About me


Born in Sofia in 1961. He begins to study piano (private lessons) at age 6 with Mrs. Margarita Hlebarova, then graduates Music College “L. Pipkov” in the class of Mrs. Lyudmila Stoyanova. In 1984 he finish Bachelor and Master degree in Bulgarian State Conservatory (now National Music Academy “Pancho Vladigerov”) in Prof. PhD. Atanas Kourtev class.
Laureate of several national and international competitions:
First prize at the National Competition “Svetoslav Obretenov”, 1980.
Third prize at the International Competition in Salerno, Italy, 1981.
First prize at National Competition “Karol Szymanowski”, 1982.
Third prize at the International Competition “Pilar Bayona” – Spain – 1983.
The only prize in the competition for the best performance of Spanish music from the course in Santiago de Compostela, 1984.
1993 – specialization at the Royal Conservatory, Brussels, piano /piano concerto/ chamber music and Lied accompaniment.
Rostislav Yovchev actively performs as a soloist and chamber musician not only in Bulgaria but also in Germany, Belgium, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Cyprus, Turkey, South Korea , Tunisia and others. He takes part in the most prestigious festivals in the country and abroad, “Salon des Arts”, “Sofia Music Weeks”, “Varna Summer”, “Hopes, Talents, Masters”, “Apollonia” (Bulgaria), “Filarmonika”, “Music in October in Carthage”, Tunisia, etc.
He gives master classes in Bulgaria /Sozopol, Shumen, Pleven/,  Korea /Seoul/, Romania /Iasi/, Turkey /Ankara/, Trieste /Italy/
Numerous records of Radio Sofia, Warsaw, Berlin and Zaragoza. He has release CDs: performance of the solo works of Andrei Stoyanov, in a chamber ensemble with cellist Ventsislav Nikolov /for “Gega New”/ flutist Ina Georgieva and Korean clarinetist Yo Yangde and with Turkish viola player Bediz Kanikli ( works of azerbaidjanian composer Hatira Cafer).
During two years (2002-2004), Rostislav Yovchev is piano professor at the “Institute Superieure de Musique”- Sousse, Rep. of Tunisia.
He is at the piano jury of national competitions – “Sv. Obretenov”, “Classical and Contemporary”, “Liszt – Bartok”, “Andrei Stoyanov”, “Great Teachers” and a Competition for young accompanists in Pleven.
In the last years, the programs of his piano recitals are all thematically dedicated to specific authors and eras.
His repertoire covers all styles and ages, as it includes some large and rarely performed works – “Variations on a Waltz by Diabelly” by Beethoven, The Great Sonata of Tchaikovsky,  Suite “Iberia” by Isaac Albenis, almost all solo works by Bela Bartok and many Bulgarian  works.
During the period 2006 –  2008, Rostislav Yovchev performs integral all Piano Concertos by  L. v. Beethoven”, accompanied by Shumen Philharmonic.
Winner of the “Cristal Lyre” of the Union of Bulgarian Musicians and Dancers in two categories: “Instrumentalists” and “Music critic” for 2011 and the “Golden Lyre” .
In June 2013, he receives the degree “PhDoctor” with a theme related to the Bulgarian piano music.
Rostislav Jovchev is a Piano professor at the National Music Academy “Pancho Vladigerov” in Sofia, and a Head of the Department – “Piano” to Theory, Composition and Conducting Department.