About Xenia Pestova Bennett
"A powerhouse of contemporary keyboard repertoire"
Солідарні з Україною - Солидарность с Украиной
Xenia Pestova Bennett (New Zealand / Canada / UK) is a pianist, improviser, composer and educator. Described as “a powerhouse of contemporary keyboard repertoire” (Tempo), “stunning” (Wales Arts Review), “ravishing” (Pizzicato) and “remarkably sensuous” (New Zealand Herald) in the international press, she has earned a reputation as a leading interpreter of uncompromising repertoire alongside masterpieces from the past.
Xenia’s commitment to promoting music by contemporary composers inspired her to commission dozens of new works and collaborate with major innovators in new music. Her widely acclaimed recordings of core piano duo works of the Twentieth Century by John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen with Pascal Meyer are available on four CDs for Naxos Records. Her solo recordings of music for piano, toy piano and electronics include “Shadow Piano” (Innova), a “terrific album of dark, probing music” (Chicago Reader). Xenia's recent offerings feature the complete piano works by Gayle Young (Farpoint), hailed as "a triumph" (John Eyles, All About Jazz), and "Gold.Berg.Werk" (Ergodos), a reimagining of J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations by Karlheinz Essl described as "a sci-fi journey in the direction of 1741” (Luke Clancy, RTE Lyric FM).
Xenia's own compositions are available on Diatribe Records and TakuRoku. Her full-length album "Atomic Legacies" features Ligeti Quartet and the Magnetic Resonator Piano. Highlighted in Bandcamp's "Best of Contemporary Classical" in 2020, the album was reviewed as "boldly conceived and brilliantly realised... a foretaste of things to come" (The Wire), "intoxicating, extraordinarily eerie and evocative” (Bernard Clarke, RTE LyricFM), "melancholy... heart-swells and proper feelings" (The Quietus) and "a nuclear musical reaction that produces great, irradiated beauty" (Tom Service, BBC Radio 3). Xenia's subsequent digital EP "Atonal Electronic Chamber Music for Cats" takes an unexpected turn-around, using vintage synthesizers in an exploration of 1990's techno-art-pop nostalgia. Visit the "shop" section for recording streaming links and purchase options.
Past projects include commissioning and performing in Arlene Sierra’s “Urban Birds” at the Southbank Centre (with Kathleen Supove and Sarah Nicolls, recorded for BBC Radio 3 and available on NMC Records), burning a piano with Annea Lockwood in Wales, instigating and performing in the World Toy Piano Summit at Festival Rainy Days in Luxembourg (with Margaret Leng Tan and others), designing cutting-edge digital musical instruments at McGill University and collaborating on a new digital version of the analogue electronic processing required for Karlheinz Stockhausen’s epic masterwork “Mantra”. Xenia is a Schoenhut toy piano concert artist and has championed many new works for this instrument.
In addition to her career as an interpreter, Xenia a fully certified and insured yoga and breathwork instructor. She provides coaching to individuals and organisations on anxiety management using movement, breathing and focus interventions. Xenia's book "Befriending Performance Anxiety: Practical Tips for Performers of All Levels" was endorsed as “a breath of fresh air” (Steven Osborne) and “an ideal resource for performers in any field” (Patrick McKeown). For more information on Xenia's wellness work please visit the Wellbeing tab.
Photo Credit: Paul Hudson
Latest:
FRENCH SUITE: Theatre of the Ear in Nine Audio Snapshots
"A new work for Pyramid Club Broadcasting: audio time capsules, half heard conversations, a world of memory and dream, a liminal space. Xenia uses Baroque forms to structure her journey through friendship and past lives; from the funereal to healing pop. With nimble ears Xenia weaves narrative as melody into a complex counterpoint... Put your headphones on, and dance?” - Jonny Marks, Pyramid Club
New CD/download: Gayle Young's As Trees Grow
(Ars Subtilior / FarPoint)Microtonal recordings of frozen waterfalls, truffle mycelia, fruiting trees in Umbria, ephemeral spring wildflowers in Canada: Young’s poetic musings on environmental themes will soothe and provoke, massaging your ears and waking up multi-sensory associations.
Release date: April 6, 2022
"Befriending Performance Anxiety" Book (Brompton Cove Press)
Packed with simple practical interventions, "Befriending Performance Anxiety" is your guide to achieving optimal performance states and finding support before, during and after each public event.
Featured Projects:
Annea Lockwood / Luc Ferrari
Xenia Pestova Bennett presents her new project featuring the works of Luc Ferrari and Annea Lockwood, as well as a selection of shorter pieces by John Cage.
Gold.Berg.Werk.
Austrian composer Karlheinz Essl offers a refreshing glimpse of a new performance practice through his unusual take on J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations (1741)
Magnetic String Resonance
Pianist Xenia Pestova Bennett presents uncompromising renditions of radical text scores and improvisations on the Magnetic Resonator Piano (MRP), a new instrument designed by Andrew McPherson.
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Photo Credit: Damian Wojcik