Venezuelan born pianist Elena Riu ‘brings all the virtuosity, colour, and refinement one could hope for in her interpretations.’ Her poetic and lyrical playing and unique programming flair have placed her at the forefront of a new generation of British artists.
ELENA RIU has been a professor at Trinity Laban since 2000 and works at the intersection of music and movement. Her eclectic career combines expertise in performance, teaching, writing and well-being. Her nurturing, embodied, and individualised teaching approach strives to guide pianists in finding their unique voice and style as artists. Elena’s recordings have been acclaimed internationally for their finesse, technical mastery , colour and refinement , and these are specific areas that Elena explores in her teaching.
As an international concert pianist, Elena combines a busy performing and recording schedule with a teaching career. As a fully qualified Senior Yoga and Mindfulness teacher, Elena created ‘The Embodied Musician’, offering her expertise in the area of performance health. At Trinity Laban, she has been delivering weekly classes for the Keyboard and Dance Departments.
This year, as The Embodied Musician & Performer, Elena was engaged to offer a year long workshop series at Bath Spa University Music Department, covering different aspects of Musician’s well being. Elena is also a Creativity and Menstrual Cycle Awareness Coach, specializing in women’s health, which led to the publication of her book : My Dear Period-A Guidebook in 2025.
Riu studied at Trinity College of Music in London ( now Trinity Laban), with Joseph Weingarten and later, won a scholarship to study with Vlado Perlemuter in Paris.
Elena has commissioned, premiered, edited, published, performed and recorded over 40 new works for piano including Sir John Tavener’s “Ypakoe”, written especially for her. A new music champion and groundbreaking educator, Elena commissioned and edited Salsa Nueva: a collection of contemporary piano pieces published by Boosey & Hawkes. Winning an Arts Council Award, she published Elena Riu’s R’n’B Collection and Out of the Blues CD . Both of these are widely acclaimed, and have become part of the contemporary piano mainstream repertoire.
A leading exponent of the Hispano-American repertoire Elena’s CD of Sonatas by Soler was released to great acclaim by the Spanish label Ensayo, and she is a regular visitor to the Festival Latinoamericano de Musica. Also a champion of contemporary music, her Piano Icons for the 21st Century CD, a collection of works inspired by nature and mysticism, was chosen by The Gramophone : “My disc of 2000 is without hesitation Elena Riu’s extraordinary CD of 20th century piano music” (Gramophone) .
Elena has toured extensively and has performed in all major concert halls worldwide including Latin America, the US, Africa and Europe. She has performed with the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Simon Bolivar orchestra, The Vivaldi Ensemble, St Paul's Symphony and many others. She has been part of the jury in major competitions and awards, including the BBC Young Musician of the Year and Help Musicians UK. Masterclasses include Dartington International Summer School, Jackdaws Music Trust, CALARTS in LA, RNCM, Trinity Laban Junior , RCM, Bath Spa University, EPTA, Piano Plus Series, Simon Bolivar University in Caracas and Anglia Ruskin University.
An eclectic artist, Elena has pioneered collaborative work. She was the brain behind the sell-out multicultural Spanish Plus Series at the SBC and their Children’s and Families series. Her collaboration with Finn Caldwell, The Adventures of Tom Thumb was awarded a Fringe First at Edinburgh. She has collaborated with dancer’s Javier de Frutos, La Ribot and Matthew Hawkings.
Venezuelan-born pianist Elena Riu “brings all the virtuosity, colour and refinement one could hope for in her interpretations"
American Record Guide
The delicate precision of her playing leaves a wonderful sense of anticipation before every next move.
The Observer
Elena didn’t simply interpret contemporary Latin-American piano music — she shaped the repertoire. She built the canon. She opened the door that others are now walking through. She is not just an artist. She is a ground breaker. What Elena created here is not simply a recording. It is a cultural statement. A blueprint for what Latin-American contemporary piano music could become. She helped shift the industry’s mindset. She showed that Latin-American music is as masterful, dexterous, challenging, and beautiful as any other tradition—not an “alternative” or an “extra.” Changing the mindset is always the beginning. And Salsa Nueva arrived at exactly the right moment: a few years before 2020, when the floodgates finally opened wider for inclusion and representation in classical music. Even today, that gate still requires constant work, advocacy, and education to keep it open—and to open it further.
And eleven years later, we are only now beginning to recognize the full scope of what she achieved with this album.
The Piano Pod 2025
Riu’s vivacious articulation really shines. A beguiling performance of a unique programme.
The Independent
Salsa Nueva is new music with a difference...just the kind of fresh air that this Venezuelan-born pianist loves to bring to her musical activities and everyone else's.
Classical Music
"The delicate precision of her playing leaves a wonderful sense of anticipation before every next move."
The Observer
My disc of 2000 is without hesitation Elena Riu’s extraordinary CD of 20th century piano music.
The Gramophone
The dynamic Venezuelan pianist Elena Riu has hit a potential jackpot with this innovative collection of freshly commissioned piano pieces. Riu makes clear her intention to reach out to a youth market and there is every chance that she will succeed in reaching her target audience.
International Piano
All the works are spellbinding in Riu’s readings; it is because each note is so exposed that the integrity of these interpretations is so compelling. Riu’s mastery of all-but-inaudible range is not only wonderful but a rare gift in this era of competition winners.
American Record Guide