Liya Petrova: Artist-in-Residence, 2026–27

Artist-in-Residence, 2026–27 at Cadogan Hall

Liya Petrova was revealed to the international scene in 2016 when she took First Prize at the Carl Nielsen International Competition in Denmark.

She has performed with orchestras worldwide including the Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, China National Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lyon and Orchestre National de Bordeaux. In August 2025, she made a hugely successful debut at the BBC Proms playing Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Nil Venditti.

She plays chamber music regularly with Alexandre Kantorow, and has performed with many leading musicians. Liya is a regular guest of chamber music festivals, including the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festspiele, Rheingau Festival, Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival, La Folle Journee, La Roque d’Antheron International Festival and Rencontres Musicales d’Evian.

Liya has been recording for the French label Mirare since 2020. In spring 2025, she presented her latest album, featuring the Korngold Violin Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Duncan Ward and the Strauss Violin Sonata with pianist Alexandre Kantorow, to huge critical acclaim.

Liya was born in Bulgaria into a family of musicians and studied at Brussels’ Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth, the Hochschule für Musik Hans Eisler Berlin and Haute Ecole de Musique in Lausanne. She has now been based in Paris for many years and plays a Stradivarius violin made in 1721 on loan from a private sponsor, as well as the ‘Consolo’, made in 1733 by Guarneri del Gesù, on loan from the Bulgarian State.

What excites you most about performing with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra this season?

Simply getting back with the Orchestra! I love the RPO. I felt very inspired during our previous collaborations by their natural way of shaping sound and music, and I’m extremely excited about this residency! Most collaborations between a soloist and an orchestra are very brief, even if repeated over time, while a residency allows a relationship to grow deeper: performing several times over a short period of time induces the kind of trust that creates common intuition, freedom and allows greater risk-taking during performances.

Beyond the music-making, I’m also very much looking forward to getting to know the musicians of the Orchestra personally and being part of RPO’s world and community during this season.

Of course, a paramount part of this journey is the audience. It is with and for them that we will create together this eclectic musical ecosystem over these three concerts.

You’ll be performing violin concertos by Sibelius, Beethoven and Stravinsky this season. What draws you to these contrasting works?

When choosing the pieces for this season, my thoughts were focused primarily on the RPO and Cadogan Hall, more than about the repertoire already planned in my personal season.  

The Beethoven Violin Concerto [Thursday 29 April 2027] is in my opinion more a symphony than a concerto. The orchestra is the main protagonist through almost the entire piece. I have had a deep connection with this work for many years. To me it feels like a letter addressed to humanity – full of love and hope. And what a dream to perform it with RPO and Delyana Lazarova.

The Sibelius Concerto [Thursday 8 October 2026] is a totally different world. I imagine endless Nordic landscapes, but also a very strongly human element. In my mind I see an elderly person sitting by the fire, in nature, and telling the story of her life to her grandchildren. A story of fighting against time and destiny, of love and passion, resilience and courage.

The Stravinsky Concerto [Thursday 24 June 2027], which will end the residency, is like a complex chamber music piece. Every player on stage has an equally important role, and there are many duets between violin and the winds, the brass and the leader. The piece was inspired by Bach’s Double Concerto and it is a celebration of communication through music. Finishing this residency with it made a lot of sense to me, as we will know each other better and better through the course of the season.

Tell us about your journey to becoming a violinist. What first sparked your passion for the violin, and how did that passion develop into a career?

I had quite an unusual musical start. I was obsessed with violin, the old recordings of Michael Rabin and Christian Ferras that we had at home, and I was asking my parents from the age of three to buy me a violin. But the situation back then in Bulgaria wasn’t easy for musicians, so my parents didn’t agree for me to play violin. My uncle was a violinist and a musician though, and I asked him to find me a little violin, and to teach me how to play it… A few months later, everyone eventually agreed to let me to go on, and from my first concert with orchestra (aged five) onwards, my parents have supported me endlessly in my musical path until this very day.

As Artist-in-Residence, you’ll work closely with the orchestra throughout the season. What do you value most in the relationship between soloist and orchestra?

For me, playing with an orchestra is very much like playing chamber music. Listening is at the centre of everything – the music begins to breathe when we are fully attentive and responsive to one another. I love the exchange of energy that happens on stage with an orchestra – the space becomes full of movement and response. And the sound… it carries us.

What do you hope audiences take away from your performances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Cadogan Hall this season?

For me a concert is a truly unique experience. I try during each one of my performances to create a strong emotional connection with the audience and the musicians - something very sincere and human. Through that, I hope we create this shared energy – a moment where we communicate and give something to each other through music.