Stefan Hadjiev

 

Bulgarian cellist Stefan Hadjiev was born in Sofia in 1982. He graduated the National School of Music "L. Pipkov", Sofia where he studied cello and chamber music with Daniela Cherpokova-­Nikolaeva. In 2001 Stefan was awarded with a full scholarship to continue his studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London with Stefan Popov.

 

Ever since he moved to London, Stefan has been exploring various fields in classical music. He appeared as a soloist and chamber musician with Southbank Sinfonia, and participated in different chamber music groups performing at major venues such as Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Barbican Centre, King's Place, etc. Stefan also took part as a musician-actor at the English National Theatre production "Every good boy deserves a favour". He can also occasionally be spotted as a busker in London and the surrounding areas. In 2009 Stefan was honoured to perform at the St James's Palace for H.R.H.Prince of Wales.

 

Stefan is a member of the International Mahler Orchestra,­ a democratic, non-hierarchical circle of musicians, resident in Berlin, engaged with various symphonic, chamber and cross­-genre projects.

 

Stefan's repertoire includes a wide spectrum of music from the baroque era to the modern. He toured across Europe and South America and his performances of Bach's cello suites in Berlin and Kassel received critical acclaim.

 

One of Stefan's aims as a musician is to communicate classical music to new audiences, particularly people who have rarely been exposed to it. Even though he considers himself as an “orthodox” classical musician, Stefan has a close connection with other musical genres. The music of artists such as Radiohead, Keith Jarrett, Tom Waits, etc. made a huge influence on his development as musician. He also took part in some jazz projects and free-style improvisation performances.