Pianist Ashley Wass to perform at The Apex next month

Described as an “endlessly fascinating artist”, Ashley Wass (pictured above) is firmly established as one of the leading performers of his generation and he is due to perform at The Apex, in Bury St Edmunds, next month.

He began playing the piano at the age of five and studied music at Chetham’s School of Music from age 11.

In his teens he studied on scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, where his teachers included Christopher Elton and Hamish Milne.

Ashley’s watershed moment came in 1997 when he won the London International Piano Competition (the only British winner so far), a victory that led to a recording contract with Naxos, making him the first solo artist to obtain an exclusive deal with the label.

He first came to perform in Bury St Edmunds shortly after his success at the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2000. He is also a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist and made his BBC Proms debut in 2008.

Ashley has performed at many of the world’s finest concert halls under the baton of conductors such as Simon Rattle, Donald Runnicles and Vassily Sinaisky.

He appeared in a gala concert at Buckingham Palace to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, a performance broadcast live to millions of viewers around the world.

Renowned for a broad and eclectic repertoire, Ashley has received great critical acclaim for his recordings of music from a wide range of styles and eras and his discography boasts a number of Gramophone “Editor’s Choice” recordings and BBC Music Magazine “Choices”.

Ashley Wass is at The Apex on Tuesday, September 19, at 7.30pm. The concert programme includes work by Beethoven, Bach, Shostakovich and Ukrainian composer Alexey Shor.

See www.theapex.co.uk or ring 01284 758000 for more information or to book tickets.