“When I choose my piano pieces, I love to set contrasts!
I don’t stick to a chronological timeline. What matters to me is
the relationship among the pieces.”
Lilian Akopova
Winner of numerous international prizes
Lilian Akopova has been performing at international concerts since she was 7 years old. From 1996 to 2010 she takes part in 14 international piano competitions. Her performance earns her prizes in all of them, including 6 first ones. One of the most prestigious one she wins is the Busoni, International Piano Competition in Bozen, Italy, as well as the first prize at the international piano competition “Roma” in 2005. In August 2024, she accepts an invitation from the president of this very competition, Marcella Crudeli, to perform as a guest of honour in her salotto in Rome.
Performances in Famous Concert Halls
The pianist, who grew up in Kiev and now lives in Munich, makes her debut in 1996 at the age of 13 in one of the most famous concert halls in the world, the “Great Hall” of the Moscow Pyotr Tchaikovsky Conservatory. This is followed by performances in Germany at the Konzerthaus Berlin and the Berlin Philharmonie, the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz, Munich’s Gasteig, Europe’s largest cultural centre, the Musikverein Vienna, the Bucharest Athenaeum, the Philharmonie Kiev, the Salle Cortot in Paris, the Palau de la Música in Valencia, the Teatro Bibiena in Mantua.
Performances with Famous Orchestras
The Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Kiev State Orchestra, the Haydn Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa, the Spanish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Bucharest, among others, under the direction of outstanding conductors such as the American Arthur Fagen, the German Volker Schmidt-Gertenbach and the British Julia Jones, who was active in Germany for many years.
Performances as a Soloist:
She performs at renowned international music festivals, e.g. the “Festival Classic Young Stars” at the Konzerthaus Berlin, the “Kissinger Sommer”, the “Mozartiade” (mozart@augsburg since 2012) in Augsburg, the “International Oleg Kogan Music Festival” in Wildbach Kreuth, the “Festival de Musique de Menton”, “Jeunes Talents” in Paris, the “International Chamber Music Festival” in Stavanger, Norway, and the “Festival Internazionale di Pianoforte Città Di Rimini”.
Piano-Duo formed with Renowned Bach-interpreter Martin Stadtfeld
In 2022, the internationally renowned piano star Martin Stadtfeld, one of the leading Bach interpreters, founds a piano duo with her, Martin Stadtfeld & Lilian Akopova. Their debut in Augsburg in October 2022 is “frenetically celebrated by the audience with standing ovations” (Augsburger Allgemeine).
Her Chamber Music Partners
The violinists Nicolas Koeckert, Christel Lee, Lena Neudauer, Matthias Well, violist Zheng Wenxiao,
the cellists Julius Berger, Valentin Radutiu, Wen Sinn Yang, the double bassist Roman Patkoló.
Her Discography
Around 10 CDs document Lilian Akopova’s fascinating virtuosity, her breathtaking technique and her diverse musical styles. At the beginning of June 2023, she is nominated for the Opus Klassik together with violinist Matthias Well, one of her chamber music partners, with their CD “Jazzissimo”. Three digital singles by the Duo Martin Stadtfeld & Lilian Akopova are released by Sony Classical in early August 2023.
European TV and Radio Broadcasts of her Concerts
Several of her concerts are broadcast by European radio and television stations, including ARTE, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), Deutschlandfunk Kultur, NDR Kultur, Radiotelevisione italiana (Rai), France Télévisions, TV Romania and Ukrainian Television.
Her Repertoire
By now it includes over 100 solo, chamber and orchestral works from the most important musical eras.
She plays most of them by heart. She also learns new pieces extremely quickly. This enables her to take on engagements at an incredible short notice.
Her Masterclasses with World-Famous Pianists
Elisso Virsaladze is her formative professor during her years of study at the Munich University of Music, one of the largest universities in the cultural sector in Germany. Lilian is also chosen to take part in masterclasses with world-famous pianists: Andràs Schiff, the “most versatile pianist of our time”, the Romanian piano star Radu Lupu, known worldwide as “an important interpreter of the piano music of Johannes Brahms, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert” and the legendary Paul Badura-Skoda, “one of the most universal musicians” of the 20th and 21st centuries. She was also granted scholarships by numerous international foundations, including Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now.
Her Teaching Activities
She not only shares her love of music with her audience. One of her great passions is training young musicians. She can now look back on over 10 years of university teaching experience. Since June 2019, she has been the main lecturer for piano and chamber music at the Kalaidos University of Music in Zurich, Switzerland. She always has one goal in mind: to pass on her skills and enthusiasm for piano music to the next generation.
She also gives masterclasses throughout Europe.
The Lilian Akopova Foundation for Children
One of her great concerns, which stems from her life story, is to support sick children. That is why she founded the “Lilian Akopova Foundation for Children” in 2016.
International Prizes
- 1st Prize 17th Vianna da Motta International Music Competition, Lisbon, Portugal
- Special Prize 17th Vianna da Motta International Music Competition, Lisbon, ‘Chopin Nocturne’
- 1st Prize International Piano Competition Cuitat de Carlet, Valencia, Spain
- 3rd Prize Ferruccio Busoni – International Piano Competition, Bolzano, Italy
- 1st Prize “Roma” International Piano Competition, Rome, Italy
- Special Prize “Roma“ International Piano Competition, Rome, Italy – ‚Prize Chopin’
- 1st Prize Concorso Internazionale di Pianoforte, Città di Sulmona, Italy
- 1st Prize Steinway Piano Competition, Munich, Germany
- 2nd Prize Concurso Internacional de Piano Premio, Jaén, Spain
- Special Prize International V. Horowitz Piano Competition, Kiew, Ukraine
- 1st Price International Vladimir Krainev Young Pianists Competition, Kharkov Ukra
- In 2014 she is awarded the Echo Klassik
