Piotr Anderszewski

It was in 1990 that Polish Piotr Anderszewski, then just 20 years old, first came to wider attention when he was competing in the Leeds Piano Competition. He reached the semi-finals when, playing 'Variations' by Anton Webern, he suddently stood up, walked off and abandoned the competition because he was so disappointed with the standard of his own playing. It didn't do him any lasting damage - indeed it led to an invitation to perform at London's Wigmore Hall and record the Webern 'Variations' for the Telarc label (an offer that he declined). Yet it was the the trigger for recitals at some of the world's most prestigious concert halls - often in company with Russian violinist Viktoria Mullova - while he went on to record a series of acclaimed albums as his reputation as one of the world's finest pianists soared.

Born in Warsaw he spent many of his formative years with his grandmother in Budapest. His father played guitar in a band while his enthusiasm for piano was ignited by the annual Chopin competition in Poland. After a period in Paris he won a place at the Warsaw High School for Music and the Chopin Academy. At 18 he won a scholarship to the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles and he developed what became regarded as a purist technique, describing the piano as 'the most musical of all instruments... the supreme instrument of persuasion and suggestion'.

He went on to collaborate with violinists and chamber orchestras, as well as film-maker Bruno Monsaingeon. His most highly acclaimed recordings include interpretations of Janacek, Prokofiev, Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Chopin and Schumann, while he has also consistently championed the work of Polish composer Karol Szymanowski in concert and recordings. Yet, through it all, he has remained a somewhat mysterious figure, his concert appearances sparing and interviews rare, helping to create a reputation as an endearing eccentric.