Alexander Karpeyev began to play piano at the age of 7, studying at the Children's Music School in Saratov, Russia and afterwards at the Musical-Aesthetic Lyceum in Engels. In 2000 he entered the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory where he studied with Alexander Mndoyants, Emmanuel Monaszon and Vera Gornostayeva.
In September 2005 Alexander won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he currently holds the Guildhall Artists Fellowship. His teacher there is Joan Havill.
Alexander has been a major prizewinner in many international competitions including the 1998 Ibla Grand Prize in Ragusa, Italy; the 2001 International Competition for Young Musicians in Enschede, Netherlands; the 2004 Competition "Arthur Rubinstein in memoriam" in Bydgoszcz, Poland; the 2004 Adilia Alieva International Piano Competition in Gaillard, France; the 2006 Tunbridge Wells International Concert Artist Competition.
Alexander has won the first prizes at the 2006 Oxford Music Festival's "Professional Piano Recital" Competition, the 2007 Dudley International Piano Competition and at the Norah Sande Award (2008). Alexander was awarded The Worshipful Company of Musician's Silver Medal in 2008.
Alexander has played at UK venues including the Barbican, Cadogan Hall, Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Manchester's Bridgewater Hall. Abroad he has performed both as soloist and chamber musician in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Switzerland, Japan, Belgium and Greece. He has been featured on the Performance Channel of Sky Television playing Beethoven's Sonata Op.110 and on BBC Radio 3 playing Scarlatti sonatas.
Future projects include recitals and concertos in the north of England and Wales (October-December 2009); a recital at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester (October 2009); performances of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto with the Wycombe Sinfonia and the Amadeus Orchestra, and Brahms First Piano Concerto with the Havant Symphony Orchestra (March 2010).
"an epic programme, of Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy, Britten's Notturno, and three scenes from Stravinsky's Petrushka, scintillatingly delivered." Birmingham Post, June 2009