Bulgarian composer. He studied composition with Mascagni at the Pesaro Conservatory (1901-3), then returned to Bulgaria, where he became well known as a military bandmaster. In 1922-23 he conducted the Sofia National Opera. Atanasov was the first Bulgarian professional composer of opera. His lyrical, romantic style shows the influence of late 19th-century Italian opera, but is primarily melodic and also bears traces of folk idioms. He achieved dramatic effects by the alternation of contrasting numbers.
