Liya Petrova performs a wide-ranging repertoire that spans from the Baroque to contemporary works. Alongside the mainstream violin concertos, she maintains a strong commitment to lesser-known repertoire, including concertos by Pipkov, Godard, Walton, and Nielsen. Liya has a deep affinity for contemporary composers such as Dobrinka Tabakova, Tan Dun, and Philippe Hersant, who dedicated his violin concerto Cansos to her.

She enjoys playing chamber music regularly with pianists Alexandre Kantorow, Beatrice Rana, and Pavel Kolesnikov, as well as with cellists Victor Julien-Laferrière and Aurélien Pascal. She has also collaborated with artists such as Martha Argerich, Yuja Wang, Emmanuel Pahud, Paul Meyer, Renaud Capuçon, Augustin Dumay, James Ehnes, Antoine Tamestit, Mischa Maisky, Gautier Capuçon, and Pablo Ferrández.

Petrova is a regular guest at major concert halls and festivals, including the Philharmonie de Paris, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Royal Albert Hall London, Isarphilharmonie and Herkulessaal in Munich, and festivals such as Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Rheingau Musik Festival, Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, Festival de Saint-Denis, Festival Radio France Montpellier, Festival de la Roque d’Anthéron, Festival de Menton, Festival de Pâques d’Aix-en-Provence, and the Rencontres Musicales d’Évian.

Liya has been recording for the French label Mirare since 2020. In spring 2025, she released her latest project, Momentum — a two-album set praised for its artistic ambition, featuring the Korngold and Walton concertos with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Duncan Ward, alongside Strauss and Respighi sonatas with pianists Alexandre Kantorow and Adam Laloum. Momentum 1 and Momentum 2 received outstanding critical acclaim and were notably distinguished as an Editor’s Choice by Gramophone, Orchestral Choice by BBC Music Magazine, Best Album of 2025 by Télérama, and Empfehlung des Monats by Fono Forum. Her three previous albums on Mirare include a Beethoven-Barber-Britten recital with pianist Boris Kusnezow (2020), followed by Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Mozart’s rarely performed K271 Concerto (No. 7) with Jean-Jacques Kantorow and Sinfonia Varsovia. Earlier, she released a Nielsen and Prokofiev album on Orchid Classics with the Odense Symphony Orchestra and Kristiina Poska. All her recordings have received unanimous international praise.

Deeply committed to artistic programming and musical curation, Liya founded La Musikfest Parisienne in spring 2020, during the first lockdown. Initially launched at Salle Cortot, the festival quickly gained acclaim and now takes place at the Philharmonie de Paris, under the joint artistic direction of Liya and pianist Alexandre Kantorow. In 2022, she also co-founded the Rencontres Musicales de Nîmes with her close friends Alexandre Kantorow and Aurélien Pascal, who continue to direct the festival together.

Liya has been based in Paris for many years and plays the Consolo, made in 1733 by Guarneri del Gesù, on loan from the Bulgarian State, and a violin made in 1727 by Antonio Stradivari on loan from a private sponsor.