Friday, April 10, 2026, 7:30 pm, Jane Mallett Theatre, 27 Front St. East
SERENADE | Romance Rules
Pianist Anya Alexeyev returns for the majestic César Franck Piano Quintet in a lush orchestral version and Italian maestro conducts the glorious melodies of a Tchaikovsky favourite
SINFONIA TORONTO / GIOVANNI POMPEO Conductor
ANYA ALEXEYEV Pianist
Program
FRANCK Piano Quintet orchestra version
TCHAIKOVSKY Serenade
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PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES
Anya Alexeyev, Pianist Born in Moscow into a family of musicians, Anya Alexeyev started studying at the Gnessin Music School at the age of five, and in 1989 entered Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory to become a student of the renowned professor Dmitri Bashkirov. The following year she was awarded a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London, where she studied with Irina Zaritskaya. During her student years, Anya Alexeyev won numerous prizes including the John Hopkinson Gold Medal (Royal College of Music), Elizabeth, The Queen Mother’s Award for ” the most outstanding contribution to the Royal College of Music”, the First prize at the Newport International Piano Competition, Young Concert Artists Trust, and The Capital Radio/Anna Instone Memorial Prize.
Alexeyev has performed extensively in many countries across Europe (Britain, France, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Finland, Ireland, Greece, Germany, and Macedonia), as well as in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Malaysia, and South Africa.
She has performed as a soloist on numerous occasions in all of London’s major concert halls – Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elisabeth Hall, and Barbican Hall. Throughout her career, she has also appeared in such venues as Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Herodes Atticus Theatre at the Acropolis in Athens, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, Great Hall in Moscow Conservatory, Philharmonia Hall in St. Petersburg, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Johannesburg Symphony Hall, Dewan Filarmonik in Kuala Lumpur, Palais Montcalm in Quebec City, Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, and Bargemusic in New York.
She has performed concertos with many distinguished orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Moscow State Symphony, Vienna Chamber, The Philharmonia, Royal Scottish National, Deutschland Radio, City of Birmingham Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony and Sinfonietta, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, London Mozart Players, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, English Chamber, Belgian National Symphony, Sinfonia Toronto and Quebec Symphony, collaborating with such conductors as Temirkanov, Simonov, Oramo, Bakels, Judd.
Alexeyev has an extensive solo repertoire, ranging from baroque to cutting-edge contemporary music. In addition to enjoying playing standard concert repertoire,she has been following her passion for discovering lesser-known music, which resulted in performances and recordings of rarely played works and premieres. As a collaborative musician, she has participated in many chamber music festivals in Europe and North America.
Alexeyev has recorded for EMI, Dutton Epoch, Toccata Classics, and Marquis Classics labels. Her performances have been broadcast by BBC Radio 3 (UK), GMTV (UK), CBC (Canada), Deutschland Radio, and numerous other radio stations around the world. In 1995, she premiered Paul McCartney’s first solo piano piece, A Leaf, which was later released on CD for EMI Classics.
She is a faculty member at Wilfrid Laurier University, the Glenn Gould School, and the Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists.
Maestro Giovanni Pompeo was French horn player at Teatro alla Scala for 6 years (1998-2004). He taught Chamber Music and Wind Ensemble at the Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali "G.Paisiello" in Taranto for 11 years (2002-Novenber 2013); and then Chamber music and wind ensemble at the Conservatorio di musica "Gesualdo da Venosa" in Potenza for 5 years (November 2013-October 2018. He has been Artistic Director of LAMS Matera since 2006; and Music Director of Orchestra of Matera and Basilicata since January 2017. He has also conducted other orchestras and ensembles, including Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia, Orchestra Filarmonica di Benevento OFB, Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Harmonie Ensemble (Valencia), Orchestra Sinfonica Metropolitana di Bari (December 2015-July 2020), Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo (December 2018-September 2020), Filarmonica Pitesti (2019), Orchestra of Teatrul Național de Operetă şi Musical "Ion Dacian" (2019), RTS Orkestar Beograd (January 2020), Orchestra of State Opera Varna (August 2021), Orchestra of Opera Română Craiova (September-October 2021). He currently lives in Matera, Italy.
Sinfonia Toronto now in its 27th season, has toured twice in Europe, in the US, South America and China, receiving glowing reviews. It has released six CD’s, including a JUNO Award winner, and performs in many Ontario cities. Sinfonia Toronto's extensive repertoire includes all the major string orchestra works of the 18th through 21st centuries, and it has premiered many new works. Under the baton of Nurhan Arman the orchestra’s performances present outstanding international guest artists and prominent Canadian musicians.
Sinfonia Toronto respectfully acknowledges that we work in the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee peoples
