Opera, where he led performances of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.

During the summer of 2002, Mr. Rachev was chosen to participate in both the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival and the National Conducting Institute in Washington, D.C. The latter culminated in his debut with the National Symphony.

Mr. Rachev was born in Shumen, Bulgaria, and trained at the State Musical Academy in Sofia, where he received degrees in orchestral and choral conducting. He moved to the United States to study at the Peabody Conservatory on a full scholarship and graduated in 2001. His conducting teachers have included Gustav Meier, Michael Tilson Thomas, Vassil Kazandjiev, David Zinman, and Leonard Slatkin. Mr. Rachev currently resides in Philadelphia with his wife, Elizabeth.