Petko Radev is a phenomenon in the musical performing art of Bulgaria. For several decades now he has managed, thanks to his talent and impressing experience, to stay at the summit of performance as clarinetist. Together with the pianist Maria Prinz, another perfect musician, he presents in this CD a selected programme interpreted with taste, which begins with the splendid Sonata for Clarinet and Piano by Brahms. In it the artistic class of the duo stands out. The CD ends with the remarkable piece of the Bulgarian composer and bassoonist Marin Valtchanov. Petko Radev makes an exceptionally strong impression with his highly individual manner of phrasing and sound expression, as well as with the beauty and the specific melodiousness of the tone - mild, subtle and expressive. He has mastered to perfection the secrets of his instrument and this permits him to create a picturesque, emotional, temperamental music. This kind of music cannot be forgotten. The sonatas by Brahms and Poulenc demonstrate the artistic freedom and interpreting skills of Petko Radev and his partner. Maria Prinz matches her part with the clarinet with a lot of taste and precision, without imposing but at the same time attracting delicately the interest towards the piano.
 
Recorded in Bulgaria Concert Hall, Sofia, April 2000