Danail Rachev was born in Shumen, Bulgaria and trained at the State Musical Academy in Sofia, where he received degrees in orchestral and choral conducting. He moved to the United States to study at the Peabody Conservatory on a full scholarship, graduating in 2001. His conducting teachers have included Gustav Meier, Michael Tilson Thomas, Vassil Kazandjiev, David Zinman, and Leonard Slatkin. In 2002 Rachev was appointed the first ever Conducting Fellow of the New World Symphony, and followed this with acclaimed collaborations with the Dallas Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he served as Assistant Conductor. Since 2009 he has been Music Director of the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, succeeding previous Music Directors Marin Alsop, Miguel Harth-Bedoya and Giancarlo Guerrero.
Recent engagements for Rachev have included debuts with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonica de Asturias, Auckland Philharmonia in New Zealand and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony in Tokyo. Upcoming highlights include a return to the London Philharmonic for the third time following his successful debut in 2009, subscription concerts with the Bournemouth Symphony and the Gelders Orkest, and engagements across the USA.
Rachev was appointed Music Director of the Eugene Symphony in July 2009. He oversees all artistic activities of the orchestra, conducts its symphonic series and programmes all of the orchestra’s concert activities. Eugene Symphony Executive Director Paul Winberg commented that “Danail’s musicianship and passion for music were evident from our very first meeting. He is a true artist and will continue to build on the proud tradition of great conductors leading our orchestra.” In 2011/12 Rachev will collaborate with such artists as Midori, Emanuel Ax and Dawn Upshaw in Eugene.
Rachev was Assistant Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 2008-2010 and the Dallas Symphony from 2005-2008, where he led numerous public concerts and education programmes. Of his main series debut the Dallas Morning News wrote: "One of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's best concerts of the past year....start to finish, assistant conductor Danail Rachev got the music unfailingly right, and viscerally compelling." He also conducted regular concerts with the New World Symphony that met with consistent critical acclaim. In his native Bulgaria Rachev has worked with several ensembles including the Russe State Opera, where he led performances of Donizetti's Don Pasquale and Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
Danail Rachev is represented by Intermusica.
September 2011 / 381 words. Not to be altered without permission. Please destroy all previous biographical material.
“There's no denying the Bulgarian-born conductor can light a fire under an orchestra and smoke out exciting musical moments.
This version [of Stravinsky's Suite from The Firebird] for a standard-size orchestra sounded even bigger, and Rachev told a story that left you eagerly wondering how it would end.”
The GR Press, January 2011
“The concert commenced with a lively, sprightly performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C major.…Maestro Danail Rachev led a spirited, energetic and fun rendition of the piece….Always proactive, our maestro seemed extra emotive in this performance. He certainly brought out the best in the players.”
Eugene Register-Guard, January 2011
“I truly admired this orchestra’s playing of Petrushka. The score is chock full of devilishly tricky meter changes and polyrhythms, all of which Rachev’s orchestra navigated without the slightest hitch. The conductor (who had preceded the performance with a verbal summary of the story line) brought out the dramatic elements of the score wonderfully, and the music sparkled with vitality.”
Eugene Register-Guard, October 2010
“At centre stage, conductor Danail Rachev showed a happy disposition that naturally infected the BSO’s ever-willing players to toe the line, here readily evoking a line of camels lugubriously swaying through desert heat in the Arabian Dance from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite.”
Bournemouth Echp, October 2010
“The performance was something of a Schubertian lovefest, with Rachev shaping the dance forms with flexible affection and the orchestra mustering plentiful elegance…the orchestra responded to their guest’s leadership with playing of subtle and cohesive allure.”
Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 2010
“The test for any orchestra with Brahms' Fourth Symphony comes a few pages into the first movement when the woodwind takes over the main theme and puts it through a complex orchestral weave; Rachev achieved the perfectly translucent texture here and the leggiero that Brahms demands. Detail and balance were a priority in the Andante moderato, and there was a real glow to what might be seen as slightly reticent scoring. The mighty Allegro energico last movement gave us yearning strings and striding vigour in a marvellously sustained finale to the concert.”
NZ Herald, November 2010
“Who knew that Rimsky-Korsakov's overworked Scheherazade could actually sound fresh and really exciting? It took the DSO assistant conductor, the Bulgarian-born Mr. Rachev, to do just that, with deliciously seductive solos from concertmaster Emanuel Borok. No wonder DSO musicians like Mr. Rachev so much.”
Dallas Morning News, December 2007