Exactly eight decades ago in Dresden a “George the Victory-Bearer” was born to the astonishment and some envy on the part of the Germans. His birth is a remarkable event not only for his family but also for generations of Bulgarians and foreigners alike whom he led down the path of music igniting their love for the accordion that has been giving meaning to their lives since then.
The house in Dresden where Georgi Galabov was born.
Georgi Galabov with his mother - Doctor Tania Galabova
Georgi Galabov with his students in the beginning of his career.
Playing in the International Youth Festival in Moscow
Hosts and participants in Bistrica Contest
The first ten years he left irremovable traces in Germany which his daughter, Tanya, has been nurturing to the present day.
The second decade of Georgi Galabov’s life was rather revolutionary because it was marked by his family’s return to Bulgaria before 9 September 1944. At that time there was neither music classes, nor accordion training at the secondary schools in Bulgaria.
Three important pieces of evidence documented the third decade of Georgi Galabov’s life – the wedding certificate, the diploma from the Music Academy and the birth of his daughter, Tatyana. She has been bravely following his father’s steps and at present she is a renowned accordion pedagogue in Germany.
In 1959 Georgi Galabov received a medal as a solo accordionist at the International Youth Festival in Moscow. It was then that he also started his active pedagogical activity which spanned more than 60 years. To the several generations of students with whom he met, Music and the Accordion turned into their destiny. Anyone who has had the pleasure to be his student has seen his vast knowledge, his remarkable sense of humour, his unlimited skills and pedagogical mastery.
The following decades were full of work, a lot of work – he was a teacher at the National Music Academy in Sofia, at the National Music and Dance Academy in Plovdiv. He worked as a consultant in many cities in Bulgaria where there were accordion classes.
An important part of his life was his work as a jury member at the National Accordion Contest in the town of Chirpan between 1971 and 1993 and at the International Accordion Contest in Klingenthal, Germany (1964 – 1991), 27 years in total!
In 1999 Georgi Galabov established in his home in the village of Bistritsa “Accordionist” National Club. His home was open to all accordion lovers and turned into a huge stage on which both children and adults performed anticipating the critical judgment of their teacher. At the entrance instead of a sign you will find a treble clef which attracts as a magnet, inspires and gives courage for creating music.
Throughout his whole life Georgi Galabov worked towards his dream – recognition for the accordion as the most beautiful and the richest music instrument.
