14 Facts About Alexandra Dariescu

Alexandra Ioana Dariescu was born on 16 August 1985 and is a Romanian British classical concert pianist, educator, mentor and producer.

Alexandra Dariescu is best known for her multimedia project The Nutcracker and I and her focus on promoting the works of female composers.

At the age of 17, Alexandra Dariescu won the Constantin Silvestri scholarship which led her to move to the UK to study at Pocklington School.

Alexandra Dariescu made her UK debut at the Bridgewater Hall in 2006, where she performed Mozart Piano Concerto No 15 with Andre de Ridder and the RNCM Chamber Orchestra live on BBC Radio 3.

Alexandra Dariescu studied under Mark Ray, Nelson Goerner, Alexander Melnikov and Dina Parakhina, graduating in 2008 with 1st class Hons and the Gold Medal.

Alexandra Dariescu has been an RNCM's Honorary Associate Artist since 2016 and their Associated Member since 2020.

In 2008, Alexandra Dariescu won the Young Concert Artist Trust competition.

Alexandra Dariescu went back to study at the GSMD in 2016 for a one year course in Creative Entrepreneurship.

Since 2012, Alexandra Dariescu attended several times the Verbier Festival Academy, studying with Dmitri Bashkirov, Menahem Pressler, Gabor Takacs-Nagy and was awarded the Verbier Festival CUBS Award.

Alexandra Dariescu studied with Dominique Merlet at the Academy de Villecroze, Philippe Cassard at the Tibor Varga Academy in Sion, Sir Andras Schiff in New York, London and Gstaad and Boris Berman at the Holland Music Sessions.

Alexandra Dariescu has played with orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the European Union Youth Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec and the Sichuan Symphony Orchestra.

The Nutcracker and I is a multimedia performance for piano solo with dance and digital animation which Alexandra Dariescu created and produced out of her "responsibility as a young artist to reach out to as many people as possible and to build bridges for those new to classical music".

Alexandra Dariescu is a mentor and teacher, having given masterclasses and lessons in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Romania, Japan, China, South Africa and Canada.

Alexandra Dariescu regularly speaks at conferences and sits on juries and panels:.