Education

[Ani]

Education

Peter first went to school in Hadarcha and Novi Pazar where his father was a priest. After the liberation from the Ottoman domination, in 1879, he continued his education at the Bulgarian school in Varna. He lived with the family of his sister Maria. His infinite kind-heartedness often amazed those around him. On one occasion, when all of Maria's laundry was stolen from the wash-line, his only comment was: "Don't be sad. It seems someone needed our clothes; he must have been poorer than us. Let them be a gift from us! We can patch up our old clothes..."

It was in his sister's home that Dunov first encountered Methodism, one of the branches of Protestantism. Maria's husband, Peter Stamov, was a Methodist pastor, and people came together for prayer in their home every week. Peter was impressed by the applied Christianity preached by John Wesley and felt an urge to become its follower. From an early age, Peter Dunov sought an insight into what Christ had taught 2000 years before, sought to walk his way. He started making plans to dedicate his life to uncovering the secrets of the spirit. Along with his classes at school, Peter Dunov started taking violin lessons. His love of music was profound and whole-hearted, and he studied enthusiastically. His first teacher helped him with the technique of violin playing but left no lasting impression on him. His real inspiration came from his second teacher, a Czech who had settled in Varna after the country's liberation. His lessons were far from traditional. They lasted for hours during which the teacher's virtuosity in playing was sufficient to make the listening student happy and satisfied. The notes' charge attracted the sensitive student to the mysterious world of music. To the end of his days, Dunov never parted with his violin. He studied in detail its expressive potential and achieved exceptional results through its magic influence on the listeners.

 

Peter Dunov about his violin teacher:

"When I went there, he never examined me. I would sit down, and he would take the violin and play. I listened to him enthralled. Owing to this method of teaching, I fell in love with music. He examined other students, he got angry when they played out of tune, threw his hands up and walked out. Later, however, when he regained control, he would go back and show the student how to play it right. When all other students went home, it was my turn and he immediately started to play. For years I was learning from his beautiful playing."

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