Alissa Firsova (Russian: Алиса Фирсова; born 24 July 1986) is a Russian-British classical composer, pianist and conductor.
Biography Born in Moscow to the composers Elena Firsova and Dmitri Smirnov, she moved to the UK in 1991.
In 2001 she won the BBC/Guardian/Proms Young Composer Competition with her piano piece "Les Pavots".She won this Composer Competition in the age of 15. This followed workshops with Leonard Slatkin, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Fraser Trainer and Sally Beamish, plus a Radio 3 broadcast of Les Pavots played by Alissa herself.
She graduated from Purcell School as a composer and pianist in 2004, and Royal Academy of Music as a pianist in 2009, where she also developed her conducting studies with Paul Brough.
In 2009 she entered the Conducting Postgraduate Course in Royal Academy of Music under the tuition of Colin Metters.
Her piano teachers included Tatiana Kantorovich, Valéria Szervánszky, James Gibb, Simon Mulligan, Hamish Milne, Ian Fountain, and Stephen Kovacevich. Among her composition teachers were Jeoffrey Sharkey, Richard Dubugnon, Jonathan Cole and Simon Speare. She also participated in workshops and master classes with composers Nicholas Maw, Simon Holt, Anthony Gilbert, David Bedford, David Matthews, and Mark-Anthony Turnage.
She had her Wigmore Hall debut in May 2009, followed by a Royal Albert Hall debut playing Stravinsky's Les Noces in the Proms festival in August. Her "Bach Allegro", commissioned by BBC Proms, was premiered in Royal Albert Hall in August 2010 by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Andrew Litton.
Her solo piano debut CD Russian Emigres was released by the Vivat label.See the details on vivatmusic.com . There is a promotional film on the website: ICA Films . Alissa's music is featured in a Proms Portrait on 27 August 2015, prior to the world premiere of her "Bergen’s Bonfire" by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Andrew Litton.
Works 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 for clarinet and piano Op. 10, Loss for clarinet quintet 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 (third movement of Family Concerto, In memory of Dmitri Shostakovich – family project)Commissioned by Dartington Summer School. Other movements of the Concerto (1. "Red Bells" and 2. "Black Bells") were composed by Dmitri Smirnov and Elena Firsova. Op. 18, Paradiso for string quartet (third movement of "Divine Comedy" – family project)The commission from the Liverpool University. The whole family project "La Divina Commedia" consists of 3 String Quartets ("Inferno", "Purgatorio" and "Paradiso"), written for Dante String Quartet. Here is more detailed information about the London premiere of the piece. 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 third movement of Bach's 3rd Viola da Gamba Sonata, BWV 1029). Proms Commission 2010. Op. 24, Kubla Khan for tenor, bayan, violin and cello (fifth movement 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 two 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 for string quartet
References
External links
Article in The Guardian (UK) Article in The Observer (UK) Article in Musicalpointers (UK) Article in Classica FM (Russia) Unreleased recording of her performance of her father's Piano Sonata No. 6 Blake-Sonata (2008), in two movements