Boucourechliev started his musical career as a pianist, studying at the Sofia Conservatory and the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. In 1951 he earned his "licence de concert" and pursued a career as a concert pianist and a teacher. He began to compose in 1954 and has since then been active in that area as well as music criticism and musicology. Boucourechliev has composed with tape and indeterminate elements. The series Archipels (1967-72) gained him a respected reputation as a composer. The score for this work resembles a large navigational chart that contains an "archipelago" of musical structures which are designed as possibilities for the performer to employ. Although the structure is determined by the course of the performance, the players must listen and communicate in order for the work to be successful. ~ Lynn Vought, All Music Guide