Alessio Bax, pianist

Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music and who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

It all happened quite organically. My parents gave me a small electric keyboard for Christmas and always supported my love for music. I never looked back, and I feel very fortunate to be able to say that I never really had to make a conscious decision about whether to pursue a career in music.

All of my teachers have inspired me enormously in different ways, but so have my family and my chamber music partners. In the end, we are all the sum of our experiences, both the good and the challenging ones.

What inspired the programme for the London Festival of Chamber Music at Smith Square Hall?

I feel incredibly privileged to have become friends, over many years, with some of the most extraordinary musicians and human beings. The artists appearing in the festival are a reflection of that world, and they have inspired me in countless ways.

Smith Square Hall and the Smith Square Sinfonia have also been a tremendous source of inspiration. The flexibility of both the hall and the orchestra has allowed us to design programmes that are quite unique, juxtaposing intimate chamber works with concertos and larger symphonic repertoire.

What do you look for in chamber music colleagues?

Generosity of spirit, flexibility, and a sense of childlike curiosity and love for music. The ideal chamber music partner understands that each musician brings something invaluable to the performance, and that the goal is for the final result to become far greater than the sum of its parts.

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

Perhaps the challenge of balancing life itself. We are so privileged to be surrounded by such a profound art form and to spend our lives working on music written by some of the greatest minds who ever lived that we sometimes forget we are human beings first, and that we need to maintain a relatively normal life outside of it all.

Which performances/recordings are you most proud of?

Apart from the piano duo recordings with Lucille Chung, my most recent recording represents my first major chamber music project. It will be released on May 1 and features the complete Beethoven sonatas for cello and piano with the wonderful Paul Watkins.

As for my solo recordings, it is not always easy to listen to pieces I have recorded in the past, as one hopes to have continued evolving since then. That said, I am often pleasantly surprised when revisiting recordings of works that are no longer part of my current repertoire.

Which particular works/composers do you think you perform best?

It is not really for me to judge, but I do feel that I am gradually beginning to understand the “secret” language, philosophy, and physicality of composers such as Beethoven, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff. They are composers I find myself returning to again and again.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

For solo recitals, I usually begin with one or two major works and then build a balanced and satisfying programme around them. I like to include a mixture of pieces I have not played in a long time, works that are always evolving for me, and others that perhaps do not come naturally and therefore challenge me.

With concertos, I sometimes try to guide orchestras toward certain repertoire, but of course it is not always entirely up to me. There are years, like this one, when I find myself performing eleven different concertos with multiple orchestras over the span of just five months. It may not be ideal, but I have to admit it is incredibly exciting. Pianists are truly fortunate to have such an immense repertoire available to us.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

Many, and for different reasons. Japan has some of the most acoustically perfect halls in the world, places where you feel the hall itself inspiring you.

At the moment, however, I am hoping that Smith Square Hall might become my new favourite. It certainly has all the right ingredients.

What do you do off stage that provides inspiration on stage?

Spending time with my wife and daughter, talking with friends, often over a good dinner, planning future projects, cooking for friends, and going for long walks.

What is your most memorable concert experience?

Hopefully the next one.

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

Being able to do what you love, surrounded by colleagues you admire, and gradually reaching more and more people with whom you can share these extraordinary musical experiences.

What do you feel needs to be done to grow classical music’s audiences?

Music education is essential, but so is broader education. If young people grow up with selfish ideals, narrow-minded perspectives, and superficial goals, how can they truly connect with humanity—and with music, which is perhaps the most human and universal of all art forms?

What’s the one thing in the music industry we’re not talking about which you think we should be?

Hmm… perhaps we should talk a little more about the new London Festival of Chamber Music.

But seriously, it is incredibly exciting to bring something new and genuinely unique to a city that already has such a vibrant classical music scene.

What advice would you give to young or aspiring musicians?

Go to live concerts. YouTube videos are fine, but the experience is completely different. Music needs to be experienced in the moment, not through a screen, just like great food.

What’s next? Where would you like to be in 10 years?

Somewhere beautiful, surrounded by my family, doing what I love, hopefully just a little better each day.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

See above, add good weather, great food and a glass of an amazing wine!

What is your most treasured possession?

It is not really a possession, but without question: my family.

What is your present state of mind?

I have just arrived home after a few weeks on tour, just for a couple of days and am very much looking forward to meeting my daughter at her favourite restaurant in New York for dinner.

Pianist Alessio Bax is Artistic Director of the inaugural London Festival of Chamber Music which takes place at Smith Square Hall 25-29 March 2026. https://www.sinfoniasmithsq.org.uk/festival/london-festival-of-chamber-music-2026/

(Artist photo credit Marco Borggreve)