Bulgarian pianist, Anna Petrova, is praised for her “artistic, clear and enlightened” performances [BBC Magazine.]
At her New York orchestral debut with conductor Philippe Entremont, shortly followed by a second invitation, Petrova was noted for her “ultra-smooth playing style”- New York Fine Arts Examiner. She is an Assistant Professor of Piano at University of Louisville, KY and performs extensively as a soloist and chamber musician.
Engagements for the 2017-2018 season include a CD release tour of Norway and Spain (Centaur Records, 2018), chamber music tours with the Iris trio in North-America and Germany with an innovative program featuring contemporary composers, and return solo appearances in the US and Spain. She has been involved intensely in the founding and launching of the Alberto Jonás International School of Music in Valencia, Spain, which will open its door this June. Currently, she is working on a two-CD set of the complete piano sonatas of Russian composer Samuil Feinberg for NAXOS. A solo recital CD as well as a number of chamber music recordings will be released on Centaur Records in 2018.
Highlights of recent seasons include a recording of Stravinsky’s Les Noces with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and conductor JoAnn Falletta, Virginia Arts Festival (NAXOS, 2016); a solo tour of Chile; a masterclass and solo recital in Beijing, China, and performances of Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini, Prokofiev First and Third Piano Concertos, and the Beethoven Triple Concerto. At her return engagement with the Monterey Symphony Orchestra, CA, the Peninsula Reviews wrote: “There was a lot of vitality in her crisp playing […]bringing out in Petrova an impetuous excitement that stirred the audience to its feet at its conclusion.”- Lyn Bronson.
Prizewinner of numerous international competitions, including the José Roca (Spain), Bösendorfer (Bulgaria) and Maria Yudina (Russia), Petrova was a semifinalist at the Queen Elizabeth International Piano Competition in Belgium, where she performed as a soloist with the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia under Paul Goodwin. Other conductors she has played with include Max Bragado-Darman, Bruno Aprea, Ramón Tébar, Francisco Valero – Terribas, and Jonathan Pasternack.
She has given solo recitals in halls such as Carnegie’s Weil Recital Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Brussels’ Conservatoire Royal, Chicago’s Preston Bradley Hall, Vienna’s Bösendorfer Hall, Auditorio Ciudad de Leon, Spain and Palau de la Musica Valencia, Spain.
Her performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio Performance Today, New York’s WQXR, Chicago’s WFMT, and Bulgarian National Radio and Television.
Petrova holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Manhattan School of Music, where her main teachers have been Horacio Gutiérrez and André-Michel Schub.
Her future engagements include Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto no. 2 with the Montgomery Symphony, a solo tour of China, concerto performances with the Iasi Philharmonic and Port Angeles Symphony, WA, chamber music performances and masterclasses in China and throughout Europe.