Peter Liondev graduated from the State Academy of Music in 1961 majoring in Folklore Studies under Professor Stoyan Djudjev and in Composition under Professor Alexander Raychev. He worked at the Institute of Musicology (the today’s Music Department at the Institute of Art Studies) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences for over 30 years. He noted down over 40,000 traditional songs and instrumental melodies. In 2001 he was promoted Full Professor at the University in Veliko Tarnovo.

He wrote books and studies.

He is a member of the Swiss society for the rights of authors of musical works SUISA. As a composer, he focused mainly on the children’s and choral song. He authored over 900 children’s choral songs and songs for the youngest, a great part of which won him recognition as well as prizes at competitions like Sweet-Voiced Lark (eight prizes), Let’s Sing Together (seven prizes) or the Grand Prix at the Golden Cock Festival in 2001. He also wrote songs for The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices Ensemble. His works were performed by the American jazzman Chuck Corea and the Apollo Sax Quartet. His song Kaval Sviri (Kaval Sounds) was included in the CD produced by Marcel Cellier, which won the Grammi Prize in 1990. His choral song Ergen deda (Unmarried Old Man) is very popular. His best works were published in song collections (Selected Songs; Little House for Songs; The Magic Carpet), as well as released on two LPs (Little Songs for Everyone and Captain Racho), on audiocassette (Laughing Captains) and on CD (Balkan Passions – together with Kiril Stefanov; Christmas Songs).

Choral songs:

For female voices choir:

Ergen Deda (Old Bachelor) (1975);
Kaval Sviri (Kaval Sounds) (1979);
Sedenkarska (Working-bee Song) (1980);
Moma voda nosi (A Maiden is Bringing Water) (1983);
S gayda na horo (With A Bagpipe at a Dance) (1987);
So, So, So (1988);
Horovodna (1988);
Cradle of Joy (1988);
Vocalise and Dance (1991);
Moma hubava (Beautiful Maiden) (1994);
Jalba za Lazara (Lament for Lazar) (1994);
Cheers! (1994);
Malki momi lazaritzi (Young Maidens) (1994);
Oy, Christmas! (1994);
Vesela pripyavka (Cheerfully Singing) (1995);
Traka, traka stanche (A Small Loom) (1996);
Capital Sofia (1997);
Ogreyala mesechina (Shining Moon) (1999).

For male voices choir:

Pushka pukna (Gun Fired) (1978);
Sechenata (1980);
Lazar of the Shopps (1980);
Majka pripyavka (A Male Song) (1981);
Dalnina (Distance) (1982);
Starsko Horo (1983).

For mixed choir:

Aluger’s Wedding (1980);
Fair (1986).

For children’s choir:

A Little Drum (1975);
Good-bye, Summer;
Captain’s Isle (1976);
Forest Musicians;
Blue and Golden (1977);
Bird Songs – a cycle (1981);
Tika-taka (1986);
Turmoil (1987);
Something Strange Happened (1987);
A Kite and a Sparrow (1999);
The Rules of the Game (2000).

Songs for the youngest:

A Horse-Rocket (1975);
Captain (1976);
The Ten Fingers (1976);
The Little Duck Is Angry (1976);
Konche-Vihrogonche (My Lovely Horse) (1976);
Sparrow and Feather (1977);
The Bathtub of the Ant (1978);
Ten Sea-Horses (1978);
Locomotive (1978);
Hitrusha (A Sly Girl) (1978);
Snowman (1978);
Captain Racho (1979);
Festive Cake (1980);
Thank You, Mum (1981);
Little Sparrow of the Plant (1981);
Here Is the Sea (1983);
Little Song with “la” (1983);
Home Computer (1985);
The World Upside Down (1985);
Piki, Piki (1988);
Wait for Me, Sea (1989).

For traditional music orchestra:

Fair (1976);
Folklore Dialogues (1977);
Southern Dialects (1978).

Selected books (published in Bulgarian):

Monographs:

Nikola Atanassov (Sofia, 1963);
Georgi Goranov (Kyustendil, 1964).

Studies and articles:

Music Folklore from the Village of Bulgarin, Region of Harmanli (1962);
Songs That Have Been Written Down with Hurmusiev Neums in the 20th Century in Bulgaria (1967);
Vazov and Bulgarian Music (1970);
Unequal Rhythmic Pulsation of the Structural Elements in the Thracian Traditional Instrumental Melody Forming Processes (1983).

Selected literature on him (in Bulgarian):

Panayotova, Liliana, Dagmar Tzolova. Peter Liondev. Bio-Bibliographical Study (Sofia, 1987).