Québec native Alexandra Stréliski is nothing short of a phenomenon in the music industry. With millions of online streams and six-figure album sales, she’s bringing her music to Toronto for a concert on January 13.
The current label of neoclassical suits her music to a T. Critics and listeners have been debating whether or not to categorize her compositions as “real classical” for years, and it’s worth noting that Alexandra herself does not make that claim.
But, with multiple award wins, and the seemingly ever growing popularity of neoclassical solo piano in particular, the debate seems rather moot.
Alexandra Stréliski: How it began
Alexandra’s career in music began with classical training while she was a child living in her parent’s Montréal home. She turned away from the idea of becoming a concert performer, however, and eventually found her way into composing music for advertising in her early 20s.
After a few years living and studying in Paris, Alexandra returned to Montréal where she studied at Collège international Marie de France, McGill University and Université de Montréal.
Her first recording came about as a wish to create something for her parents when she left home. She recorded a few tracks of her original music, and her mother mailed them out from the basement of their family home in the hopes someone might notice.
Those tracks would eventually become the heart of her first release, Pianoscope, which she made available for download free via Bandcamp in 2010.
From there, what was intended essentially as a gift for a small circle of family and friends took on a life of its own. Her mother was soon mailing copies of the disc all over the world, and one of the tracks hit a playlist that went viral.
Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallée used Prélude from her album for his movie Dallas Buyers’ Club, starring Matthew McConaughey. She went on to provide music for several more of the director’s films and TV projects.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Today, her tracks have garnered more than 300 million streams online. Her second album INSCAPE was certified platinum in Canada, with 140,000 album sales. Her music has been recognized with five Félix award and a JUNO award win for Instrumental Album of the Year.
Along with her recordings, her tracks have continued to be featured in films and TV, including the series Big Little Lies.
Her Music
Her latest release, Néo-Romance, came out in March 2023. She calls it,“Some of the saddest music I’ve ever written.” Néo-Romance was longlisted for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize.
A video for the track Umbra was released a few months ago:
Alexandra sheds some light into her process in her description of the video, where she talks about improvising with her favourite musical collaborators on a piece that began as the finale for her solo piano show.
It’s clear that her music has struck a chord with listeners. Along with Toronto and Montréal, her tour will take her through Europe, back to Québec, the US, and then onto more Canadian dates.
- Find out more about Alexandra Stréliski’s January 13 performance in Toronto [HERE].
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