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The Bulgarian pianist, Emile Naoumoff, began to study piano at the age of 5, composition at the age of 6, and at the age of 8, he was discovered by Nadia Boulanger, who referred to him as "The gift of my old age". He immediately became one of her leading disciples and remained so for ten years, until her death in 1979. At the age of 10, he composed and played his own piano concerto with Yehudi Menuhin conducting. After his conducting studies with Pierre Dervaux, he became the assistant of Nadia Boulanger in 1979 and in 1980, professor at the École Normale de Musique in Paris. At the age of 19, having demonstrated exceptional talent, Naoumoff received diplomas in piano, composition and conducting. He immediately became a Professor at the American Conservatory and later, in 1984, at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique, Paris.
Emile Naoumoff's replacing a pianist without rehearsal in 1984, playing Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto in Monte Carlo, conducted by Yuri Ahronovitch, secured him the reputation of a world-famous soloist. A critic at the concert wrote that "he has the poetry of Rubinstein and the fire of Horowitz". From then on, he was invited to perform regularly, and made his debut in the greatest capitals of Europe, the USA and Japan, and Israel. The Residentie Orkest of the Hague asked him for exclusive rights for Holland until 1990! During the 1998 season, he was invited by Radio-France to play Frédéric Chopin's Concerto No. 1 with the New Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Uri Segal. He played his Concerto No. 2 for the first time with Orchestra of Monterey, California. Following his first recital (which was warmly hailed by admiring critics), at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysée in March 1989, Emile Naoumoff was invited to the USA to play for the first time with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. He took part in the Musical Encounters of Evian, presided by Mstislav Rostropovich, with whom he played. He returned to Los Angeles to play at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra once again and toured the USA to present 25 concerts with Camerata Bern.
Emile Naoumoff is regularly invited by the world's premier orchestras: the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Camerata Bern, and has collaborated closely with renowned conductors Leonard Bernstein, Igor Markevitch, Nikita Magaloff, Jean Françaix, Henri Dutilleux, Uri Segal, Alain Lombard, Mstislav Rostropovich and Eliahu Inbal.
In recital Emile Naoumoff regularly performs throughout Europe, the USA and Asia. He has given recitals in Chicago, Baltimore and the Marlboro Festival, at Rudolf Serkin's personal invitation. In Europe he has given recitals in Cologne, Munich, Bern, Venice, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Paris and Vienna - and was subsequently re-invited by all.
Recently, Emile Naoumoff was appointed Associate Professor at the School of Music of the Indiana University in Bloomington. As well his responsibility at the Paris Conservatoire, he has given master-classes at the Berkeley and Stanford Association and at the American Conservatoire in Fontainebleau, in Spain, Luxembourg and Japan. In the summers, he also directs his own Music Academy near Paris (Gargenville) teaching after the principles of Nadia Boulanger.
Besides his performance career, Emile Naoumoff is a successful composer. In 1981 the famous publisher Schott de Mayence took on the representation of Naoumoff, the youngest composer represented by Schott. He has played his own second concerto with the Monterey Orchestra, and in 1994 he gave the world premiere of his arrangement for piano and orchestra of Pictures of an Exhibition with Mstislav Rostropovich in Washington D.C. He also composed piano transcriptions of J.S. Bach's work, and selected chamber music. He has received numerous awards, including the Médaille d’Honneur de Paris, an honour bestowed upon him by Jacques Chirac, and the Prix de Composition de l’Académie des Beaux Arts.
Emile Naoumoff has already made six records, including for Orfeo and EMI. His most recent CD is a recording of the complete L.v. Beethoven's Sonatas for Cello and Piano. |
