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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January 2024

An Algarvian Affair

Alissa is honoured to be invited back to the Amigos de Musica of the Algarve for the 4th time to play chamber music with Tim Hugh and Andrew Marriner in June. After an inspire-trip leading to her Algarvia for violin and piano in 2019, Alissa is looking forward to strengthening her musical friendship further with this very special and warm group of music lovers in such a beautiful part of the world, run by their delightful president, Helga Hampton. Here is an article about Algarvia in German.

January 2024

75th Anniversary of WPO

As president of the Worthing Philharmonic Orchestra, Alissa is looking forward to celebrate their 75th Season as pianist, composer and conductor in March. She will be joining the orchestra for the 4th time under the baton of her dear friend and colleague from the Royal Academy of Music, Dominic Grier, in Beethoven’s Emperor concerto and will be taking over the baton for her own To Spring for choir and orchestra, a composition she wrote in memory of her father, Dmitri Smirnov, set to a poem by William Blake. Here is an extract from their Rachmaninoff Paganini Rhapsody in 2017

January 2024

Bride of the Wind

Alissa’s orchestral tone-poem, Die Windsbraut is being truly swept up around the world this Season: inspired by the stormy love-story of Kokoschka and Alma Mahler, as well as his painting, bearing the same title as the composition, it will see its Spanish, Swiss and Canadian premieres with the Barcelona, Bern and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, conducted by Gemma New and Alexander Soddy. Here is an article about it during its performances by the Houston Symphony in 2022.

Media

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COMPOSITIONS

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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)