Making her BBC Proms debut at the Royal Albert Hall this summer, Alexandra Dariescu becomes the first Romanian female pianist to appear at the Festival.
A visionary pianist and the creative force behind The Nutcracker and I, Alexandra Dariescu is redefining what it means to be a soloist in the 21st century. With fearless curiosity, innovation and deep artistic integrity, she creates programmes that connect past and present, bringing new meaning and relevance to the concert experience. From the great pillars of the repertoire: Tchaikovsky, Grieg and Chopin to the rediscovery of voices such as Clara Schumann, Nadia Boulanger and Doreen Carwithen, Dariescu has established herself as a distinctive and unique voice on the international stage.
A sought-after soloist worldwide, Dariescu has performed with leading orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, London Symphony Orchestra and Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, London Philharmonic, the Royal Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen Philharmonics and the Sydney, Houston, Detroit, Seattle and Vancouver Symphonies working with conductors such as Ádám Fischer, Cristian Măcelaru, Alain Altinoglu, Sakari Oramo, John Storgårds, Fabien Gabel, Vasily Petrenko, Ryan Bancroft, James Gaffigan, and Santtu-Matias Rouvali.
Highlights of the 2025/26 season include performances with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Santtu-Matias Rouvali at the Enescu Festival, Cabrillo Festival with Cristian Măcelaru, season-opening concerts in Tallinn with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and Olari Elts and in Brussels with the Brussels Philharmonic and Kazushi Ōno. She makes her debut with the Pacific Symphony and Tianyi Lu, returns to the Royal Philharmonic and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic orchestras in the UK and embarks on a tour with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra under Krzysztof Urbański. Recital performances includes Southbank Centre, the Colmar, Harrogate, Risor and Rhine Festivals.
Recent seasons have been marked by a series of landmark performances and premieres. These include the UK premiere of Dora Pejačević’s Phantasie Concertante with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the world premiere of James Lee III’s piano concerto Shades of Unbroken Dreams, written for her and performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic. She has also championed rediscovered works such as the piano concerto by Leokadiya Kashperova, alongside important revivals including Nadia Boulanger’s Fantaisie variée and Doreen Carwithen’s Piano Concerto. Through these projects, Dariescu has become a leading voice in reshaping the concerto repertoire and advocating for a more inclusive musical landscape.
In 2017, Dariescu created The Nutcracker and I, a groundbreaking multimedia performance combining piano, dance and digital animation. The production has toured internationally with over 100 performances across Europe, Asia, Australia and the United States, introducing thousands of new audiences to classical music and reflecting her commitment to innovation and accessibility.
Dariescu’s discography includes ten albums to critical acclaim, most recently A Child’s Dream with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, which made Album of the Week on Classic FM UK, ABC Australia, rbb Germany and Opus Luxembourg. Her recordings span a wide-ranging repertoire, from Szymanowski, Chopin, Dutilleux to Clara Schumann and Lili Boulanger and have been widely recognised for their imagination and artistic depth.
Deeply committed to education and cultural change, Dariescu is Professor of Piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She is the founder of the Alexandra Dariescu Award at the Leeds International Piano Competition, the first prize of its kind to recognise the performance of a work by a female composer. Through her performances, projects and advocacy, she continues to champion a more inclusive, imaginative and forward-looking future for classical music.
Mentored by Sir András Schiff and Dame Imogen Cooper, Dariescu studied at the Royal Northern College of Music with Nelson Goerner, Alexander Melnikov, Dina Parakhina, Mark Ray; at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Ronan O’Hora; and in her hometown Iasi with Mihaela Constantin and Cornelia Apostol. She was a Laureate of the Verbier Festival Academy, receiving the UK’s Women of the Future Award in the Arts and Culture category. Dariescu holds many special accolades including Cultural Ambassador of Romania, Officer of the Romanian Crown from the Royal Family and Young European Leader by Friends of Europe. In 2020, Dariescu received the Order 'Cultural Merit' in the rank of Knight from the Romanian President and became an Associated Member of the Royal Northern College of Music, where she also held the distinguished position of Professor of Piano for two years.
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