Petrova began composing chamber works while performing with orchestras in South Africa. She is now with the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and demonstrates in her music her strong connection with the Bulgarian folk songs and rhythms of her home country. She is a friend of fellow Bulgarian cellist Ivanov and has written these works for him.
The folk flavor is a major part of these pieces and though exotic in both melodic construction and rhythms, it is tonal and accessible music. Pianist Antimova is also Bulgarian and the combined artistry of the three musicians results in some heartfelt exploration of the Bulgarian musical soul. The slow movement first sonata is an elegy in memory of cellist Ivanov’s father. The Bulgarian Portraits are short unaccompanied pieces which conjure up an earlier Bulgarian culture. Their titles are: Three Maidens, Gypsy Man with a Dancing Bear, Women at Harvest, Monk and his Servant, Rebek Player.
– John Sunier
