Romanian born British pianist and creator of “The Nutcracker and I”, Alexandra Dariescu dazzles audiences and critics worldwide with her effortless musicality and captivating stage presence. Her vision and innovative approach to programming makes her stand out as a creative entrepreneur who likes to think differently.

Highlights of Dariescu’s 19/20 season include debut with orchestras such as Orchestre National de France at the Enescu Festival, Tonkünstler Orchestra, Detroit, Houston, Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras as well as Auckland Philharmonia, alongside returns to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec and a UK tour with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. Furthermore, Dariescu continues her collaboration with Angela Gheorghiu after their successful performance at the Wiener Staatsoper and the duo can be seen at the Barbican London, Staatsoper Berlin, BOZAR Brussels and on tour in the US and China this season.

In addition to the core repertoire, Dariescu continues to champion new or less known works. Having performed Nadia Boulanger’s Fantaisie variée with the BBC Symphony Orchestra/James Gaffigan, Germaine Tailleferre’s Ballade for piano and orchestra with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Jessica Cottis as well as Ginastera’s Concierto Argentino with the Stavanger Symphony and Royal Scottish National Orchestras/John Storgårds, Dariescu looks forward to bringing piano concerto No.3 by Ferdinand Ries to her debut with the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich this season. Aiming for gender equality in her recital programmes, Dariescu champions works by Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger and critically acclaimed American composer Missy Mazzoli next to pieces by Tchaikovsky and Chopin.

Nominated for an OPUS Klassik 2019, The Nutcracker and I, by Alexandra Dariescu is a ground-breaking multimedia performance for piano solo with dance and digital animation. It was premiered at Barbican’s Milton Court in December 2017, and has since then enjoyed international acclaim on tour across Europe, Australia, China, the Emirates and the US with more than 75 performances in venues such as the Wiener Konzerthaus, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Auditorium de Lyon, Verbier Festival, Konserthuset Gothenburg, King’s Place London, Melbourne Recital Hall, Sydney City Recital Hall, Shanghai Grand Theatre, Dubai Opera House and Las Vegas Summerlin Library. In the 20/21 season Dariescu looks forward to bringing the Nutcracker to Rome, marking the projects’ Italian debut, to Konzerthaus Berlin for a weeklong residency as well as the Zaubersee Festival Lucerne. Also celebrated is Dariescu’s audio book of the same name on the Signum label, with the story written by Jessica Duchen and narrated by celebrated children TV presenter and BAFTA winner Lindsey Russell.

Dariescu’s latest release of her Decca recording with Angela Gheorghiu in November 2019 adds to her 8 album discography, including her Trilogy of Preludes on Champs Hill Records with complete preludes by Boulanger/Messiaen/Faure, Chopin/Dutilleux and Shostakovich/Szymanowski. Also in Dariescu’s discography are recordings of Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto No. 1 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Darrell Ang (Signum Records) and “Mesmerism” (NMC Records), which is a concerto written especially for Dariescu by award-winning British composer Emily Howard.

Alexandra has been mentored by Sir András Schiff and Imogen Cooper. After graduating from the Royal Northern College of Music with the Gold Medal, where she studied with Nelson Goerner, Alexander Melnikov, Mark Ray and Dina Parakhina, Alexandra pursued her Masters at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Ronan O’Hora. A former artist of the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT), Alexandra was a Laureate at the Verbier Festival Academy and received the UK’s Women of the Future Award in the Arts and Culture category. In 2017 Alexandra was appointed patron of Music in Lyddington, Cultural Ambassador of Romania and Honorary Associate Artist of the Royal Northern College of Music. In spring 2018, Alexandra received the “Officer of the Romanian Crown” from the Royal Family and was selected as a Young European Leader by Friends of Europe.