site.bta80th Birth Anniversary of Viktor Chuchkov, Composer, Pianist and Music Teacher

February 25, 2026 marks 80 since the birth of Viktor Chuchkov, a renowned composer, pianist and music teacher.

Viktor Chuchkov was born on February 25, 1946, in Gorna Oryahovitsa into a large Bulgarian family from Shtip, Serbia. The great-grandfather of the family was the voivode Efrem Chuchkov, known as the right hand of revolutionary Gotse Delchev. His parents were doctors, his father Spiridon loved music and played the violin.

He received his first piano lessons at the age of 6. On the recommendation of the eminent academician Andrey Stoyanov, at the age of only 10, he continued his studies in Sofia under his guidance. From the age of 13-14, he entered the studying composition and simultaneously worked on his development as a pianist.

He entered the Bulgarian State Conservatory, today the National Academy of Music "Prof. Pancho Vladigerov", where he studied composition with Prof. Veselin Stoyanov, and piano with Prof. Lili Atanasova. He was sent to the summer courses "Vacance Musicali" in Venice, Italy. In 1966, with his work "Venetian Impressions", he won the scholarship of the "Santa Cecilia" Conservatory in Rome, where in 1971 he graduated in composition classes. In 1969, he won the seventh edition of the international competition for pianists and singers "Francesco Paolo Neglia", in which 41 young singers and pianists from 11 countries participated. 

Since 1974, Chuchkov has been a lecturer at the National Academy of Music "Prof. Pancho Vladigerov", and since 1996 he has been a professor of chamber music.

He is the composer of the music for the feature films "Ivan Kondarev" (1973), "Sulamit" (1999), Cristallo di Rocca (Italy, 2000), "TILT" (2011), "Why Me?" (Romania, 2015), the experimental film "Dance on Fire" (1972), the animated film "Konservfilm" (1989). He was among the first to experiment in the field of electroacoustic music in Bulgaria. His creative pursuits are characterized by cross-genre synthesis and original reinterpretation of folklore. His works are performed in over 16 countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America. He has given hundreds of concerts all over the world – from recitals to guest appearances with orchestras in Italy, the Netherlands, Brazil, Russia, the USA, the Republic of North Macedonia. Some of them are also exotic – he played before the Sultan of Malaysia at the insistence of the monarch himself. He leads master classes in piano, chamber music and composition. He is a member and chair of many international juries of competitions for pianists and composers.

Chuchkov is the winner of the Grand Prize for Film Music at the First Red Cross Film Festival in Varna (1972), the First Prize of the Union of Bulgarian Composers for 1984, the Musician of the Year Award (2000) from the listeners of the program "Allegro Vivace" on the "Horizont" program of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). He was awarded the Order of Cyril and Methodius (first degree). In 1998 he was declared an honorary citizen of Gorna Oryahovitsa.

The following are original news items about Victor Chuchkov from BTA’s External Service department:

203 Musicians of 16 Countries Meet for Hopes, Talents, Masters Festival

Sofia, September 1, 2001 (BTA) - 203 musicians, including 122 Bulgarians and 81 foreigners of 16 countries, aged between 6 and 32 are here for the 6th edition of the international youth music festival "Hopes, Talents, Masters" in Dobrich/Albena from September 5 to 16.

Each participant will only perform once in the competition and then in several concerts. This creates a relaxed atmosphere: the performers are not tense, there are no parents crying or angry at the jury, as it often happens at competitions, said the jury chairman Prof. Viktor Chuchkov, who is also president of the Union of Bulgarian Composers.

According to him, a major advantage of this forum is its wide scope in terms of instruments and vocal performances.

The chance for performance given to young talents and for a successful career start is what matters the most for the organizers of the Ministry of Culture, the Dobrich municipality, the Union of Composers, the Peter The Great International Festival in the Netherlands, the Albena resort and the tourist agency Romantic Travel of St. Petersburg.

Alexanderina Milcheva, Josif Radionov and musicians of the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, Russia, the US, Germany, Greece and other countries are also on the jury. Usually they invite the laureates of the festival to festivals in their own countries.

During the festival the jury members will also arrange master classes and will give a concert on September 12.  VINF/IT/LN/ 

Mincho Minchev, Ina Kuncheva Soloists at Musical School Jubilee Concert

Sofia, January 10, 2004 (BTA) - Mincho Minchev - violin, Viktor Chuchkov and Ivan Drenikov - piano and young opera singer Ina Kuncheva will be the soloists performing in the concert dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Lyubomir Pipkov National Musical School on January 16, the school told BTA.

The concert, under the aegis of Culture Minister Bozhidar Abrashev, will launch the festivities commemorating the first musical school in Bulgaria.

The school's symphony orchestra, Sofia, has always included the best students and has been conducted by leading Bulgarian conductors. In 1997 it had great success in the presentation of Bulgarian culture in Toulouse (France), conducted by Mihail Angelov. Subsequent conductors included names like Emil Yanev, Emil Tabakov and Deyan Pavlov.

With Deyan Pavlov the orchestra made a triumphant tour of Canada in 2002. The orchestra is also a traditional participant in major national musical festivals like Sofia Music Weeks, the March Music Weeks in Rousse and Apollonia. /LT/BR/