Search - Maria Jeleztcheva Wildhaber (bassoon);Tania Tachkova (piano) :: Song To My Love: Bulgarian Songs and Dances for Solo Bassoon and Piano

When I was growing up in Bulgaria, the local folk music with its dances and songs were part of everyday life and celebrations. Its distinctive asymmetrical and non-metered rhythms are unlike anything in Western music that I ve performed. While working on my DMA, my teacher, Prof. Frank Morelli, encouraged me to pursue the idea of making this unique music accessible to an audience outside of Bulgaria by arranging it for the bassoon. After listening to traditional recordings and looking for scores both in the United States and on-site in Bulgaria, I narrowed the material down to 13 pieces, six of which are traditional dances, five are art songs containing folk elements and two are non-metered folk songs. All pieces have been arranged for solo bassoon and piano. I couldn t have done this without my colleague, pianist Tania Tachkova, who, having grown up in Sofia, Bulgaria, brought her own personal view to the interpretation of these pieces. I have provided a synopsis of the lyrics, as the listener will surely benefit from knowing the content of the songs when listening to them. The ratchenizza is a couples dance, while the horo is a line or round dance involving a larger group and a kopanizza is a version of the horo, the name coming from the verb kopam, which means to dig; it is sometimes translated as little digging dance. Bulgarian-born Maria Jeleztcheva Wildhaber started taking piano lessons at the age of six and three years later began studying the bassoon. In 1998, she graduated from the music school in her hometown Burgas, on the Black Sea coast. The same year she began her studies in bassoon performance with full scholarship at the University of Arizona with Dr William Dietz. In 2002, she continued with her Master of Music at Yale University, followed by her Doctor of Musical Arts at State University of New York at Stony Brook where she studied with Prof. Frank Morelli. As an avid orchestra and chamber musician, Ms. Wildhaber has performed with various ensembles in Europe, Asia, North and South America. In 2003, she made her Carnegie Hall debut where she performed with the Philharmonia of Russia and Trio Royale. Her work as a chamber musician includes collaborations with Julian Rachlin, Angela Hewitt, Julian Biss, Neil Black and Eli Eban. She has also performed with the Macao Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Verbier and Lucerne Festival Orchestras in Switzerland. Maria has participated in numerous prestigious music festivals such as Banff Centre For The Arts in Canada, National Orchestral Institute in Maryland, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival in Connecticut, Sarasota Chamber Music Festival in Florida, Verbier Festival and the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland. She has collaborated with world famous conductors including Pierre Boulez, James Levine, Gustavo Dudamel, Michael, Christoph von Dohnanyi and Michael Tilson Thomas. Having won various national and international competitions and awards; Ms. Wildhaber s performances have been broadcasted on several TV stations in the US, Europe, South America and Asia as well as on New York s WQXR, Washington s WGMS and Hong Kong s RTHK radio stations. She maintains a regular performance schedule and continues to be part of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra under Gabor Takacs and the East Coast Contemporary Ensemble, where she acts as the Executive Director and Principal Bassoonist. Maria serves on the chamber music faculty at the 92nd Street Y School of Music in New York City and Kinhaven Music School in Weston, Vermont.