Bulgaria-born pianist Anna Petrova is returning for a special event Friday, March 16, in support of the Port Angeles Symphony, which hosted her performance to a capacity crowd here last spring.
In intimate Maier Hall at Peninsula College, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., Petrova will give a solo recital at 7 p.m. of music by Prokofiev, Haydn and Rachmaninoff, picked out especially for the evening.
“I was really moved by the warmth and hospitality of the community of Port Angeles when I first came,” Petrova said in an email.
“I had a wonderful time playing with the Symphony and maestro (Jonathan) Pasternack, as well as taking walks on the seashore and eating delicious seafood,” said the pianist, who lives in Texas when she’s not touring.
“It is a great honor for me to repay this kindness in some way,” she added. Petrova will donate her fee to the Port Angeles Symphony.
“Anna made such a strong impression,” said Pasternack, the orchestra’s music director and conductor. For the Maier Hall recital, he said. “The repertoire she’s chosen is wonderful. The Prokofiev is an electrifying piece. She plays it brilliantly. It really is her piece.
“The Haydn will show another side of Anna we haven’t heard yet,” he said, adding that this music is all about “poetic simplicity.”
Petrova’s performance is an addition to the Symphony’s season of concerts. Tickets are $40 in advance at 360-457-5579 or, if available, $50 at the door, with proceeds supporting the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra’s concerts and educational programs.
Local lovers of live music will hear Petrova before she begins Novel Voices, one of several projects she’s embarking on in 2018.
She and her duo partner, violist Molly Carr, will travel to a number of refugee camps across the globe, to give performances and talk with the people living in the camps.
“We are hoping to educate ourselves and our ‘regular’ audiences about the lives and struggles of refugees around the world,” Petrova said. A composer and videographer will travel with Carr and Petrova, to create a classical music piece and a documentary film inspired by the visits.
This year also has Petrova releasing two chamber music CDs — they’re in post-production now — and preparing to record more: three solo and two with chamber music ensembles. This spring she’ll do a fast tour of Germany with her group, the Iris Trio.
But first, she’ll come to the piano at Maier Hall.
“I am also very much looking forward,” she said, “to sharing some of my most favorite pieces with the PA audience.”
For information, see www.PortAngelesSymphony.org.
