Liya Petrova was revealed to the international scene in 2016 when she took First Prize at the Carl Nielsen competition in Denmark, chaired by Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider.
Two years later, she recorded the Nielsen and Prokofiev’s first concertos with Odense Philharmonic and Kristiina Poska for Orchid Classics. This first album earned her international acclaim: London’s Sunday Times admired her “gorgeous sound — ripe and silvery, phrasing with majestic breadth”. Pizzicato in Germany also qualified her sound as “silvery and pure” while Gramophone praised her “exceptional tonal variety [in] a marvelous disc”. The Strad was impressed by her “natural virtuosity” while Classical Music magazine finds her interpretation of the Nielsen concerto “staggeringly good [and] intensely lyrical”.
As a soloist, Petrova is the guest of orchestras such as Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Antwerp Symphony, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC NOW, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Weimar, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Brussels Philharmonic, Norddeutsche Philharmonie, China National Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Kansai Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre National de Bordeaux, Orchestre National des Pays de Loire, Sinfonia Varsovia, Odense Symphony Orchestra, with such leading conductors as Elim Chan, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Tan Dun, Duncan Ward, Martyn Brabbins…
She plays chamber music regularly with Alexandre Kantorow, and has performed with many wonderful musicians such as Beatrice Rana, Emmanuel Pahud, Pablo Ferrandez, Martha Argerich, Nicholas Angellich, Yuri Bashmet, Mischa Maisky, Renaud Capuçon, Augustin Dumay, James Ehnes, Frank Braley…
Liya has been recorded for the French label Mirare since 2020. In spring 2023, she presented her latest album, Momentum 1, a stunning Walton and Respighi album featuring the Walton concerto with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Duncan Ward and Respighi’s sonata with pianist Adam Laloum.