A stunning new album that sees the U.K. pianist and composer Alexis Ffrench propel himself to yet further heights, Evolution features a host of guests, from Boston-based electro folk duo Tall Heights; to The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Adam Klemans; and international classical harpist Lavinia Meijer. The album has already spawned a success in previous single "Moments", seeing it feature on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist, a huge moment for a solo piano track.
The Daily Telegraph reports, “As a classically trained musician with a love of Bach, R&B and roots music, Alexis Ffrench defines a unique sound.”
The new album arrives shortly after Ffrench’s electrifying performance at this year’s Classic BRIT Awards, where he performed his track "Bluebird". Ffrench was joined on the iconic Royal Albert Hall stage by opera singer Pretty Yende, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and provided a platform for young ballet dancers including his talented daughter Savannah, who performed a choreographed routine.
With more than 75 million streams to date and now more than 1 million active Spotify listeners a month, Alexis Ffrench is already an established star in the streaming world, leading the way for the new generation of classical artists, with his music speaking to a very wide and diverse audience and transcending all boundaries and genres.
Ffrench says, “I would love to look out at Last Night of the Proms and see a welcome mixture of white, brown and black faces, with people of all backgrounds. That would prove to me that classical music is alive and adaptable and I see myself as an artist who can help to lead the change.”
Ffrench began to improvise on the piano at the age of 4, and studied at The Purcell School for Young Musicians, the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School Of Music and Drama. He first came to prominence as a solo classical pianist in 1992 as a result of winning the first Portobello Concert Artists Award. In the same year he made his concerto debut as part of Simon Rattle's “Towards the Millennium” Series performing “Rhapsody in Blue” at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Subsequent appearances in the U.K. have included concerts at the Barbican and South Bank centres, the Canterbury Festival, St. Martin in the Fields, Peterborough Cathedral as well as live broadcasts on Classic FM and Radio 3. Television broadcasts have included a live performance of music by Samuel Coleridge Taylor with the Commonwealth Chamber orchestra screened on BBC2. Concerts abroad have included a recital tour of Italy including appearances at the Bolzano and Montepulciano festivals and also concerts in Spain and Germany.
As likely to be found listening to Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper as Bach and Beethoven, Alexis Ffrench’s combination of classical training and love for R&B and roots music has helped define his unique sound. He notes, “I listen to a lot of R&B and hip hop, and study the music videos. I see innovation and people pushing the envelope and doing daring things in the name of art, in a way that provokes thought. I wonder whether as classical musicians if we can do more on that front.”
Pre-order and stream Alexis Ffrench’s album online.