Read in other languages

Born into a family of musicians from Bucharest, Cristian Sandrin has been surrounded by classical music all his life. His frequent visits to the historic Romanian Atheneum concert hall and his attendances at the prestigious Enescu Festival shaped his musical aspirations from early childhood. Not surprisingly, years later he would have his own debut at the Atheneum at the age of 13.

Cristian is an artist with wide ranging musical tastes, but especially devoted to the Mozartian repertoire - a passion that has led him to conduct numerous piano concertos from the keyboard for summer festivals as well as for the official opening of the Angela Burgess Recital Hall at the Royal Academy of Music in 20??. The year 2017 was marked by his successful and critically well-received debut solo recital at the Wigmore Hall. From 2018–2020 he was privileged to tour the UK as an artist of the Countess of Munster Recital Scheme. Additionally, Cristian is also a scholarship holder of the Imogen Cooper Music Trust, benefiting from her unique one-to-one guidance and mentorship since 2017.

In 2021 Cristian travelled to Romania for his debut with the acclaimed George Enescu Philharmonic orchestra performing Mozart's K503 Piano Concerto in C major at the country's foremost music venue: The Romanian Atheneum - the same temple of music from his childhood. In 2022 Cristian began performing challenging programmes including Beethoven's last three sonatas and Bach's Goldberg Variations - at the National Liberal Club, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Holywell Music Room Oxford, the Sala Puccini Milan and St John's Smith Square, recitals that have left audiences and critics spellbound by the Cristian’s mature interpretations. 

Cristian has collaborated as a soloist with the Petersfield Festival Orchestra, the Oxford Sinfonia, the Bournemouth Bach Choir Orchestra, the Bacau State Philharmonic, Sibiu State Philharmonic, Ramnicu-Valcea State Philharmonic and the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra. In addition, future appearances in Romania will include concerts at the Radio Hall in Bucharest and with the Craiova State Philharmonic.

Cristian's UK engagements have featured solo performances in London at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Wigmore Hall, St James's Piccadilly, St Martin in the Fields, the National Liberal Club, the Oxford and Cambridge Club, 30 Pavilion Road, Knightsbridge, 22 Mansfield Street, the Matthiesen Gallery and St John's Smith Square. Outside London he has performed in Amersham, Bournemouth, Bracknell, Brighton, Cambridge, Carlisle, Chipping Camden, Cranleigh, Darlington, Little Missenden, Oxford, Sunderland and Twickenham. 

Other notable European engagements include performances at Salle Cortot in Paris, Marstall Platz in Berlin, Salla Manuel de Falla in Madrid, Palazzo Ricci in Montepulciano, La Fenice Theatre in Venice, the British Institute of Florence, and the Palazzo Santa Chiara Tropea, the Bulgaria Hall in Sophia and the Polish National Philharmonic Hall. He is a laurate of many international competitions, including the “Roslyn Tureck Special Prize” for the best interpretation of Bach during the Olga Kern International Piano Competition 2019 in New Mexico, USA and the First Prize of the Città di Oleggio International Piano Competition. 

In Romania Cristian was taught by his father, professor Sandu Sandrin, and by professors Marina Dragomirescu and Cristian Dumitrescu at the Dinu Lipatti Art College. On moving to London he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Music where he studied for seven years under the wing of professors Diana Ketler and Christopher Elton. While at the Academy Cristian was awarded the William Sterndale Bennet Prize in 2014 and the Harold Craxton Chamber Music prize in 2016. In 2018 he received a DipRAM with distinction, awarded for an outstanding performance at the Master of Music final recital. He completed his final degree at the Academy in 2019, the Advanced Diploma, a special programme reserved only for the very best students.

Cristian's journey to the UK music world has been supported by numerous benefactors, including the Keyboard Charitable Trust, theTillett Trust, the Hattori Trust, the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, Help Musicians UK, the Cohen Foundation, the Harold Craxton Memorial Trust and the Royal Society of Musicians.