Philip Koutev

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Philip Koutev, in Bulgarian Filip Kutev, was a Bulgarian composer and arranger, born in 1903 in Aytos and died in 1982. In 1951, with his wife Maria Kuteva, he founded the State Ensemble for Folk Song and Dance, the first professional, state-funded ensemble in Bulgaria. That ensemble also bears his name and is called the Filip Kutev Ensemble.

Music and breakthrough

Koutev developed a way of arranging folk songs. He combined elements of folk music with forms and harmonies from Western classical music. In this way he created a new Bulgarian choral tradition. His choir was one of the four heard on the album Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, Volume Two. That album won a Grammy Award in 1989 and brought Bulgarian choral music to an audience in the rest of the world.

Influence

In this way Koutev stands at the origin of the sound that many listeners outside Bulgaria associate with the music of that country. His work shows how a composer can bring tradition and modern arrangement together. A mountain in Antarctica, Kutev Peak, is named after him.

Listening

Mentioned in other articles

• Bulgarian women's singing GenreFrom 1951 the composer Philip Koutev brought this singing to the stage with his state ensemble.

See also

• Bulgarian women's singing