Ivan Iliev
More than 12 times played this month
Ivan Iliev, born in Pernik, Bulgaria, completed his music studies at the National Music Academy in Sofia under the guidance of Verka Stefanova and Yossif Radionov. His fascination with early music led him to study with Lucy van Dael at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Masterclasses with members of the Amadeus, Smetana, and Bartók Quartets played a significant role in his further musical development, fostering a deep interest in chamber music and the subtleties of the string quartet repertoire.
As a member of the European Union Baroque Orchestra (EUBO), Ivan performed under the direction of Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Roy Goodman, Enrico Onofri, and Petra Mullejans. Since 2008, he has been a member of Erik Bosgraaf’s Ensemble Cordevento, contributing to several recordings. In 2016, he co-founded the Reicha Quartet, dedicated to 19th-century string quartet repertoire performed on period instruments. Their debut CD in 2019 featured a world premiere recording of Anton Reicha’s Quatuor Scientifique.
Since 2017, Ivan has served as concertmaster of Collegium 1704 in Prague, under the direction of Václav Luks. Together, they have performed at numerous festivals, including BachFest Leipzig, Salzburger Festspiele, Prague Spring, Chopin and his Europe, and the Bach Festival Montreal. With Collegium 1704, he performed a violin concerto by Pisendel at the Berliner Philharmonie and was a soloist in Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1 & 4, both on a DVD recording and in a documentary for the ARTE cultural channel. On recordings, Ivan has collaborated with esteemed artists such as Gerard de Wit, Magdalena Kožená, Leila Schayegh, Xenia Löffler, Alexis Kossenko, Christoph Coin, Stephan MacLeod, and Rafaella Milanesi, among others. His performances also include frequent collaborations with Dutch Baroque, Gli Angeli Genève, Les Ambassadeurs ~ La Grande Écurie, the Netherlands Bach Society, and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century.
