Xenia Pestova Bennett

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, Xenia Pestova Bennett has earned a reputation as a leading interpreter of uncompromising repertoire alongside masterpieces from the past.

Xenia’s commitment to promoting music by living composers inspired her to commission dozens of new works and collaborate with major innovators in contemporary 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 evocative solo debut of premiere recordings for the Innova label titled “Shadow Piano” was described as a “terrific album of dark, probing music” by the Chicago Reader. 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. 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. Her latest recordings are “Gold.Berg.Werk,” a radical re-interpretation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations with live electronics by Karlheinz Essl (Ergodos) and “As Trees Grow”, which features the piano works of Gayle Young (Ars Subtilior).

From 2011-2015 Xenia was the Head of Performance at Bangor University, where she founded and directed the highly successful INTER/actions Festival and Symposium for interactive electronic music. She is currently Associate Professor in Music at the University of Nottingham. In addition to her career as a musician and academic, Xenia is a fully certified and insured yoga teacher and breathwork coach. She provides interventions on anxiety management for individuals and organisations using movement, breathwork and focus.