Alissa Firsova is a British-Russian pianist, composer and conductor. She made her Wigmore Hall and Proms debuts in 2009 and has enjoyed collaborations with Camerata RCO, Daniel Rowland, Tim Hugh, Andrew Marriner, Mark Padmore and many others.
Since winning the BBC Proms Young Composer Competition in 2001, she received three commissions for the Proms, writing for the Royal Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic and Southbank Sinfonia together with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. Her music was also performed by the NTO Mannheim, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Netherlands Blazer Ensemble, Dante and Tippett quartets, Henning Kraggerud, Imogen Cooper and conductors, Andrew Litton, Mark Wigglesworth, Alexander Soddy, Leo McFall and Jessica Cottis, to name a few.
Alissa recorded her debut solo piano (Russian Émigrés) and composer portrait (Fantasy) CD’s on Vivat and her Stabat Mater, recorded by The Sixteen, was featured in Gramophone’s Top 10 Compositions by Women. Her recital for the Amsterdam Piano Series, including her transcription of Mahler’s Adagietto, was released on Vinyl by Gutman Records in 2020. She enjoyed her triple debut with the English Chamber Orchestra as conductor, composer and pianist in 2013 in the Cadogan Hall and is currently Artistic Director of the Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival.
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Biography
Reviews
High res images
Concerts
In Spiritu at Roman River Festival
Rachmaninoff Trio élégiaque No. 1
Prokofiev Violin Sonata No. 1
Pärt Spiegel im Spiegel
A. Firsova In Spiritu world premiere*
Beethoven “Ghost” Trio Op. 70, No. 1
Daniel Rowland violin
Sébastian van Kuijk cello
Alissa Firsova piano
- Concert
- St Mary's Church, Dedham
Concerts in India
Mozart Sonata in E minor
Prokofiev Violin Sonata No. 1
A. Firsova Algarvia Indian premiere*
Brahms Sonata No. 3
Daniel Rowland violin
Alissa Firsova piano
- Concert
- Pune
Concerts in India
Mozart Sonata in E minor
Prokofiev Violin Sonata No. 1
A. Firsova Algarvia Indian premiere*
Brahms Sonata No. 3
Daniel Rowland violin
Alissa Firsova piano
- Concert
- Mumbai
Memorial Concert for Tony Edwards in St. Peter’s, St. Albans
Mahler/A. Firsova Adagietto
A selection of piano duets
- Concert
- St. Peter's, St. Albans
Albums
Lugubre Gondola
Chopin, Bartók, Liszt, Wagner/Liszt, Mahler/Firsova, Beethoven
Fantasy – Alissa Firsova
Tippett Quartet, Mark van de Wiel clarinet, Tim Hugh cello, Ellie Laugharne soprano, Nicholas Crawley bass, Simon Mulligan piano, Alissa Firsova piano
Russian Visions
20th-Century Music for Cello & Piano
Bozidar Vukotic, cello - Alissa Firsova, piano
Songs of the World
Track 15, 16, 17. Alissa Firsova, Psappha, Stepen Barlow, Daisy Brown.
News
Die Windsbraut flies to Ottawa & Wiesbaden
Alissa is delighted that her orchestral piece, Die Windsbraut Op. 38, is continuing to make the rounds: Gemma New brings it to the NAC centre in Ottawa in September and it will be performed in Germany again in June 2027 for the first time since its world premiere in NTO Mannheim in 2018, this time conducted by Leo McFall in Wiesbaden.
Concerts with Daniel Rowland
Alissa is looking forward to share some concerts this Autumn with one of her favourite partners in crime, Daniel Rowland. As well as returning to the Roman River Festival in Oct, where they shall be giving the world premiere of a new trio of hers, they will also be making their premiere performances in India in Nov, including Alissa's Algarvia, written for Daniel!
Joseph Haas Album
The "Complete Violin & Piano Works of Joseph Haas" Album on ARS with Ludmila Pavlová proved to be a huge success. Here are a few examples of the rave reviews it received:
"The fact that this album is a joy in every respect is due above all to the two performers, who find exactly the right tone for each of the works... ...Their interpretations—at times cheerfully playful, at others deeply sorrowful—are marked by great empathy and balanced in the very best sense of the word. I am just as delighted by Pavlová’s warm, emotionally rich violin tone as I am by Firsova’s flawless piano playing; the two truly form a perfect unity. The sound quality of the CD could hardly be better, and the cover artwork is also a real pleasure to look at. All in all, this is an album that presents the unfortunately still widely underappreciated composer Joseph Haas in the best possible light and absolutely makes one curious to hear more recordings of his music." (Klassik Heute) "The two performers imbue the musical material with maximum expressiveness and fully do justice to the charm of the suites." (Pizzicato) https://classical.music.apple.com/de/album/1889110512
Read more
https://orchestergraben.com/joseph-haas-fuer-violine-und-klavier-eine-wiederentdeckung/
https://www.operius.de/post/joseph-haas-erklingt-in-beeindruckenden-weltersteinspielungen-ars-produktion-2026-ludmila-pavlov
https://www.pizzicato.lu/ersteinspielungen-der-violinwerke-von-joseph-haas/
https://www.klassik-heute.de/4daction/www_medien_einzeln/25449
Media
Click on the image to play the video.
Alissa Firsova, Fantasy
Alissa Firsova, Russian Émigrés
Mahler Adagietto, Alissa Firsova piano
Alissa Firsova, Songs of the World
Shostakovich Trio No. 2 Mvts 3 & 4
Elena Firsova, Violin Concerto
COMPOSITIONS
Click on the titles for more details.
Op. 51 – Spell of Creation – A Symphony in Four Songs for contralto and symphony orchestra
Op.1 – Les Pavots for Solo Piano
Op.2 – Strength Through Joy for Symphony Orchestra
Op.3 – Three Pieces for cello and piano
Op.4 – The Entire City for String Quintet
Op.5 – I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in heaven for Wind and String Ensemble
Op.6 – Rhapsody for Solo Violin
Op.7 – Lyrisches Stuck for Viola and Piano
Op.8 – Prophet for Mixed Chorus
Op.9 – ‘Expressions’ Eternity & Awaiting for clarinet and piano / Victory for bass clarinet solo
Op.10 – Loss for Clarinet and String Quartet
Op.11 – The Endless Corridor for Piano
Op.12 – Birth of Remembrance for Flute, Clarinet, Violin and Cello
Op.13 – Lune Rouge for Piano
Op.14 – Age of Reason for String Quartet
Op.15 – Celebration for Clarinet, Flute, Violin and Cello
Op.16 – Tamaris for two cellos
Op.17 – Bluebells for piano solo, clarinet, horn, string quartet and percussion (3rd mov of Family Concerto, In memory of Dmitri Shostakovich – family project)
Op.18 – Paradiso for String Quartet (3rd mov of Divine Comedy – family project)
Op.19 – Freedom (Clarinet Concerto)
Op.20 – Zhivago Songs to Boris Pasternak’s poems for voice and piano
Op.21 – Moonlight over the Sea based on Munch’s painting for Solo Violin
Op.22 – Chateau de Canisy for Voice and Piano
Op.23 – Souvenir Melancolique for Clarinet and Horn
Bach Allegro for large symphony orchestra (transcription of the 3rd mov of Bach’s 3rd Viola da Gamba Sonata BWV 1029)
Op.24 – Kubla Khan for tenor, bayan, violin and cello (5th mov of family project)
Op.25 – Gallo Variations for chamber orchestra
Op.26 – Unity for bass-baritone and piano
Op.27 – Serenade for Strings for string orchestra
Op.28 – Paradisi Gloria for SATB choir a cappella
Op.29 – Fantasy for cello and piano
Op.30 – Stabat Mater for SATB choir a cappella
Op.31 – Bergen’s Bonfire for Symphony Orchestra
Op.32 – Tree of Hope for 4 Harps
Op.33 – Le Soleil de Conques for 2 solo cellos and string orchestra
Op.34 – Bride of the Wind for piano-duet
Op.35 – Asiago Concerto for piano trio and chamber orchestra
Op.36 – Tennyson Fantasy Op. 36 for string quartet
Op.37 – Ascent to Freedom & In search of…Paradise for soprano and piano
Op.38 – Die Windsbraut for symphony orchestra
Op.39 – Spring Haiku for soprano and piano (part of family cycle)
Op.40 – If a thing loves, it is infinite… for string quartet
Op.41 – The Good Morrow for choir a cappella
Op.42 – Algarvia for violin and piano
Op.43 – Red Fox for choir and symphony orchestra
Op.44 – Songs of the World for soprano and ensemble
Op.45 – Pastorale for piano solo
Op.46 – To Spring for choir and orchestra
Op.47 – Lilacs for soprano and piano
Op.48 – Te amo for mezzo-soprano and piano
Op.49 – Reunion for clarinet, cello and piano
Op.50 – Stages for trumpet and strings
Op. 52 – Into the Light for soprano and piano