Conductor Vladimir Ghiaurov presents two very popular composers. Both symphonies – the Tragic by Schubert and the Italian by Mendelssohn have been performed and recorded by major conductors and orchestras. This is a serious test for every conductor, but Vladimir Ghiaurov has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to cope with challenges. He grew up in a family of musicians (his mother was a pianist and his father is world-renowned bass Nicolai Ghiaurov) and graduated in piano at the “Giuseppe Verdi” conservatory in Milan, and after that in conducting and composition at the Music Academy in Vienna. In an interview, when asked about his teachers in conducting, Ghiaurov said: “ ... In the Vienna Academy, where I studied conducting, I received the necessary education as a conductor. But my meetings with major conductors, including those who worked with my father - this is the real big school. So usually I say that I am a student of many conductors of different generations. What you can learn from conductors like Abbado, Karajan, Bernstein by communicating with them, are things that no school can give you.” His debut as conductor is in 1980 in Italy. He has been guest conductor in opera houses and orchestras in France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, Denmark, Czech Republic, Hungary and others. In Bulgaria, he has been Chief Conductor of the Plovdiv Philharmonic for about ten years. Since 2003, he has been opening three consecutive seasons of the National Opera and Ballet in Sofia as a guest conductor of “Don Carlos”, “Macbeth” and “Othello”. Vladimir Ghiaurov has made recordings for the Bulgarian National Radio, Bulgarian National Television and record companies (Gega New released a CD featuring piano concertos of Liszt, Scriabin and Prokofiev, performed by Pavlina Dokovska and conducted by him – GD 318).