Plamena Mangova was born in 1980 in Bulgaria and at a very early age became one of the most promising actively performing musicians of her generation. She studied with Prof. Marina Kapatsinskaya at the Pantcho Vladigerov State Academy of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria. In 1991, Plamena became a student of the renowned pianist and teacher Prof. Dmitri Bashkirov at the “Reina Sofia” High School of Music in Madrid where she studied for 4 years. Other teachers included Galina Egiezarova, Claudio Martinez-Mehner, Marta Gulyas and Eldar Nebolsin. In 2004 Mangova began her post graduate studies at the Queen Elisabeth College of Music, Brussels. Mangova specializes in performing the music of Schostakovich, Prokofiev, Gubaidulina, Yusupov, Schnittke, Barok, Martinu, Taneev and Lutoslawski.

Competition prizes and grants

Date: Winner at the “Citta di Stresa” International Music Competition and the Piano Competition in Koshitze, Slovakia.
Date: 3rd prize at the 8th Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition.
Date: While studying in Madrid, she received a prize for her excellence as a chamber musician, presented by Her Majesty Queen Sofia during a ceremony at the El Pardo and was awarded the “Grandos Prize” by Alicia de Larocha in Andorra.
2003: Won a prize together with the German violinist Alissa Margulis during the “Vittorio Gui” International Chamber Music Competition in Florence.
2006: Diapason d`Or in Paris.
2007: 2nd prize at the International Music Competition “Queen Elisabeth” in Brussel.

Orchestras

Mangova has played with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, the Northern Sinfonia of England, the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Santo Domingo National Orchestra. She has also performed under such acclaimed conductors as Jean-Bernard Pommier, Victor Pablo Perez and Peter Csaba.
Mangova has performed with chamber music partners such as the Ysaÿe String Quartet, and in addition with musicians such as Ronald van Spaendonck, Christian Ivaldi, Leon Fleischer, Rosalyn Tureck, Krystian Zimerman, Andras Shiff, Vitaly Margulis, Elisso Virsaladze, Alicia de Larrocha, Teresa Berganza, Igor Oistrach, Ralph Gothoni, Bruno Canino, Vadim Repin, Natalia Gutman and Frans Helmerson.

Music festivals

Mangova has appeared at the Verbier Festival and Academy, the “Musica Vitae” Vaxjo Festival in Sweden and the “Sofia Music Weeks” International Festival in Bulgaria.

In 2003 she became a laureate of the “Juventus” Festival in Cambrai (France).
In 2004 she participated in the “Carte Blanche for Maxim Vengerov” project in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in the Netherlands.

Concert tours

Highlights of her concert tours between 2000 and 2004 include European debuts in Paris (Theatre Chatelet and Auditorium Louvre), Brussels (Royal Opera La Monnaie, Flagey and the Great Hall of the Royal Conservatory), Madrid (Auditorio Nacional), Barcelona (Palau de la Musica Catalan), Salzburg (Mozarteum), Leeds (Great Hall of the University), Düsseldorf (Steinway Haus), Baden-Baden, Montpellier (Radio France International Festival, broadcast by MEZZO), Istanbul Piano Festival and Moscow.

Radio /TV and CD recordings

Numerous recordings and interviews have been broadcast by MEZZO, TV 2, ARTE, Radio France, BBC, Radio Classique, Bulgarian National Radio and TV and Moscow National Radio.
Sergei Prokofiev: Complete Violin Sonatas Tatiana Samouil (Violin), Plamena Mangova (Piano) by Cypres
2006 Dimitri Shostakovich Piano Sonata Nr. 2 – 24 Preludes