Alissa Firsova is a British-Russian pianist, composer and conductor. She made her Wigmore Hall and Proms debuts in 2009 and has performed in numerous concert halls and festivals throughout the world.

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.

Alissa has enjoyed close collaborations with Camerata RCO, Daniel Rowland, Tim Hugh, Andrew Marriner, Mark Padmore and many others.

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. 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.

Downloads:
Biography
Press Kit

Concerts

Fri 12 April 2024, 19:00

Canadian Premiere of Die Windsbraut in Vancouver

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Gemma New conductor

Sat 13 April 2024, 20:00

Canadian Premiere of Die Windsbraut in Vancouver

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Gemma New conductor

Thu 18 April 2024, 18:30

Swiss Premiere of Die Windsbraut

Bern Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Soddy conductor

Fri 19 April 2024, 18:30

Swiss Premiere of Die Windsbraut

Bern Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Soddy conductor

Sat 27 April 2024, 19:00

An Evening of Joseph Haas in Schloss Reimlingen

Alessia Schumacher soprano
Ludmila Pavlová violin
Alissa Firsova piano

Tue 4 June 2024

Chamber Music in the Algarve

Andrew Marriner clarinet
Tim Hugh cello
Alissa Firsova piano

Thu 6 June 2024

Chamber Music in the Algarve

Andrew Marriner clarinet
Tim Hugh cello
Alissa Firsova piano

Albums

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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  –  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 for Clarinet and Piano Op.9 – Eternity No. 1 for Clarinet and Piano Op.9 – Awaiting No. 2 for Clarinet and Piano 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 (Triple winds) 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 – Algarvi for violin and piano Op.43 – Red Fox for choir and chamber 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

News

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.