Andrew West is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

.

Andrew West read English at Clare College, Cambridge University

Cambridge

The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

 before going on to study piano and composition with Christopher Elton

Christopher Elton

Christopher Elton is an English pianist, Head of the Keyboard department of the Royal Academy of Music in London and a professor emeritus of the University of London.-Biography:...

 and John Streets at the Royal Academy of Music

Royal Academy of Music

The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...

. He won second prize for piano at the Geneva International Music Competition

Geneva International Music Competition

The Geneva International Music Competition is a music competitions held in Geneva, founded in 1939 in the Geneva Conservatory for a wide variety of instruments, voice, conducting, and chamber music.-See also:* List of classical music competitions* World Federation of International Music...

 in 1990. He now coaches on the Vocal Faculty at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...

 as well as teaching piano accompaniment at the Royal Academy of Music. He is also one of the artistic directors of the Nuremberg International Chamber Music Festival.

He has recorded the complete works of Les Six for flute and piano with Emily Beynon

Emily Beynon

Emily Beynon is principal flautist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam.Born in Swansea, Wales, she began her flute studies as a junior at the Royal College of Music with Margaret Ogonovsky and then went on to study with William Bennett at the Royal Academy of Music and with Alain Marion...

 (flute), and accompanied soprano Emma Bell

Emma Bell

Emma Jean Bell is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Parker O'Neil, one of the main characters in the 2010 film Frozen, and as Amy in The Walking Dead. Bell played the female lead in the thriller-horror film Final Destination 5...

 in a recording of songs by Strauss

Richard Strauss

Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...

, Walter

Bruno Walter

Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...

 and Marx

Joseph Marx

Joseph Rupert Rudolf Marx was an Austrian composer, teacher and critic.-Life and career:Marx pursued studies in philosophy, art history, German studies, and music at Graz University, earning several degrees including a doctorate in 1909. He began composing seriously in 1908 and over the next four...

. He collaborated with the Lyric Quartet to record a CD of chamber music by Herbert Howells

Herbert Howells

Herbert Norman Howells CH was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music.-Life:...

.

For the 2004 Aldeburgh Festival

Aldeburgh Festival

The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...

, Richard Baker

Richard Baker (composer/conductor)

Richard Baker is a British composer and conductor, known equally for his own highly charged and distinctive music and for his performances of contemporary music, especially the music of his contemporaries in the UK.-Life:...

, in collaboration with poet Lavinia Greenlaw

Lavinia Greenlaw

-Biography:Greenlaw was born in London into a family of doctors and scientists, but spent much of her childhood in a small village in Essex. She began her working life in publishing and arts administration before embarking upon a career as a freelance artist, critic and radio broadcaster. She lives...

, composed a cycle of songs for West and baritone Christopher Purves. In 2006 he accompanied baritone Håkan Vramsmo at the Luton Music Festival, playing songs by Richard Strauss, Hugo Alfvén, Sibelius, Britten and Schumann.