Pianist visits Haywards Heath

“His recital includes preludes, nocturnes, liebestraum and a whole host of other romantic pieces by Rachmaninov, Chopin, Liszt and Tchaikovsky,” said concert spokesman Andrew Storey.

“The recital takes place on Saturday, March 3 at 7.30 pm in St.Wilfrid’s Church, Church Road, Haywards Heath. Tickets are priced at £10 each (£5 each for children under 16) and can be ordered in advance from St.Wilfrid’s Parish Office, the Carousel Music Shop in Haywards Heath and will be available at the door on the day of the concert. Refreshments will be served during the interval.

Alexander Ardakov was a graduate of the Moscow Conservatoire and a prizewinner at the Viotti International competition in Italy before moving to England to live in 1991. He is currently a Professor of Piano at Trinity College of Music in London and has performed throughout the world. He has performed for BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM and made several CD recordings, including Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Alexander Gibson. Among his recent engagements were recitals at the Bosendorfer Hall in Vienna, St John’s Smith Square in London, the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Casteig Music Centre in Munich, the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford and a much acclaimed sold-out recital in the Wigmore Hall in January 2007. Previously, in May 2004 he performed in a single evening three piano concertos: Schumann’s, Rachmaninov’s second and Tchaikovsky’s first with the Orquestra do Norte in the Coluseo Hall in Oporto, Portugal. In May 2007 he performed the Rachmaninov again in the Benaroya Hall in Seattle with the Cascade Symphony Orchestra, receiving a standing ovation from an audience of 2,000. He has also performed and held masterclasses in France, Germany, USA, Poland, Russia and Denmark. Future plans include performances in the USA, Belgium, Germany, Israel, Norway, Italy, Denmark and Russia.