British concert pianist Freddy Kempf is in demand around the world performing, and increasingly conducting orchestras from the piano. The 38-year-old made his debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of eight. But his adult career really began to take off when he didn't win the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1998. His third placing provoked a barrage of protests from the audience and the Russian press who accused some of the judges of bias. Freddy Kempf is in the country to perform a series of concerts with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, which he will also conduct.
