Rossen Milanov () is a Bulgarian conducting. He is Music Director of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra
Life and career
Early life
Milanov was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. He studied
oboe and orchestral conducting at the Bulgarian National Academy of Music, and he earned his master's degree in oboe performance at Duquesne University.
He studied conducting at The Curtis Institute of Music
and
Juilliard School,
where he received the
Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship.
Conducting career
From 1994–1999, Milanov was Conductor of The Juilliard School's Pre-College Orchestra. He acted as Music Director of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra from 1997–2001.
He spent over 11 years with The Philadelphia Orchestra, first as Assistant Conductor from 2000–2003, then as Associate Conductor from 2003–2011, and finally as Artistic Director of the ensemble's summer home at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts from 2006–2010.
Milanov was Chief Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2003-2008.
In September 2014, Rossen Milanov was named the next Music Director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, effective in the 2015-16 season and with a four-year contract.
Awards
In 2005, Milanov was named Bulgaria's Musician of the Year. He has received the Bulgarian Ministry's Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Bulgarian Culture and the 2011 ASCAP award for his programming with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra.
Collaborators and appearances
Milanov has collaborated with
Yo-Yo Ma,
Itzhak Perlman,
Joshua Bell, Midori, and Christian Tetzlaff. He has conducted premieres by Richard Danielpour, Gabriel Prokofiev, and
Nicholas Maw, as well as emerging composers through Symphony in C's annual Young Composer's Competition.
He has appeared with such ensembles as the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Grant Park Music Festival, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Orquesta Nacional de México, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Milanov also works as a ballet conductor and has collaborated with choreographers Mats Ek at Zurich Opera
Opera and vocal experience
Milanov has worked with
opera companies including Komische Oper Berlin (in Shostakovich's
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk), The Philadelphia Orchestra (in
Giacomo Puccini's
La bohème),
and The Curtis Opera Theatre (in a recording of
Dominick Argento's
Postcard from Morocco for
Albany Records)
and
Opera Columbus with Rigoletto.
Music education
Milanov is Music Director of the training orchestra Symphony in C and the New Symphony Orchestra in his home city of Sofia, Bulgaria. He appears regularly at
Carnegie Hall for Link Up, a program by The Weill Music Institute.
Recordings
Milanov has recorded Shostakovich's Symphony No. 15,
Brahms's Symphony No. 1, and
Joseph Jongen's
Sinfonia Concertante with The Philadelphia Orchestra – released as
A Grand Celebration on the Gothic label in 2008.
His work with
composer
Alla Pavlova with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra was released on
Naxos Records in 2006.
He recently released a recording of
Igor Stravinsky's
Petrushka and Manuel de Falla's
El sombrero de tres picos with Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias on Classic Concert Records.
