Short Bio

Pianist Lily Petrova has performed at major venues including Cadogan Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, the Southbank Centre, Steinway Hall and Bulgaria Hall. Known for her imaginative, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary approach to performance, she is a frequent guest of the Bulgarian Cultural Institute and will make her Wigmore Hall solo recital debut in February 2026.

She has appeared at festivals across Europe, including Piano Extravaganza (Bulgaria), the Bushey Festival, and the Royal Academy of Music Summer Piano Festival, where she took part in the first complete performance of Kurtág’s Játékok. She has received mentorship from Tabea Zimmermann, Dmitry Alexeev, Imogen Cooper and Steven Osborne.

Lily also leads an active interdisciplinary practice, collaborating with visual artist Kathy Hinde on audiovisual performance projects and creating new work involving live improvisation to silent film.

Alongside her performing career, Lily is the Director of the Maria Vraka Music Academy, where she has expanded the curriculum, significantly increased student enrolment, and launched a new Academy branch. She is also co-founder and trustee of the Maria Vraka Foundation, dedicated to accessible music education and supporting young artists. Find out more here.

An engaged chamber musician, Lily performs with violinist Takanori Okamoto as Duo de Compostela, and is a founding member of the contemporary Flux Ensemble. She currently studies with Joanna MacGregor CBE at the Royal Academy of Music as a Leverhulme Scholar.