As a child Ghiaurov was extremely musical, learning to play the violin, clarinet and trombone while also studying drama, which was his initial career choice. While serving in the army however, in which he conducted and played the clarinet, he was heard singing by an officer, who recommended him to Hristo Brambarov, a singing teacher and prominent baritone in Sofia who had trained in Italy. Studying with Brambarov at the Bulgarian State Conservatory from 1949, Ghiaurov learnt not only the Russian style of singing but also the Italian, which was unusual for Slavic singers at that time. Later he credited his vocal longevity to never pushing his voice in these early years: during his first year of study he worked on only one octave, just doing vocal exercise...