Konstantin Ilievski
composer, conductor
Konstantin Ilievski comes from a Bulgarian family of famous musicians. He started studying piano at the age of 5 with prof. Milena Kurteva in Sofia, and from the age of 14 he continued his studies in Bratislava, Slovakia, with prof. He studied in Bratislava with Prof. Peter Cerman.
Ilievski won several international piano competitions and participated in various international master classes with renowned pianists such as prof. Eugen Indzic, prof. Peter Topperzer, prof. Marianne Lapshansky, prof. Li Kum Xin, etc.
During his studies in Bratislava he worked with the orchestra and choir of the Bratislava Conservatory and graduated with full honours (“summa cum laude”) in orchestral and choral conducting under Prof. Zdeněk Bilek and prof. Dusan Bill.
He continued his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, where he received a master’s degree in composition under Prof. Detlev Müller-Siemens, as well as a master’s degree in orchestral conducting under prof. Uros Leiwitz. He has also participated in prestigious conducting masterclasses in Vienna with renowned conductors and orchestras such as Bertrand de Billy with the Webern Symphony Vienna, prof. Ralf Weikert with the Orchestra Pro Arte Vienna, Daniel Harding with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra.
In 2010, Ilievski was part of the jury of the International Composition Competition “Artistes en Herbe” in Luxembourg and became an honorary member of the international Armenian organization “AGBU” for outstanding musical achievements.
In 2011 the publishing house “Dr. Müller published his book “The Composer as Interpreter of His Own Perception of the World”.
In 2012 he was nominated for the Crystal Lyre, a prestigious award for musical achievement in his native Bulgaria, and participated in the 200th anniversary edition. season of the Geselschaft der Musikfreunde Wien, giving a concert at the Musikverein – Vienna with the Wiener Concert Verein (Chamber Orchestra of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra).
In 2013 he was selected as one of the 20 participants in the finals of the renowned 53rd International Competition for Young Conductors in Besançon, France with the Orchestre “Victor Hugo” (Franche-Comté).
Since 2014 he is also the chief artistic director of the Chamber Orchestra “Dianopolis” (Yambol – Bulgaria)
Since 2015 also director of the Golden Diana Music Festival (Yambol – Bulgaria) and lecturer at the Bratislava Conservatory (Slovakia)
In 2016 he was also conductor of the Sliven Symphony Orchestra (Bulgaria) and successfully debuted with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra in the Reduta Concert Hall Bratislava (Slovakia).
Since 2017 he has been regularly recording with the Symphony Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio (Sofia).
In 2018, he was awarded the prestigious Crystal Lyra Prize in the conductor category by the SBMTD, and also conducted the official dilemma concert in Bratislava (Slovakia) on the occasion of the Bulgarian EU Presidency with soloist Svetlin Rusev (violin) and the Slovak National Radio Orchestra.
At the beginning of 2019 Konstantin Ilievski is the conductor of the first ever concert tour of the Sofia Philharmonic in China, and in the summer of the same year he recorded a CD with the chamber orchestra “Dianopolis” – Yambol (Bulgaria) and the soloists Tsvetan Nedyalkov (guitar) and Krasimira Sultanova (violin). Together with this orchestra, which he directs, he was awarded the Crystal Lyre again in 2019.
Since 2020 he is also conductor of the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava).
Konstantin Ilievski has recorded for the largest radio and television companies in Bulgaria, Austria and Slovakia, and regularly records with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava) and the BNR Symphony Orchestra.
He has composed mainly solo, chamber, concert and symphonic works which have been performed in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Austria, Russia, Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland, Italy, Albania and the USA by contemporary music ensembles or orchestras such as:
Ensemble “Reconsil” (Vienna – Austria), “Quasars Ensemble” (Bratislava – Slovakia), Wiener Concert Verein (Chamber Orchestra of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra – Austria), Chamber Orchestra “Zoe” (Bratislava – Slovakia), Symfonietta Vidin (Bulgaria), Symphony Orchestra – Sliven (Bulgaria), Blagoevgrad State Opera (Bulgaria), Dianopolis Chamber Orchestra (Yambol – Bulgaria), Gabrovo Chamber Orchestra (Bulgaria), AGBU Armenian Chamber Orchestra (Sofia – Bulgaria), Sinfonietta dell’Arte and Occentric Symphonic Orchestra (Vienna – Austria).
As a pianist, he is a frequent soloist with various orchestras in Europe, regularly giving solo and chamber concerts.
As a guest conductor or soloist he has worked with ORF-RSO Vienna (Austria), Wiener Concert Verein (Chamber Orchestra of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra – Austria), Slovak National Philharmonic (Bratislava), Wroclaw Philharmonic (Poland), National Opera and Radio Television Orchestra RTSH of Albania (Tirana), Chinese National Symphony Orchestra (Ningbo), Bulgarian National Philharmonic Orchestra (Sofia), Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Sofia), Classic FM Radio Orchestra (Sofia – Bulgaria), Slovak Symphony Orchestra (Žilina), Slovak Chamber Orchestra (Bratislava), Hilaris and Zoe Chamber Orchestras (Bratislava – Slovakia), Oeccentrik Symphony Orchestra (Vienna – Austria), L. Van Beethoven” (Vienna – Austria), Pleven Philharmonic (Bulgaria), Symphonettes in Sofia, Vidin and Vratsa (Bulgaria), Symphonic Operetta Society “M-ro. Georgi Atanasov” – Pazardzhik (Bulgaria), Blagoevgrad State Opera (Bulgaria), Bulgarian Chamber Orchestra (Dobrich), Gabrovo Chamber Orchestra (Bulgaria), Armenian Chamber Orchestra “AGBU” (Sofia – Bulgaria), “Florida Youth Symphony Orchestra” (USA), “Ignaz-Josef Pleyel Youth Symphony Orchestra” (Austria), Chamber Ensemble “Stinet” (Duras – Albania), Chamber Ensemble “Ars Musica” (Sofia – Bulgaria), etc.
When he was only 17 years old, Konstantin Ilievski founded the Sinfonietta dell’Arte in Bratislava, of which he remains to this day the general musical director, chief conductor and artistic director. It has featured musicians from all continents. Sinfonietta dell’Arte has established itself over the last 20 years as a professional orchestra, with successful and regular tours in Austria, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Germany.
Konstantin Ilievski has participated in numerous international festivals and has worked with renowned world-class soloists such as: Jean-Marc Luisada, Svetlin Rusev, Ludmil Angelov, Wolfgang David, Svetlina Stoyanova, Margarete Babinski, Linda Balova, Peter Erdey, Ludmilla Peterkova, Ivan Danko, Teodosii Spasov, Celine Roschek, Robert Buschek, Barbara Moser, Emanuel Rosfelder, Irina Faterl, Ryan Martin Bradshaw, Theo Gertler, Lucie Kopsova, Rita Nicodemus, Alessandro Travaglini, Vittorio Guilmi, Jaroslav Pehal, Adil Fedorov, Borislava Taneva, Tsvetan Nedyalkov, Ivanka Ninova, Georgi Cherkin, Petra Kiba, Anatoly Krastev, Maria Tsvetkova-Madjarova, Jia Li, Bozhidar Noev, Angel Stankov, Joseph Radionov, Rosen Idealov, Svetoslav Slavchev, Yordana Palovichova, Matej Kozub, Pavel Bogach, Lukasz Szentkeresti, soloists from the families Kopachinski, Yablokov, Auner, Sultanov, Trio Ardenza, etc.
A special place in Ilievski’s activity is occupied by his work with chamber ensembles, such as string orchestras and ensembles for contemporary or early music. The development of concert repertoire for such ensembles features regularly in his concert schedule, e.g. with the Chamber Orchestra “Dianopolis” (Yambol – Bulgaria), the Chamber Orchestra “Hilaris” (Bratislava – Slovakia), the professional Chamber Choir “Bratislava Vocal Consort”, the Sinfonietta dell’Arte Chamber Orchestra and its ensemble for contemporary music, in collaboration with the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Konstantin Ilievski believes that his work with this kind of ensembles represents an important part of the structure of his musical interpretation.