Kutev, Filip

Born June 13, 1903, in Ajtos. Bulgarian composer; People’s Artist of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria (1955); Hero of Socialist Labor (1969). Member of the Bulgarian Communist Party since 1945.

Kutev graduated from the State Music Academy in Sofia in 1929. From 1930 to 1950 he worked as a conductor in Burgas and Sofia. In 1951 he became artistic director of the State Ensemble of Folk Song and Dance, which he founded that year in Sofia; the ensemble toured many countries, including the USSR in 1954 and 1969. In 1954 he became first secretary and later chairman of the Bulgarian Composers’ Union.

Kutev’s music has close ties with the Bulgarian folk song and is distinguished by its melodic clarity. His compositions include The Ninth of September (1946), a cantata pathètique; Symphonic Dances; vocal and instrumental suites; the Bulgarian Rhapsody (1937); the symphonic poem Herman (1940); choruses, art songs, and group songs of folk character, including “Song of the Party”; and music for motion pictures. Kutev was awarded the Dimitrov Prize in 1950 and 1953.