The Bulgarian-born violinist Liya Petrova is a First Prize
Winner at the International Carl Nielsen Violin Competition 2016
in Denmark.
She is praised for her “Effortless virtuosity” ( The Strad ) , “Exceptional tonal variety “ ( Gramophone ) and “Gorgeous sound - ripe and silvery; Phrasing with majestic breadth”
( The Times ).
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 the Odense Philharmonic and Estonian conductor Kristiina Poska for Orchid Classics. This first album earned her international acclaim from the press : London’s Sunday Times admired her « gorgeous sound - ripe and silvery, phrasing with majestic breadth » 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 the Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de RadioFrance, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Antwerp Symphony, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, Staatskapelle Weimar, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Brussels Philharmonic,
Norddeutsche Philharmonie, Kansai Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre National de Bordeaux, Orchestre National des Pays de Loire, Sinfonia Varsovia, Odense Symphony Orchestra, with such leading conductors as Elim Chan, Stanislas Kochanovsky, Duncan Ward, Philippe Herreweghe, Krzysztof Penderecki, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Marzena Diakun, Alexander Liebreich, Mihhail Gerts, Kristiina Poska, Yan Tortelier, Xian Zhang, Ariane Matiakh, Roberto Minasi, Christopher Warren-Green, Michel Tabachnik or Jesús López Cobos.