Vanya
Milanova is a Bulgarian violinist, teacher, painter, and author born on January
12, 1954. According to at least one
source, she was the first female violinist to record, in 1985, at age 31, the
complete (24) Caprices for solo violin by Nicolo Paganini. That sounds rather unusual but it just might
be true. (see comment below) I didn’t bother to confirm it
by checking further. Surprisingly, she is the first Bulgarian violinist about whom I have written and that is highly unusual too. Milanova is also
known for having a huge repertoire. Her
career has taken her around the world several times and she has performed with
most of the world’s great orchestras and with some of the leading conductors of
her generation in over fifty countries. Although
her discography is not extensive, there are quite a few YouTube files of her
live performances. Milanova took third
prize in the 1973 Paganini Violin Competition (in Genoa, Italy) and third prize
in the 1974 Tchaikovsky Competition (the same one where the late Eugene Fodor
took second prize.) She was known as a
child prodigy - her main teachers were Peter Arnaudov (State Music Academy) in
Bulgaria and Yfrah Neaman (Guildhall School of Music) in England. Her 2016 autobiography is titled Wit and
Wisdom of a Violinist but is presently out of print. Many of her abstract paintings can be seen on
her Facebook page. Milanova has taught
at Bilkent University in Turkey, among other schools. Here are two YouTube files of her
performances, including the complete recording of the Paganini Caprices.
