The Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections &University Archives is pleased to announce the donation of an important addition to the UNC Greensboro Cello Music Collection. The archive has received the manuscripts, personal papers, recordings and photographs of Bulgarian cellist, teacher, and composer, Lubomir Georgiev. This is a second, critical part to the initial sheet music collection, which was received in 2014. As the original donation only consisted of annotated sheet music, these recently donated materials contribute to understanding the breathtaking story behind Lubomir Georgiev as a performer, teacher, composer, and political refugee.
Lubomir Georgiev (b. Dec. 24, 1951, Varna, Bulgaria - d. May 31, 2005, Tallahassee, FL) studied with cellist Zdravko Jordanov, composer and violinist Marin Goleminov, and composer and pianist Alexander Raytchev at the Bulgarian State Academy of Music “Pantcho Vladigerov” in Sofia. He graduated with his Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance in 1976 and his Bachelor of Music in Composition in 1978. A talented performer, Georgiev’s reputation was established quickly in Bulgaria. He became principal cellist and soloist for the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra by 1978, touring throughout Europe and North America with the symphony. As a composer, Georgiev was winner of the Youth Creativity Award of the Bulgarian Composer’s Union in 1980 for his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, as well as first prize at the Carl-Maria von Weber International Competition in Dresden, Germany only a year later for his string quartet, Musica Multiplici Mentes. By his late 20s, Georgiev was a rising star as a performer and composer with ambitions to refine his musicianship and well along the path to making his name known worldwide. Unfortunately, to be overly aspiring in his homeland at this time was dangerous.
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| Georgiev performing as the soloist, 1981 |
Bulgaria between 1946 to 1990 actually was known as The People’s Republic of Bulgaria, controlled by the Bulgarian Communist Party in close alliance with the Soviet Union. It was a country in which the government diligently watched over and controlled the lives of its citizens, regulating external cultural influences so as to avoid any potential corruption or subversion to Communist ideology. Musicians, such as Georgiev, were permitted limited access to the arts and artists from non-communist countries, but there were few avenues for creative growth. The government enforced strict adherence to Communist values and state loyalty.
As an artist, Lubomir Georgiev recognized that Communism directly repressed the heart of his identity as a musician. When he became principal cellist in Sofia, it was demanded that he officially join the Communist Party, but he refused. Yet again, two years later in 1980, it was demanded that Georgiev join the Party, and he declined. Needless to say, this did not endear Georgiev to Communist officials. Georgiev’s clash with Communism culminated in 1986 during a visit to Bulgaria by the famous cellist, János Starker. This was Starker’s second visit to Bulgaria in which Georgiev was able to study with him, and on both occasions, Starker invited Georgiev to be his student at Indiana University Bloomington. The prospect to develop himself as a musician with such a legendary artist was the opportunity Georgiev craved and what was denied to him by living in a Communist country. He began making plans to travel to the United States to become Starker’s student.
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| Georgiev performing in a master class for János Starker in Bulgaria |
Georgiev’s choice came with great risk; to travel to the United States, he would need an American visa, but it was forbidden for a Bulgarian citizen to directly contact anyone at the American Embassy. The Bulgarian government feared not only the potential for espionage, but also that its citizens would defect. Consequently, Georgiev arranged a secret meeting with a cultural attaché to the American Embassy in Sofia. They were set to meet at 3:00 pm on May 5, 1986 at a park bench in front of the National Theater.
Georgiev arrived at the meeting place early and saw the attaché approaching. Before the diplomat got to the bench, two men abducted Georgiev and transported him to a nearby building in which he was imprisoned in the basement. He was interrogated for several hours about his motives for contacting the American Embassy. Eventually, he was sent back to his house with his wife, where he was told to remain until contacted. The Bulgarian agent who originally questioned Georgiev visited him after two days and informed Georgiev that he would be allowed to travel to the United States on one condition; Georgiev was to serve as a spy for Bulgaria. He was given permission to leave Bulgaria for five months to study with Starker and was forced to leave his wife behind in Bulgaria. Georgiev made it to the United States on January 8, 1987 and would not set foot in Bulgaria again until after the fall of the Communist government.
When it became apparent that Georgiev was not serving as a spy and had no plans to return to Bulgaria, government officials began to get nervous. Georgiev’s wife at the time, Rossitza Dontcheva Georgiev, had applied for a passport and visa to travel in 1987, and when she went to the police station to collect the documents, government officials were waiting for her. Rossitza was interrogated, and after it was ascertained that she could speak English, she was told that she was to travel to the United States to find and retrieve her husband, acting as a spy for the Bulgarian government for the forty days she was allotted for the task. Ultimately, Rossitza would travel to the United States and remain with her husband.
Physical residency in the United States did not mean that Lubomir Georgiev was safe against reprisal from the Bulgarian government for his defection. Georgiev had been scheduled for a five-concert tour in Japan during the Summer of 1987. As his status as a political refugee in the United States was not official yet, Georgiev technically was a Bulgarian citizen still, and the country would not issue the required permissions for him to travel to Japan, thus sabotaging his performance tour. Eventually, the Japanese Embassy did intervene, and the Bulgarian government did issue the permission, but it was issued five days after the tour began, making it impossible for Georgiev to participate in the tour.
Although performing was impossible for Georgiev immediately after defecting to the United States, he was able to indulge in his original purpose. Once at Indiana University, Georgiev thrived, studying not only with János Starker, but with such great musicians as Fritz Magg and David Baker. He graduated with his Artist’s Diploma in Cello Performance from the Indiana University School of Music in 1988. This was an important year, as Georgiev officially was granted asylum on November 22, 1988. With protection granted by the United States, Georgiev was able to find employment, serving as principal cellist of the Richmond Symphony in Indiana from 1989 to 1993.
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| Georgiev with student |
After settling in the United States, Georgiev became known as a teacher and performer. Georgiev was hired as an Assistant Professor of Cello at Florida State University (FSU) and began serving as principal cellist for the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra in 1993. He made multiple appearances as a soloist, in addition to performing in chamber ensembles. In 1995, after the fall of Communism in Bulgaria, Georgiev even returned to his birthplace of Varna on a tour to perform and teach a new generation of Eastern European cellists.
The UNC Greensboro Cello Music Collection of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections & University Archives is excited to provide exposure and access to Lubomir Georgiev’s collection, bringing attention to the public the story of his life and providing support to researchers and performers. Once the manuscript compositions are processed and cataloged, there are plans to provide free digital access to Georgiev’s compositions and arrangements (copyright permitting), permitting researchers worldwide to explore Georgiev as a composer and allowing performers the opportunity to bring his music to life. Additionally, the collection includes materials that can be incorporated into class instruction, including the paperwork relating to his petition for asylum in the United States. Lubomir Georgiev is in good company among the other cellists represented in the UNC Greensboro Cello Music Collection, masters of their instrument and many of whom were political refugees.
Consisting of the archival collections of sixteen cellists, the UNC Greensboro Cello Music Collection constitutes the largest single holding of cello music-related material worldwide.
