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Tucson Symphony Orchestra
(Tucson, AZ) Eugene Symphony (Eugene, OR) Eugene Symphony (Eugene, OR) Richmond Symphony (Richmond, VA) Alabama Symphony (Birmingham, AL) Eugene Symphony (Eugene, OR) Eugene Symphony (Eugene, OR) Philharmonia Orchestra Royal Festival Hall (London, United Kingdom) Philharmonia Orchestra (Leicester, United Kingdom) Eugene Symphony (Eugene, OR) Grand Rapids Symphony (Grand Rapids, MI) Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias (Asturias, Spain) Eugene Symphony (Eugene, OR) Auckland Philharmonia (Auckland, New Zealand) Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (Bournemouth, United Kingdom) CityMusic Cleveland (Cleveland, OH) Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra (New London, CT) CityMusic Cleveland (Cleveland, OH) Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Dallas, TX) Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Dallas, TX) Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Dallas, TX) Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Dallas, TX) CityMusic Cleveland (Cleveland, OH) Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Dallas, TX) Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Dallas, TX) Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Dallas, TX) Opera Vivente (Baltimore, MD) New World Symphony (Miami, FL) New World Symphony (Miami, FL) New World Symphony (Miami, FL) New World Symphony (Miami, FL) |
Rachev performed the [Beethoven] Sixth almost as an antidote to the Fifth with well-tempered almost cascading string passages that floated melodically toward some unseen nature setting. Aside from some thundering timpani late in the third, brought to startling life by Kimberly Toscano, Rachev let the work live up to its name. The Beethoven capped a concert that opened with Rossini’s arresting Overture to “The Thieving Magpie” ....Rachev drew crisp phrasing from the orchestra, producing an energy that never went too far. The performance was short, but terrific.
Cathalena E. Burch, Arizona Daily Star, March 2013 Orchestra kicks off 2013 with energy, virtuosity In some respects, the Eugene Symphony Orchestra’s first concert of 2013 followed the stereotypical programming model for orchestral concerts: an opera overture, a concerto and a meaty symphony...And yet music director Danail Rachev’s programming didn’t feel stereotypical at all. [In Rossini's William Tell Overture] Rachev’s orchestra played with brio and abandon. Mozart’s orchestral writing in the concerto [in C minor, K. 491] is nothing less than brilliant, and the ensemble — the woodwinds in particular — delivered the tutti sections with considerable finesse. Both soloist and orchestra brought great expressivity to the central “Larghetto” movement, in E-flat major...After intermission, Rachev turned to Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, a work last played by this orchestra about a dozen years ago, and very much welcomed by the Silva Hall audience. Bringing to fruition the composer’s dramatic vision — particularly in the opening movement, with its myriad contrasts — is no small matter, and Rachev achieved this brilliantly. Prokofiev’s Fifth gives the brass and percussion plenty to do, and those sections infused the work with dynamism without becoming raucous. The orchestra brought energy and virtuosity to the scherzo-like and rather challenging Allegro marcato, and Rachev shaped the relatively gentle Adagio with insight and sensitivity. The finale alternates calm, lyrical passages with driving motoric sections, and the orchestra negotiated the changes in mood perfectly, keeping the momentum going right up until the last bar. Read more Terry McQuilkin, Eugene Register-Guard, January 2013 Concert ends season on high note "The Eugene Symphony closed its 46th season on Thursday at the Hult Center’s Silva Concert Hall with a program of musical fireworks. Credit the orchestra’s music director and conductor Danail Rachev, who put together a perfectly arced program and was in complete control on the podium.....If Liszt’s concerto was an astonishing light show, Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony provided pyrotechnics of a more emotional sort. The Sixth is not one of Bruckner’s most often performed symphonies, though I cannot understand why. Its handful of themes weave throughout the movements, forming a grand musical tapestry that persuades the soul.The orchestra was the best I’ve heard it all season. Rachev had a clear sense of the hour-long symphony’s dramatic twists, and rarely looked down at the score. The orchestra was right with him, blazing with force in one moment and suddenly soft the next...The concert was a fitting finale to an ambitious season." Read more Mark Samples, Eugene Register-Guard, May 2012 "In Harold Schonberg’s “The Great Conductors,” we learn that Igor Stravinsky once belittled Eugene Ormandy by calling him the ideal conductor of Johann Strauss. The cut didn't draw blood. A conductor who can draw from an orchestra the fluid yet precise rhythm, the breathing phrases, the brilliance with no loss of warmth, needed in a Strauss waltz, is a maestro indeed, one who probably can get anything else he wants out of a symphony orchestra. It’s with that in mind that I salute Danail Rachev as an ideal conductor of Strauss waltzes. (Dvořák, too, I’ll bet.) The man makes an orchestra dance, and that’s a rare gift. In the first of two weekend dates with the Richmond Symphony, Rachev, the Bulgarian-born music director of Oregon’s Eugene Symphony, set the rhythmic tone for this program in “Anitra’s Dance” from Grieg’s “Peer Gynt” music. The tempo was precise, but with a hint of the langorous, seeming to roll or sway when played by massed strings. Good for Grieg, of course; and, it turned out, good for Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” and Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony, too." Read more Eric Dobbs, Letter V: The Virginia Classical Music Blog, February 2012 Another review, in the Richmond Times-Dispatch: Read more Five Star Review: Ohlsson, Rachev, Alabama Symphony a riveting mix "A recent work by German composer Wolfgang Rihm established an immediate rapport between the orchestra and guest conductor Danail Rachev. “Three Waltzes for Orchestra” is filled with unexpected twists and turns. Though never straying far from a Viennese feel, the waltzes explore far beyond, with dashes of Mahler, Lehar, Strauss, Jr., even Berlioz entering the mix. Rachev milked the humor and brashness with sweeping baton swings and communicative gestures. Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 6 isn’t on the hit parade of Schubert favorites, but judging from this reading, perhaps it should be. ASO was in top form, crisp and bouncy in the opening movement, supple and delightful in the Andante. Rachev led with flair and precision, the orchestra responding in kind to the work’s charm and engaging melodies." Read more Michael Huebner, The Birmingham News, January 2012 "André Watts was still good enough to eat [in the Grieg Piano Concerto]...Ravel‘s La Alborada del Gracioso and Respighi’s The Pines of Rome, were also very well received. They are both showy, well-known and festive pieces, perfect for an opening night. The Hult Center Silva Concert Hall appeared full. The Eugene Symphony, under music director Danail Rachev, is doing exceptionally well in these trying times for orchestras. From the diagonally opposite end of the country, where The Cleveland Orchestra spends some of the winter, we wish them continued good fortune, more great concerts, and that its good karma — this is Eugene, OR, after all — flow our way." ClevelandOrchestrainMiami.com, September 2011 Eugene orchestra shines in season's last program "Rachev didn’t exaggerate the tragic elements of the music, but he certainly brought out the uneasy tension that starts with the opening three-note figure and permeates the opening molto allegro movement. The orchestra delivered the middle movements — the poignant andante and the slightly ominous minuetto — with conviction and polish. The dark undercurrents in Mozart’s penultimate symphony are most obvious in the turbulent finale, and the ensemble succeeded in conveying a sense of struggle...Rachev made the most of the stark contrasts that occur again and again [Strauss's Death and Transfiguration], but more importantly he brought an unmistakable sense of direction to the whole work, so that after the final, terrifying “hammer blow” signaling the hero’s death, the music projected a feeling of triumphant serenity." Terry McQuilkin, Eugene Register-Guard, May 2011 "Bulgarian conductor Danail Rachev, Music Director of Oregon’s Eugene Symphony since 2009 and Assistant Conductor at the Philadelphia Orchestra, replaced an indisposed Juraj Valčuha. The galloping closing section (of Lone Ranger fame) of the Overture to Rossini’s “Guillaume Tell” cannot fail to bring the house down, but it was the subtlety of the opening – with exquisite phrasing from cellist Timothy Walden and four colleagues – that commanded attention... The Philharmonia Orchestra’s playing was exemplary throughout... In Brahms’s Second Symphony the essentially lyrical first movement came off particularly well – warmth and energy in ample supply... The emotional depths of the heartfelt Adagio were well caught by Rachev, who also found just the right combination of charm and sparkle in the Allegretto grazioso third movement and then a thrilling degree of energy in the propulsive finale." Classical Source, April 2011 "A last-minute change of conductor saw the Philharmonia under the baton of US-based conductor Danail Rachev, who brought an inspired serenity to a fine concert by the orchestra... Rossini's overture to William Tell began the concert. The quiet opening had a lightness which continued until the final gallop, which was crisp and energetic and one could almost feel horses pounding over the ground. Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A was executed with delicacy and integrity. Pianist Ingrid Fliter gave a performance in which every note counted: a good amount of passion and energy, but with a beautiful light touch at the keyboard which suited the work to perfection. Brahms' Symphony No.2 in D had a warm tone with a feeling of being driven forward with gentle energy. The lively final Allegro brought the evening to a spirited conclusion, again leaving listeners in awe of a world-class performance." Leicester Mercury, April 2011 “The concert commenced with a lively, sprightly performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C major.…Maestro Danail Rachev led a spirited, energetic and fun rendition of the piece….Always proactive, our maestro seemed extra emotive in this performance. He certainly brought out the best in the players.” John Farnworth, Eugene Register-Guard, January 2011 "There's no denying the Bulgarian-born conductor can light a fire under an orchestra and smoke out exciting musical moments. This version [of Stravinsky's Suite from The Firebird] for a standard-size orchestra sounded even bigger, and Rachev told a story that left you eagerly wondering how it would end." Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk, The Grand Rapids Press, January 2011 "La «Sinfonía n.º 4 en fa menor, op. 36», de Chaikovski, ocupó ya la segunda parte del concierto con una lectura firme y rigurosa por parte de Rachev, en una versión de una elegancia estoica, que transmitió con franqueza el mensaje de opresión que el Destino imprime a la sinfonía, sin excesivos sentimentalismos. Un ejercicio de tensión moderada en la orquesta, que extrajo toda su calidez en el «Andantino in modo di canzona», con la atención de Rachev puesta en el fraseo de las cuerdas. Todas las secciones de la orquesta sonaron equilibradas, sin rigidez, con una evolución contenida hasta la conclusión del «allegro con fuoco», en una explosión casi catártica que tuvo entonces la más efectiva respuesta por parte del público." Diana Díaz, La nueva España, May 2011 “I truly admired this orchestra’s playing of Petrushka. The score is chock full of devilishly tricky meter changes and polyrhythms, all of which Rachev’s orchestra navigated without the slightest hitch. The conductor (who had preceded the performance with a verbal summary of the story line) brought out the dramatic elements of the score wonderfully, and the music sparkled with vitality.” Terry McQuilkin, Eugene Register-Guard, October 2010 “The test for any orchestra with Brahms' Fourth Symphony comes a few pages into the first movement when the woodwind takes over the main theme and puts it through a complex orchestral weave; Rachev achieved the perfectly translucent texture here and the leggiero that Brahms demands. Detail and balance were a priority in the Andante moderato, and there was a real glow to what might be seen as slightly reticent scoring. The mighty Allegro energico last movement gave us yearning strings and striding vigour in a marvellously sustained finale to the concert.” NZ Herald, November 2010 "At centre stage, conductor Danail Rachev showed a happy disposition that naturally infected the BSO’s ever-willing players to toe the line, here readily evoking a line of camels lugubriously swaying through desert heat in the Arabian Dance from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite.” Bournemouth Echo, October 2010 “The performance was something of a Schubertian lovefest, with Rachev shaping the dance forms with flexible affection and the orchestra mustering plentiful elegance…the orchestra responded to their guest’s leadership with playing of subtle and cohesive allure.” Donald Rosenberg, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 2010 In Tryout Concert To Be ECSO Conductor, Rachev Raises The Bar "Rachev's stately guidance in the Garde Arts Center coaxed a nuanced and spirited performance from the ECSO musicians of a diverse and creative program that comprised Pärt's gorgeously melancholy Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, and the bellicose, complex Shostakovich Symphony No. 12...Rachev, a native of Bulgaria who has served as the assistant conductor for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and currently has that post with the Philadelphia, has the leonine, Hot Young Conductor thing working for him - fashion mag comparisons to the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Gustavo Dudamel are probably routine - yet he wisely avoids the demonstrative histrionics associated with many of the matinee idol conductors. In performance, Rachev seems innately empathetic with his musicians, and his body language and direction seem familiar in that context that you've watched a well-loved coach emote on the sidelines of a sporting event. In other words: One infers that Rachev is very much about the sound of the ensemble in toto as opposed to striking poses that might look really great in photographs. Think, too, about the wide-ranging possibilities of the program. It takes courage for a candidate to come into a situation with only a week to rehearse and get familiar with an orchestra - but, particularly with the Shostakovich, Rachev didn't take the easy route. As a result, the challenge presented to the orchestra was a display of confidence and opportunity - and it paid off wonderfully... It was an electric and rewarding evening. There are four remaining candidates to fill the ECSO music director post, all of whom will conduct a concert this season. Rachev has certainly raised the bar." Rick Koster, The Day, November 2008 "As Rachev pointed out, Haydn symphonies pose special problems in terms of character and technique. Then he led a performance of the Symphony No. 101 ("Clock") that was obstacle-free. Haydn's sly wit, charming ardor and rustic buoyancy found the musicians in alert, aristocratic form. Rachev is a conductor who puts his body into music-making to purposeful effect. Leading without baton, he gave vibrant shape to phrases and provided the impetus for the players to function at their peak." Donald Rosenberg, Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 2008 Rachev, DSO do wonders with Casual Classics "If there's anything fair in life, Danail Rachev should be on his way to becoming a star orchestral conductor. And we'll be able to say we knew him when. It was the kind of program Arthur Fiedler used to do with the Boston Pops. If on paper Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and the like might make some self-appointed connoisseurs roll their eyes, performances as loving, as caringly proportioned and expressed as Mr. Rachev's could charm a turnip. In Schubert's Rosamunde Overture, strings, winds and brass were balanced with rare care, and tempo shifts were elegantly handled. The music had drama and supple shape....The program had some programming surprises, too. Josef Strauss' obscure Music of the Spheres waltz was heaven itself, especially with the generous pliancy Mr. Rachev coaxed from the orchestra, the gentle swing and spring." Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, June 2008 DSO's Rachev breathes new life into Mozart "Finding anything fresh to say about Mozart – if anything, overexposed since the 1991 bicentenary of his death – is a tall order. But again and again Mr. Rachev found a subtly new balance, a deft new taper of phrase, an elegant new dovetailing of musical call and response...With a large chamber- orchestra complement of musicians, Mr. Rachev brought wonderful rhythmic vitality to the Magic Flute Overture and the Jupiter Symphony. This was the kind of music-making that makes it hard to sit still; you want to bob your head, tap your feet and sway to broader buildups and easings of tension. And rare's the conductor who so tellingly uncovers the unsettling undercurrents of these two pieces, even in the symphony's minuet. Yet nothing was forced or fussy." Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, June 2008 "This Bulgarian native is a more sophisticated, more musically expressive conductor than plenty of big-name baton twirlers out there. We've been lucky to have him for three years. Mr. Rachev again worked his magic in the last of the DSO's four "Casual Classics" concerts, at the Meyerson Symhony Center. He had the orchestra sounding really good, top to bottom, and again and again careful balances and eloquent turns of phrase arrested the ear." Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, June 2008 "The DSO has a major talent in this young man, trained both in his native Bulgaria and at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. So many of our younger American conductors are interchangeable metronomes, but Mr. Rachev has proved a musician of real depth, sensitivity and authority. You could travel to plenty of the world's musical capitals and not hear a finer performance of Schumann's Fourth Symphony. Start to finish, this was music pulsing with life, everything lovingly proportioned and contoured." Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, June 2007 "The night's other guest was Danail Rachev, assistant conductor of the Dallas Symphony. The Bulgarian-born Rachev collaborated closely with the Cleveland musicians in Mendelssohn's "The Fair Melusine" overture and Beethoven's Symphony No. 2. Rachev shaped the breezy aquatic episodes [of the Mendelssohn] with seamless fluidity and invigorated the moments of dangerous drama...Beethoven is in a bright mood in his Symphony No. 2, and Rachev made sure the score's chipper aspects leaped from the page. His pacing could be a bit too excitable for the music to settle, but the performance was coherent, vital and gorgeously played." Donald Rosenberg, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 2007 Ranked one of the Top 10 Classical Concerts in the Metroplex in 2006 "Who knew that Rimsky-Korsakov's overworked Scheherazade could actually sound fresh and really exciting? It took the DSO assistant conductor, the Bulgarian-born Mr. Rachev, to do just that, with deliciously seductive solos from concertmaster Emanuel Borok. No wonder DSO musicians like Mr. Rachev so much." Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News,Year in Review, December 2006 "Start to finish, assistant conductor Rachev got the music unfailingly right, and viscerally compelling." Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, October 2006 "The evening virtually became a lesson in orchestration with the richly colored Scheherazade. Rachev's clear, demonstrative conducting elicited powerful, pitch-perfect solos from the players, especially concertmaster Emanuel Borok." Matthew Erikson, Fort Worth-Star Telegram, October 2006 “What makes The Tender Land work is the clarity, beauty and honesty of Copland's music, qualities that come through strongly in the Opera Vivente production at Emmanuel Episcopal Church. The chamber version of the original orchestration (idiomatically prepared in 1985 by Murray Sidlin and approved by Copland) enhances the score's directness without any great loss of warmth. On Sunday afternoon, conductor Danail Rachev shaped that score tellingly, revealing particular appreciation for its gentlest, most introspective moments.” Tim Smith, The Baltimore Sun, May 2005 "Recently I bemoaned the shortage of suitable young conductors, but Michael Tilson Thomas has apparently found a gifted one to be first conducting fellow of the New World Symphony. He is Danail Rachev, a Bulgarian from Juilliard who opened Saturday's concert in the Lincoln Theatre with an astutely pointed performance of Stravinsky's rarely-revived Four Etudes for Orchestra….Rachev and the orchestra had the complexities of all four pieces in full control and put the Stravinskyian stamp on them.“ James Roos, The Miami Herald, October 2002 “When Danail Rachev, the New World Symphony's 31-year-old conducting fellow, opened Thursday night's program at the Lincoln Theater in Miami Beach by leading a crisp reading of Mozart's Six German Dances, K. 509, Michael Tilson Thomas couldn't resist stealthily poking his head in from offstage. What he saw and heard was the evening's most spirited performance. Under Rachev's direction, New World musicians played with light hearts, infusing their own joy into Mozart's festive music.” Romann Weber, The Miami Herald, March 2003 “The concert led off with Mozart's Six German Dances, K. 509. Conducting Fellow Danail Rachev led a vigorous, boldly projected performance that conveyed much of the music's wit and dance element.” Laurence A. Johnson, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, March 2003 “New World conducting fellow Danail Rachev preceded the Ravel with a fluent and sensitive reading of Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun….the New World players responded to Rachev's direction with gracious and evocative playing.“ Laurence A. Johnson, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, February 2003 |
other press
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KLCC Eugene Oregon
NPR-Online Broadcast Conductor Casting: Eight will audition to lead Fort Wayne Philharmonic |
Hear an interview with Danail previewing the March 8, 2012 Eugene Symphony Concert.
"Bulgarian native Danail Rachev conducts the Fort Wayne Philharmonic on Oct. 25 and 26 and March 14. Rachev currently is assistant conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Before that, he occupied the same post at the Dallas Symphony. Mark Melson, vice president of artistic operations for the Dallas Symphony, says “we’ve had a lot of very good assistant conductors who have moved on to bigger jobs, but Danail may be the most gifted.” Melson says the role of assistant conductor is, in many ways, an ungrateful job. “You have to conduct the less glamorous assignments,” he says. “And Danail never complained about it. He never comes to a rehearsal not knowing the music cold. He is thoroughly professional.” Rachev is “highly musical,” Melson says. "This is a tough thing to define for a layperson, but that’s not just about playing the notes, it’s about making them sing: shaping phrases, achieving artful balances within orchestras, showing a piece in its best light.” What’s more, he can do this in one rehearsal. “What he does with a baton, (the musicians) know exactly what he wants them to do,” Melson says. Read more... Steve Penhollow, The Journal Gazette, September 2008 |
