Alessio Bax

Alessio Bax

Piano

Artistic Director of the Incontri in Terra di Siena Festival

“Bax is a true storyteller, using the piano as his voice.”
— The Independent

Contact

Lorna Neill

+44 (0)7798 531 819
lorna@musicinteralia.com

Downloads

Video

Reviews

Reviews Archive

“With the APO, the Grieg concerto gave the Italian pianist the opportunity to combine crispness with poetry, effortlessly moving from impeccably chiselled minor to yearning major, in response to eloquently pleading cellos. The cadenza journeyed from rapturous nocturne to leonine roars and after, the adagio allowed Bax further exquisite dialogue with orchestral colleagues; the finale had the unbridled swing of a folk dance in which all were merry participants. A seat in the circle was an advantage at encore time, watching Bax play a Scriabin prelude using just one hand, with a richness of tone that you might have thought was coming from two.”

New Zealand Herald (William Dart), April 2019

“Alessio Bax is a musician who oozes grace and class, both in his stage manner and in his playing.He is capable of great delicacy, as in his handling of the airy birdsong at the top of the keyboard in Liszt’s St Francoise d’Assise: Lapredication aux oiseaux attests, as well as power and muscle, shown to thrilling effect in the same composer’s sonata Apres une Lecture de Dante which followed and closed the evening. After the Liszt pieces in the second half brought the house down, Bax gave two encores to set the seal of this special recital.“

Sydney Daily Telegraph (Steve Moffatt), 26 March 2019

“Making his BSO debut, Bax gave the Mozart concerto a brisk, even-keeled treatment, and orchestra matched soloist in character. [..]Bax’sperformance was built on a foundation of understated grace, moderate dynamic shifts, and easy flow between statements”

Boston Globe (Zoë Madonna), January 2019

“The most exciting debutin recent memory. An elegant pianist, he (Bax) approached every phrase with a singing tone, yet he displayed plenty of fire in the powerhouse passages. (…) Listeners were on their feet, demanding bow after bow from the soloist.”

Cincinnati Enquirer (Janelle Gelfand), April 2017

“But the most dramatic performance of the evening belonged to pianist Alessio Bax, who skippered the remarkable dynamics within Faure’s “Piano Quartet No. 2 in G Minor, Opus 45.” From the tossed sea sensibility immediately conjured for the opening Allegro movement to the similarly sudden conclusion to the third Adagio non troppo movement that triggered an audible audience gasp a few rows behind me, this was perhaps the most fully realized and openly emotive performance so far in the festival.”

– Lexington Herald-Leader (Walter Tunis) (Faure’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in G Minor, Opus 45 at the Chamber Music Festival of Lexington), 2017

Read full review

“(…) pianist Bax was impressive. This relatively young artist eschewed overly dramatic gestures of the crowd-pleasing sort and channeled all his considerable energy into the music, demonstrating complete mastery of the demanding writing.”

–Cleveland.com

“Bax is a true storyteller, using the piano as his voice, and Gabetta reminds us through these selections why the cello was created – as an instrument of raw emotion to reflect our own capacity for feeling. This concert was a wonderful showcase of two talented artists.”

–The Independent

“Throughout the evening, pianist Bax proved an inspired partner for Bell. The two ably prodded each other, especially in the night's sonatas. In the Brahms, particularly, Bax's account of the keyboard part was notable for its tonal warmth and excellent textural balance.”

–Telegram

“Bax found plenty of poetry in the work [Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No 14 “Moonlight”] and capped it with quite a stormy finale. (…) Pictures at an Exhibition is a virtuoso piece in its piano form, full of many moods including some spooky passages. Virtuosity and variety were strongly present in Bax’s interpretation, which ended with a grand Great Gate of Kiev.”

–Star Telegram

“Bax wisely eschewed extensive rubato in the first movement [Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No 14 “Moonlight”], marked Adagio sostenuto, instead creating a dignified, elegant sustained line. He attacked the thorny third movement, marked Presto agitato, at a breakneck clip, but Bax is a musician with technique up to the task.”

–Theater Jones

“Bax gave it [Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 31, No. 1 in A major, Op. 110] a sensitive and insightful performance. (…) The majestic fugal section in the last movement was played with great clarity and the entrance of the subject in octaves in the bottom of the instrument was an awe-inspiring sound. It was fascinating to hear him boldly step forward in this solo appearance and then return to the collaborator a moment later.”

–Theater Jones

“Bax’s bracing prestidigitation was evident in the strongly projected playing of the declarative solo that begins the work [Barber’s Piano Concerto], and even more in the explosive later cadenza and his consistently fast and accurate passagework. Yet the soloist was also able to relax into the more lyrical sections, with some affecting phrasing in the Canto middle movement. (…) Bax racheted up the power and velocity in the virtuosic final section, making the sparks fly in a combustible coda.”

–Chicago Classical Review

 

Latest Releases

 

Biography

Alessio Bax is acclaimed for his exceptional lyricism and technique, recognized as “among the most remarkable pianists” by Gramophone. He gained fame by winning First Prizes at the Leeds and Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions and is now a renowned as both a recitalist, and chamber musician. Bax has collaborated as a concerto soloist with over 150 orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, alongside esteemed conductors including Marin Alsop, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Andrew Davis, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yuri Temirkanov, and Jaap van Zweden. 

Alessio’s 2024/25 season begins with a visit to Lahti Symphony Orchestra in October, playing Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 conducted by Hannu Lintu and then to Turku Philharmonic Orchestra playing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1.  October also includes a recital in Seattle and a performance with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra playing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 under Han-Na Chang. Returning to Wigmore Hall in November, he shares a concert with regular duo partner, Lucille Chung in a programme of Schubert, Poulenc, Debussy, and Piazzolla, before returning to the States to perform with Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He commences 2025 with an American tour with Emmanuel Pahud performing in Cleveland, Cincinnati, St Louis, and Atlanta. In February, he debuts with the Uppsala Chamber Orchestra in Sweden. Additionally, he will be giving several recitals in the States throughout the spring, including New York, Florida, Texas, Virginia, Arizona, Tennessee, Colorado, North Carolina, and Utah. In March, he joins prominent chamber musicians, including Lucille Chung, Lawrence Power, and Paul Watkins, in several performances and educational events as a part of Cultura Artistica in São Paulo 

Last season included debuts with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, the CSO Presidential Orchestra Ankara under Jacek Kaspszyk, and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ruth Reinhardt. He also returned to the Dallas Symphony, Pacific Symphony, and Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra. He undertook his fifth performance at the famed Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, a tour of Asia with violinist Daishin Kashimoto, and of Japan with flautist Emmanuel Pahud. Throughout the season, he had multiple returns to the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York. 

Having moved to America in 1994, Alessio has established long-standing relationships with American orchestras including Jacksonville, Hartford, Santa Barbara and St. Louis Symphony, as well as Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra He has also given performances at L.A.’s Disney Hall, Washington’s Kennedy Center, and New York’s Carnegie Hall. He also performed at the Bravo! Vail Music Festival with the Dallas Symphony under Fabio Luisi. 

He has performed with the Boston and Melbourne Symphonies, both with Sir Andrew Davis, and with the Sydney Symphony, which he led from the keyboard. Other orchestras he has performed with include Auckland Philharmonia, the Szczecin Philharmonic, Philharmonie Südwestfalen, Ulster Orchestra Belfast, Polish Baltic Philharmonic Gdansk, Orchestra della Toscana, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He has toured Japan with Tokyo Symphony, and toured the US with Berlin Philharmonic principal flautish Emmanuel Pahud. As a chamber musician, Alessio has performed at several festivals, including the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Salon-de-Provence, Le Pont in Japan, Great Lakes, Verbier, Ravinia, and Music@Menlo. 

In New York, he has performed the complete works of Beethoven for cello and piano with cellist Paul Watkins, and he toured Spain alongside Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis.  

Alessio’s discography includes multiple albums for Signum Classics. These include Beethoven’s Hammerklavier and Moonlight Sonatas Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, Bax & Chung, a duo disc with Lucille Chung; Alessio Bax plays Mozart, recorded with London’s Southbank Sinfonia; Alessio Bax: Scriabin & Mussorgsky; Alessio Bax plays Brahms; Bach Transcribed and Rachmaninov: Preludes & Melodies – recordings respectively named Editor’s Choice, Recording of the Month, and Critics’ Choice by Gramophone, MusicWeb International, and American Record Guide. Also on Signum Classics, he has recorded Italian Inspirations, which was the vehicle for his solo recital debut at New York’s 92nd Street Y as well as on tour. Most recently on Signum Classics, he recorded two discs; a new solo recital album, and a four hands/two pianos disc of French music with Lucille Chung. Recorded for Warner Classics, his Baroque Reflections album was named “Editor’s Choice” by Gramophone. He performed Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata for Daniel Barenboim in the PBS-TV documentary Barenboim on Beethoven: Masterclass, available on DVD from EMI. 

   

Since 2017, he has been the Artistic Director of the Incontri in Terra di Siena Festival, a Summer Music Festival in Tuscany. A Steinway artist, he lives in New York City with pianist Lucille Chung and their daughter, Mila, and teaches at Boston’s New England Conservatory. 

 
William BurtonPiano