Alexandra Dariescu – on how RVIPW lets people into her world and “feels like a celebration”
I simply love performing at RVIPW and every time I come back is a very special occasion.
Festivals like the RVIPW are of huge importance for the UK life because they bring people together and give locals the opportunity to hear and meet international performers. New friendships are formed, which benefit both the performers and the community. It feels like a celebration because so many people are involved in different roles in order to bring a year’s worth of planning (and practicing!) to life.
I spend a huge amount of time and energy selecting my programme for RVIPW, as for any recital. I try to have a storyline in my programming and always include some popular pieces as well as something new, that the audience might have not heard before. It’s about opening new doors for the people attending my concert and letting them into my world.
I love the intimacy of the RVIPW venue, although the Theatre is not exactly small. Being able to present my recitals from the stage and meet everyone at the end is pure joy. One of my fondest memories of the RVIPW was having dinner with Martin Roscoe before the concert in the green room talking about music, life and friends no longer with us. It felt very special, but it didn’t make me feel less nervous playing knowing he was in the audience! 🙂
At the moment I am on a 2 week concert marathon starting in Finland, where I’m performing Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Tampere Philharmonic and Michael Francis. I am then traveling to Hebden Bridge Piano Festival for a recital, then onto Stoke on Trent Festival, followed by Rachmaninov Rhapsody with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Jamie Phillips. A few days later I’ll be in Switzerland, for Mozart No 27 with Zuger Sinfonietta and Daniel Huppert. Over the last couple of months I had my recital debut in Japan and performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall (Rachmaninov No 2). Next season I make my concerto debut in Canada (Toronto and Quebec) and in the US. Very exciting!