Petar Vitanov

Petar Vitanov was the choir's pianist for 26 years, from 1959 to 1985 – "a pianist of the first rank" and a close adviser to the conductor. Many of the big works – Schumann's "Manfred", Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, "Invasion", Cherubini's Requiem – the choir first performed with him at the piano.

He sat on the panel that chose the singers for Gorizia, negotiated in Sofia for the 1972 Requiem concert and recording, and wrote about the victories in Gorizia and Cork in the Varna press. In Cork he accompanied the choir on the organ during a mass, and in 1984 he celebrated 25 years as its pianist. In the autumn of 1985 circumstances obliged him to leave the choir – the loss of an excellent musician.

From Stoyan Boychev's book (2006), pp. 273, 14–21, 42–61, 98–106, 199–203, 212–215, 291.