Nikolov’s creative output is large and diverse. It includes two operas, six symphonies, arrangements for chamber, symphony, and string orchestra, choral works, sonatas for various instruments. He also created the music for many theatrical productions and Bulgarian movies and documentaries. His works have been performed throughout Europe, and in Brazil, Canada, the USA, and elsewhere. He participated in international music festivals such as Warsaw Autumn (1962, 1964, 1968), the Zagreb Biennale (1967), and Viten (1998). He is the author of the book My World (1998), in which his thoughts are published in the form of a series of interviews. Also an active pedagogue, Nikolov taught at the State Music Academy from 1961, retiring as a full professor of score reading. He was twice proposed as a member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; the first time his place was taken by another candidate, and the second time he refused to accept the academic title due to exhaustion. He was a member of the Union of Bulgarian Composers, which he chaired from 1992 to 1999. He received two honorary doctorates, the first from the Academy for Musical, Dance, and Visual Arts (Plovdiv, 1997), and the second from the State Music Academy “Pancho Vladigerov” (Sofia, 2002). He was the recipient of the order “Stara Planina” in 1997. His wife was the Polish violinist Anna-Lydia Nikolova; Their son Ivaylo is a graduate of the National Music School in Sofia, and their daughter Detelina is an animator.