Alexei Lubimov

As Russia gradually opened up to the world in the 1980s, enigmatic pianist Alexei Lubimov was at the forefront in championing works by radical contemporary composers and previously neglected pieces from the Baroque era, helping to broaden and challenge the classical music scene in his country.

Born in Moscow in 1944, he was one of the last students of the great Heinrich Neuhaus at the Moscow Conservatory in the 1960s and was hugely inspired by the maverick spirit of Maria Yudina, from whom he also took lessons; it led him to rebel against the wishes of the Soviet government by premiering the works of Western artists such as John Cage and Terry Riley. He formed his own Baroque quartet in the 1970s and worked with new composers such as Arvo Pärt, Valentin Silvestrov and Vladimir Martynov.

He went on to perform across the world with the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and the Finnish Radio Symphony and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 1988 started the Alternative Festival in Moscow, which showcased avant-garde musicians. He made his American debut in New York in 1991 with Andrew Parrott, and whether he's dabbling with East Asian sounds, taking on Brahms and Mozart or playing harpsichord with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, he continues to be regarded as one of his country's most forward-thinking piano maestros.