Alexandra Dariescu

Featured as BBC Music Magazine's Rising Star in June 2011, Alexandra Dariescu is an outstanding communicator, hugely popular with audiences.

In 2012 Alexandra made her début at the Carnegie Hall in New York where she was invited by András Schiff during his 'Perspectives' residency. She has given recitals at major venues and festivals throughout Europe and further afield including Wigmore Hall, Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, Bridgewater Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Mozarteum Buenos Aires, the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik, Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., the City of London, Cheltenham, Bath and Ravel festivals among many others.

As a concerto soloist, Alexandra performs with such orchestras as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Mecklenburgische Staatskappelle Schwerin, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia ViVA, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St Paul's and European Union Chamber Orchestra at venues including the Barbican, Royal Albert Hall, South Bank Centre and LSO St Lukes. In 2011 she gave the world premiere of a piano concerto by Emily Howard with the Liverpool Mozart Orchestra to celebrate the orchestra's 60th anniversary season. Alexandra also gave the UK premiere of Dinu Lipatti's Concertino in Classical Style in 2012 with the Orchestra of St Paul's at LSO St Lukes.

A laureate of the Verbier Festival Academy, Alexandra won the prestigious CUBS Bank Verbier Festival & Academy Prize. She returns to the Geneva International

Summer Festival and Academy for masterclasses and concerts. In 2010 she won the Guildhall Wigmore Hall Prize and in 2008 received the prestigious Prix Maurice Ravel at the Academie Internationale de Musique Ravel in France, returning to give a recital at the Ravel Festival in 2009. Alexandra is the first pianist to be mentored by Imogen Cooper in the RPS/YCAT Philip Langridge Mentoring Scheme and an alumna of the English-Speaking Union.

Committed to chamber music, Alexandra has collaborated with the Belcea, Elias, Idomeneo and Sacconi quartets as well as violinist Alina Ibragimova at venues including the Wigmore Hall and City of London Festival. Alexandra is regularly featured on international media and appeared performing for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4, Classic FM, radio and television stations across Romania, Manx Radio, Isle of Man and Nevada Radio in California.

Born in Romania in 1985 Alexandra Dariescu studied in Iasi, Romania, Pocklington School in York and at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) where her teachers included Nelson Goerner, Mark Ray, Alexander Melnikov and Dina Parakhina. During her studies at the RNCM, Alexandra was supported in full by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and won all major prizes and awards including the Gold Medal, Chopin Prize and Peter Donohoe Prize. She graduated in 2008 with distinction. Alexandra was selected by the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) in 2008 and completed her Masters at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with Ronan O'Hora, receiving a Piano Fellowship for 2010/2011.

Alexandra is an affiliated artist with the Romanian Cultural Institute in London and she is extremely grateful for their continued support.