Iliya Iliev graduated from the Sofia University Law Faculty. He took private lessons in Theory of Music and Composition under Professor Assen Karastoyanov, Professor Vesselin Stoyanov and Professor Parashkev Hadjiev. He worked as a lawyer, conductor of amateur and professional choirs, head of classes for conductors, editor and compiler of several music publications. He collected and noted over 600 traditional songs.

He wrote children’s operettas; works for symphony, chamber and string orchestra; chamber music; over 150 choral.

Stage music:

Children’s operettas:

Fairy Dream (1955, staged in Bulgaria, Germany and Russia);
The Landlord of the Old Forest (1962);
The Cricket and the Ants.

For symphony orchestra:

Suite (1948);
Ballet Suite from the operetta Fairy Dream (1960);
Ballad (1961);
Romance (1963).

Concertos for:

piano (1967);
clarinet (1969).

For chamber orchestra:

Rondo Concertante for violin and orchestra;
Three Romantic Songs for voice and orchestra (1946).

For string orchestra:

Symphony N1 (1965);
Concertino for oboe, harp and string orchestra (1957);
Rondo Concertante for violin and string orchestra (1966);
Two Pieces for clarinet, French horn, glockenspiel, harp and strings (1966);
Colloquia Familiaria for two violins and string orchestra (1970).

Chamber music:

Theme With Variations for ten wind instruments and piano (1947);
Dance Suite for two trumpets, French horn, trombone and timpani (1955);
6 wind quintets;
9 string quartets;
4 wind trios;
Trio for violin, violoncello and piano.

Sonatas:

2 sonatas for violin and piano;
2 sonatas for clarinet and piano;
3 sonatas for flute and piano;
Sonata for bassoon and piano;
Sonata for viloncello and piano;
Sonata for viola and piano, etc.