Dobrinka Tabakova is a Bulgarian-born composer (b. 1980), resident in Britain. As far as I can tell, she is no relation to the composer/conductor Emil Tabakov. She was Composer-in-Residence for the BBC Concert Orchestra in 2017, at which time her orchestral piece Timber & Steel was performed at the BBC Proms. From 202 to 2023 she became Composer-in-Residence with Manchester’s Hallé. At the same time, her fellow Bulgarian Delyana Lazarova held the position of the orchestra’s Assistant Conductor. This disc is the result of that artistic collaboration.

From the opening of the celebratory Orpheus’ Comet, you can hear that Tabakova has a mastery of orchestral forces. She knows how to blend the sections, and her writing has considerable polish. Like many of today’s composers, her harmony is tonal without adhering to a key centre. Simple major and minor chords form the basis of her music. 

She also shows a penchant for busy decorative passages (especially from the string soloists in the two concertos), which are pitted against the slow-moving progress of long-held chords underneath. If this...