(b. 1957, Sofia).

Bulgarian composer of stage, orchestral, chamber, vocal, and piano works that have been performed throughout Europe and elsewhere.

Mr. Arnaoudov studied composition with Alexander Tanev and contemporary music with Bojidar Spassov at the Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music in Sofia. He also attended summer courses directed by Brian Ferneyhough and Albert Mayr in Florence, as well as a workshop with Ton de Leeuw. He has undertaken research into ancient music from the Far East and Greece, electroacoustic music, music theory, and musique concrète.

His awards include the Grand Prize of the European Broadcasting Union (1985), the Golden Harp Prize from Jeunesses Musicales of Bulgaria (1986), the Special Prize of the Union of Bulgarian Composers (1986), and the Carl Maria von Weber International Prize of Music (1989). His music has been performed in Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, the UK, and the USA. His music has represented Bulgaria at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers.

He is also active in other positions. He has written numerous articles on the aesthetics of modernism and postmodernism, communications in music, the contemporary arts, musical semiotics, and the theory of contemporary music. In addition, he has written musical criticism.

He teaches in the department of theatre at New Bulgarian University in Sofia, as well as at the National School of Music in Sofia.

COMPLETE LIST OF WORKS

STAGE:

Offertorium I (dance performance, after Hermann Broch), 1988

Offertorium II (dance performance, after Jorge Luis Borges), 1991

Transpatium (ballet), 1996

Choreordained (ballet in 2 acts), 1996

...the highest point of my inferiority... (dance-theatre work), 1998

Black Box (dance-theatre work, text by John Cage), 1999

Threshold (dance-theatre work), 2001

ORCHESTRAL:

Symphony No. 1, 1984

Concerto for Orchestra, 1986

Concerto grosso, string orchestra, 1987

Kammerkonzert, piano, orchestra, 1988

Laus Solis, 1996

The Colour of Light, 1997

Variations on a Theme by Rachmaninoff, 2001

CHAMBER MUSIC:

String Quartet No. 2, 1988

Ritual III (Borges Fragment), cello, 1993

Vihaya, flute, 1995

Thyepolia, tenor recorder, cello, percussion, 1997

Kells, cello (+ ghungroo [small bells from South Asia]), 1999

Variations, 2 pianos, 2 percussion, 2001

Delicatessen, any 4 strings, 2002

CHORAL:

Thyepoleo (texts from ancient hymns), 4 mixed voices, ensemble of ancient instruments, 2000

VOCAL:

Footnote (...und Isolde/ns Winkfall lassen) (text by James Joyce), voice, small orchestra, 1991

Summe Deus (text from the Kyrie), soprano, small orchestra, 1991

The Circle of Rites (text from ancient sources in Sanskrit), soprano, ensemble, 1991

The Way of the Birds I, soprano, flute, violin, 1995

The Way of the Birds II, soprano, flute, oboe, clarinet, 2 violins, cello, percussion, 1995

Katawassi, mezzo-soprano, string quartet, 1996

PIANO:

Paysages sonores, 1983

Partita I, 1984

Ritual I, 1988, revised 1991

Incarnation in the Light (Ritual II), 1993

...un pan de ciel au milieu du silence, 1993

Svarog Ritual, 1994

Le Temple du silence, 2 pianos, 1996

Et iterum venturus, 1997

A husky fife-note blew, 1998

DISCOGRAPHY

Ritual I; Incarnation in the Light (Ritual II). Boyan Vodenitcharov, piano (Gega-New: GD-170, 1995)

Svarog Ritual; Incarnation in the Light (Ritual II); ...un pan de ciel au milieu du silence; Partita I. Angela Tosheva, piano (Concord Concerto: 42032, 1996)

The Circle of Rites; Ritual I; Incarnation in the Light (Ritual II); Ritual III (Borges Fragment); Summe Deus. Emilia Maximova, soprano; Kalina Krasteva, cello; Boyan Vodenitcharov, piano; Plamen Djourov/Musica Nova Chamber Orchestra (Gega-New: GD-187, 1998)

Le Temple du silence. Boyan Vodenitcharov, piano (Musica Nova Sofia: MNS 0004, 1999)

Thyepoleo. M. Chobanov, D. Darlev, M. Ivanov, Tanja Kazandjieva, voices; Theodora Pavlovich/ensemble of ancient instruments (Gega-New: GD-223, 2000)

Vihaya. Linda Wetherill, flute (Furious Artisans: FACD 6804, 2000)

The Way of the Birds II. Tanja Kazandjieva, soprano; Mila Pavlova, flute; Kostadin Yotzov, oboe; Rossen Idealov, clarinet; Alexandra Docheva, Yossif Radionov, violins; Kalina Krasteva, cello; Stoyan Pavlov, percussion (Musilenium: MK 11167, 2002)