Award-winning cellist Michael Petrov has impressed audiences and critics with his “captivating musical temperament and a direct eloquence, as if speaking through his instrument” (Die Welt). An ECHO Rising Star (2015/16), he has performed in major European concert halls including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Cité de la Musique Paris, Musikverein Vienna, Budapest Palace of Arts, Kölner Philharmonie and Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Internationally, he has given recitals at Carnegie’s Weill Hall and the Los Angeles Cello Festival, and toured throughout China and Argentina.

As a soloist, Petrov has appeared with the Philharmonia, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and CBSO Youth Orchestra, as well as the Munich Chamber Orchestra and English Chamber Orchestra, working with conductors including Edward Gardner and Rory Macdonald. Highlights include Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante at the Barbican conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, and performances such as Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Barber Concerto in Sofia, and Haydn’s Concerto in D with Sinfonia Cymru.

A passionate chamber musician, Petrov was a founding member of the critically acclaimed Trio Isimsiz. The trio’s debut recording was released in 2017, and in 2018 they received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship. In the UK, Trio Isimsiz has appeared at venues including Wigmore Hall and Snape Maltings, alongside performances at the Trondheim Chamber Music Festival, the Kölner Philharmonie, and the Théâtre des Abbesses in Paris.

Born in Bulgaria, Petrov studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with Louise Hopkins, winning the Gold Medal (2014) and the Wigmore Hall Prize (2017). He was selected by the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) in 2013, won 2nd Prize at the International Brahms Competition (Austria, 2012), and 1st Prize at the International Suggia Competition (Porto, 2011). He has also taken masterclasses at Kronberg Academy with artists including Bernard Greenhouse, David Geringas and Frans Helmerson, and was selected for a public lesson with the late Mstislav Rostropovich.

An avid teacher, Petrov has extensive experience coaching individual students and chamber ensembles through private tuition and masterclasses. He works with musicians of all ages and levels – from beginners following the official graded examination system through to advanced conservatoire players and working professionals – with a focus on strong technical foundations, musical imagination and confident performance.