Assen Najdenow

Assen Najdenow was a Bulgarian conductor.

Life

Najdenov was born in 1899 in Varna on the Black Sea. In his childhood, he learned the violin and the piano. In 1905, his uncle brought a grand piano from Russia. Already as a pupil he played in the city orchestra as a violinist from 1912 to 1914. In 1920, he studied composition in Vienna with Joseph Marx and piano with Paul de Conne. In 1921, he went to Leipzig, where among others, Fritz Reuter was one of his teachers. Max Hochkofler taught him conducting.
Back in Bulgaria, he made his debut in 1925 with Mignon by Ambroise Thomas at the National Opera and Ballet of Bulgaria in Sofia. In 1930, he attended courses with Bruno Walter and Clemens Krauss in Salzburg. In 1944, he became chief conductor in Sofia. Guest conducting engagements took him to the Berlin State Opera, to Leningrad Mikhailovsky Theatre and to the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre.
Najdenow specialised in particular in the operas of Mozart, Mussorgsky and Verdi.
He died in Sofia shortly before his 96th birthday.