Dobrinka Tabakova
Dobrinka Tabakova is a composer of ‘thoughtful and approachable’ music (Gramophone), with ‘glowing tonal harmonies and grand, sweeping gestures [which] convey a huge emotional depth’ (The Strad). Her music has been commissioned and performed by leading musicians and ensembles and her debut profile album ‘String Paths’, on ECM Records, was nominated for a Grammy in 2014.
Born in the historic town of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Dobrinka Tabakova moved to London in 1991, where she has lived since. She holds degrees from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and a doctorate from King’s College London. Among Dobrinka Tabakova’s prizes are the Jean-Frédéric Perrenoud prize and medal at the 4th Vienna International Music Competition; the prize for an anthem for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, performed at St Paul’s Cathedral, the GSMD Lutoslawski Composition Prize 1999 and the 2007 Adam Prize of King’s College London. She was a finalist for the 2010 Gaudeamus prize in Amsterdam and in 2011 was awarded first prize and the Sorel Medallion in Choral Composition, New York.
Her works have been recorded for the Hyperion and Avie record labels, among others, and in May 2013 ECM Records released the first full CD Album devoted to her music. The album String Paths reached No. 2 in the UK’s Specialist Classical charts and attracted praise from the international press. String Paths was nominated in the Classical Compendium category of the 56th Grammy Awards and was one of four albums supporting the Grammy Nomination of ECM Records founder Manfred Eicher for Classical Producer of the Year. Music from the album was used in Jean-Luc Godard’s award winning 2014 film ‘Adieu au langage’.
The music of Dobrinka Tabakova has captured the imagination and support of worldwide audiences and leading musicians. She has been invited composer-in-residence at Festivals around Europe, as well as the 2010 Musicarama Festival in Hong Kong. Her works have been commissioned by the BBC, Royal Philharmonic Society, Amsteram Sinfonietta, Three Choirs Festival, UK and Britten Sinfonia. Between 2014-2016 Dobrinka is working on two large-scale projects with the Stratford-upon-Avon based Orchestra of the Swan as composer-in-residence, supported by the Sorel Organization, New York.
Buy Dobrinka Tabakova’s String Paths Album online, featured in Sydney Dance Company’s Untamed.