The Pianist Lilian Akopova

“What was being played almost became a minor matter in view of this woman’s incredible ability. Yet every single note under these fingers could be sure of its leading role. The pain in the slow part of Bach’s suite: piercing. Chopin’s melodies – scattered like fragrant petals. The rhythms in Ravel’s sound cosmos: a ticking time bomb. No doubt: Lilian Akopova is one of the greats, the very greats, a giant star in the sky of pianists and classical music.”

The pianist Lilian Akopova, who grew up in Kiev and now lives in Munich, has won several prizes at international competitions, including the F. Busoni, one of the most prestigious piano competitions of all. In 2014, she was awarded the ECHO Klassik prize.

At the invitation of Elisso Virsaladze, Lilian Akopova comes from Kiev to Munich, where she begins and completes her studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich. With honors. She attended formative master classes with Elisso Virsaladze, András Schiff, the “most versatile pianist of our time” and the legendary Paul Badura-Skoda. She is also a scholarship holder of numerous international foundations, including Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now.

Together with international piano star Martin Stadtfeld, one of the leading Bach inter-preters, she forms the duo Martin Stadtfeld & Lilian Akopova. Their debut in Augsburg in October 2022 is “frenetically celebrated by the audience with standing ovations” (Augsburger Allgemeine). In June 2023, the two recorded their first pieces together for Sony Classical.

10 CDs document her fascinating virtuosity, her breathtaking technique and her diverse musical styles. These include Bach, Bartók, Chopin, Enescu, Gershwin, Kapustin, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Rosenblatt, Schumann. Many of her concerts are broadcast by European radio and TV stations.

At the age of 13, she made her debut in one of the most famous concert halls in the world, the “Great Hall” of the Moscow Pyotr Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Since then she has performed in famous houses such as the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Musikverein Vienna, the Bucharest Athenaeum, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz, among others with the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Kiev State Orchestra, the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Bucharest, the Haydn Orchestra, the Spanish Radio Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of outstanding conductors.

Her chamber music partners include well-known artists such as the violinists Wen Xiao Cheng, Nicolas Koeckert, Christel Lee, Lena Neudauer, Matthias Well, the cellists Julius Berger, Valentin Radutiu, Hay Sukiasyan and Wen Sinn Yang as well as the double bassist Roman Patkoló.

Homepage: www.LilianAkopova.com
Opening quote: Rafael Sala, Münchner Merkur (Murnau edition) from March 21, 2023