Dimitri Alexeev “Talk Show” about Rachmaninoff

Russian pianist Dmitri Alexeev is one of the world’s most highly regarded artists. His critically acclaimed recitals on the world’s leading concert stages, and concerto appearances with the most prestigious orchestras have secured his position as one of “the most remarkable pianists of the day” (Daily Telegraph).

He has performed in all major concert halls around the world and with all leading orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, the five London orchestras, Orchestre de Paris, Israel Philharmonic and the Munich Bavarian Radio Orchestra amongst others. He has worked with conductors such as Ashkenazy, Boulez, Dorati, Gergiev, Giulini, Jansons, Muti, Pappano, Rozhdestvensky, Salonen, Svetlanov, Temirkanov, Tilson Thomas and Klaus Tennstedt amongst many others.

During previous seasons he was the Artistic Director of the Leeds International Recital Series, and Artistic Director and Artist in Residence of the concert series “Musis Sacrum” in Arnhem and Nijmegen, in the Netherlands. In 2021, he curated a series of concerts entitled ‘Beyond Boundaries’ at St John’s Smith Square and the Royal College of Music, London, in memory of his former teacher, Dmitri Bashkirov; “… a lavish feast … spectacular … His manner is ruthlessly focused, always high, lucid and bright … the biggest tour de force …” (The Arts Desk). Alexeev has been a juror for many of the world’s most prestigious International Piano Competitions, including the Leeds, Chopin (Warsaw), Van Cliburn, Santander, Beethoven (Vienna) and Tchaikovsky (Moscow) International Piano Competition. He regularly gives masterclasses around the world. Alexeev became Professor of Piano at the Royal College of Music in 2005. Many of his past and current students are top prize winners at major international piano competitions such as the Leeds, Tchaikovsky, Liszt (Utrecht), Viotti, Sydney, Santander, Scottish, Dublin and Maria Canals International Piano Competition to name a few.

Alexeev has made many fine recordings for Brilliant Classics, EMI, BMG, Virgin Classics, Hyperion and Russian labels. His discs include piano concertos by Schumann, Grieg, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Scriabin, Medtner and solo works by Bach, Brahms, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Scriabin, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev. Following his Virgin Classics recording of the complete Rachmaninov Preludes, which won the Edison Award in the Netherlands, BBC Music Magazine described him as “a pianist at once aristocratic, grand and confessionally poetic. This is an inspiring disc.” In December 2012, his recording of Scriabin’s complete Piano Sonatas was released on Brilliant Classics. This was followed by recordings of Scriabin’s complete Etudes, Preludes, Poèmes, Waltzes and Mazurkas. A box set of Scriabin Complete Piano Music followed in 2021 (Brilliant Classics). His recording of the complete Chopin Mazurkas was released in 2014 – a recording that Gramophone Magazine referred to as one of the best recordings of the Chopin Mazurkas that have appeared in the past three-quarters of a century, alongside those of Rubinstein and Yakov Flier.