Biography

Denitsa made her debut as a soloist at the age of 14 in the Great Bulgaria Hall with the Sofia Philharmonic. Numerous national and international competitions and awards, renowned festivals and world premieres have built her a strong international reputation.

Denitsa has toured extensively throughout Europe, Japan and the Middle East, playing as a soloist with the major European orchestras. She made her international debut at the age of 15 and at the age of 18 recorded her first solo CD for Music Minus Ones- New York, with the Mozart Clarinet Concerto. She was awarded Musician of the Year 2000 by the Bulgarian National Radio and In 2003 was given the prestigious scholarship for extraordinary musicianship of the Herbert von Karajan foundation in Vienna, which was followed by another CD recording of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto this time published by BMG-Ricordi. The CD was nominated with numerous prestigious awards and was the best-selling CD from the series 'Soloists in Concert'. Gennady Rojdestvensky recent commented on a concerto performance by Denitsa, saying "…Denitsa Laffchieva is an amazing clarinettist; her performance is always to a highest level and fully deserves the highest acclaims." In 2004, at the age of 24, Denitsa was the youngest musician ever given the prestigious award of the Republic of Bulgaria for Outstanding Contribution to the Bulgarian Culture.

Denitsa studied in some of the finest European music institutions: the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts and the National Academy of Music in Sofia and have obtained her Master Degree with highest honours at the early age of 20. She studied with some of the most prominent living clarinettists, such as Peter Schmidl (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra), Petko Radev (Teatro della Scala di Milano), Mark van de Wiel (Philharmonia Orchestra) and Andrew Marriner (London Symphony Orchestra). Peter Schmidl has said: "…Denitsa is one of the most talented young clarinettists of her generation."

Denitsa now lives in London. She has recently worked with Sir Colin Davis, André Previn, Sir Charles Mackkeras, Kristof Eberle, Jacob Kreizberg, Valeri Gergiev at the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, Vienna Philharmonic Soloists (which concert was one of the highlights of the Pacific Music Festival) and many other conductors and orchestras. She recently recorded her fifth solo CD for the prestigious Golden Found of Historical Recordings of the Bulgarian National Radio. In January 2007, Denitsa made her highly acclaimed debut recital at the prestigious Wigmore Hall in London with the pianist Viktoria Postnikova, and gave her Carnegie Hall debut recital in October 2008. She has received an invitation from both Wigmore and Carnegie Hall to play again for their 2010 season.

Orchestral Work

Denitsa's orchestral work includes Pacific Music Festival Orchestra (Sapporo, Japan, conducted by Valery Gergiev); London Symphony Orchestra (Royal Academy of Music exchange programme); Chamber Orchestra New Classic, Vienna; Volks Oper Vienna; Wiener Residenzorcheste; Chamber Orchestra of Sofia; Radio Symphonic Orchestra, Sofia; Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra; Amadeus Orchestra, Sofia; National Youth Philharmonic, Bulgaria (all on principal clarinet).

Live performances and broadcasts include Bulgarian National Radio and Television, Classic FM, German, Dutch and Austrian TV and radio, BBC and BBC Radio 3.

CD recordings include the Mozart Clarinet Concerto (KV622) for BMG, G7 and Music Minus One, recordings for Gega for new Bulgarian musical talent, and a recording of B. Taneva's Good Mood.

Education
Denitsa's graduate studies took place at Royal Academy of Music (2004-2005), University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna (2001-2004), and Pancho Vladigerov State Music Academy, Sofia (1998-2001, BA hons and MA).

Prizes and Awards

• Bulgarian Minstry of Culture Award (2004)
• Herbert von Karajan Founation scholarship (2003)
• Bulgarian National Radio Musician of the Year (2000)
• Second prize, International Competition Jeunesses Musicales (1998)
• International Competition for French Music, Plovdiv, Bulgaria - first prize (1997)
• Svetoslav Obretenov National Competition, Provadia, Bulgaria - first prize (1996)
• National Competition for German Music, Burgas, Bulgaria - First Prize and Special Prize for young talent (1995)

Teachers: Petko Radev, Peter Schmidl, Mark Van de Wiel, Angela Malsbury, Andrew Marriner. Mastercalsses: Ricardo Morales, Manfred Preis, Andrew Marriner, Fabrizio Meloni, Francois Benda, Howard Klug.

Denitsa joined Morgensterns in December 2009

Denitsa's web profile was last updated 21st Aug 2010

[an error occurred while processing this directive]