ABOUT

«At the Queen Elizabeth Hall, I found myself listening open-mouthed to a Russian woman playing the piano accordion while making wordless vocal sounds into a microphone. Her name was Evelina Petrova and the sounds varied from whoops and bird-like twitterings to a kind of demented lamentation. God knows what it was all about, but it had me transfixed..» Dave Gelly, THE GUARDIAN

Evelina Petrova was born in an industrial city close to St. Petersburg. She studied music in a local music school where she took up accordion at the age of twelve. Later on she continued her studies in St. Petersburg and graduated from the St. Petersburg State Conservatory in 2002.  She attended master course at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo (department of jazz and improvise music). From 2012 Evelina lives in Norway.

Petrova utilizes in a great manner the possibilities of both her own voice and accordion, and, at the same time breaks the limits of the traditional expression of both. The accordion in her hands is sometimes a percussion instrument; sometimes one can hear pure, technically excellent accordion music. Her voice is her second instrument: she screams laughs, wails, growls, barks, huffs and puffs. Although she performs in a sitting position, her performance is also kind of a dance.

She blends Russian folk music, classical and quite avant-garde improvised music in her playing. There are also elements of East-European brass music in it. There’s such a big amount of power, primitive drive and creativity in her concerts that it is hard to believe that all that music comes from one woman and accordion only.

Education:

2012-2014 Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo (master of performance, Department of Improvised Music, Jazz and Folk Music)

1997-2002  St. Petersburg State Conservatory, classical accordionist degree

1994-1997  St. Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy, Experimental course «Theatre of Music Improvisations»

1990-1994 Mussorgsky’s College of Music, St. Petersburg, Russia

1985 – 1990 Primary music school in Kingisepp, Russia

Programs and competitions:

2023  Winner of the Amanda Prize for Best Original Music for the film «Den siste våren» by Franciska Seifert Eliassen, Haugesund/Norway

2014  Utrecht: Erasmus International Programme “European International Futures”

2010, 2014  Music for full-length films by russian director Svetlana Proskurina «Truce» 2010, «Goodbye, mom» 2014, on the KINOTAVR (Sochi, Russia) got a Prize for best music.

1999 Title of the «Star of the Year by vote of Russian music critics was awarded

1998  Firth International Astor Piazzolla Competition in Italy (Castelfidardo), the duet Evelina Petrova-Slava Gayvoronsky was awarded the special prize for original music style.

Collaborations with other artists:

Jethro Tull/ Iva Bittova/ Phil Milton/ Balanescu String Quartet/ Mikhail Alperin/ Nils Henrik Asheim/ Roberto Dani/ Jai Shankar/ Mirsaeed Hosseiny Panah/ Eirik Hoel Sandvik/ Andreas Rotevatn/ Laura Ellestad/ Sarah-Jane Summers/ Asya Fateyeva/ Frank Havrøy/ Ann- Helen Schjølberg/ Arkady Shilkloper/ Stefano Bataglia/ Michele Rabbia. Johannes Skyberg (the tour organization’s music producer in Hedmark), and the Norwegian actress Thea Skallevold. Nina Cecilie Dahl (The tour organisation’s music producer in Viken). With Akershus theatre, choreographer Sølvi Edvardsen and dancer Miriam Troøyen. Chamber Choir Nova under conductor Julia Selina Blank. Oslo Chamber Choir under conductor Håkon Daniel Nystedt, Bulgarian singers from «Angеlite», Moscow art trio. A large international silent film project within the framework of the Tromsø Film Festival. Tanya Khabarova (theater DEREVO). Collaborative projects with SOUNDUK (England) «Ties» with Alexander Balanescu, aerial acrobat Gisele Edwards and choreographer Emma Bernard (UK). Vladimir Volkov and Marianne Halmrast (double bass), Bert Van Laethem, Slava Gayvoronsky, Miniature Musical Circus, Håkon Aase (violin), Geko Fattal, Jon-Eirik Boska. Film directors — Alexander Sokurov, Svetlana Proskurina, Franciska Seifert Eliassen. Collaboration with Fashion House «Lilia Kisselenko» (St.Petersburg) as composer and DJ.