ITALIAN pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi plays the Apex, Bury St Edmunds, on November 23.

Dubbed a classical composer with pop star sales, he received lengthy standing ovations at all nine of his sold out shows last year and the 4,000-strong audience at his Royal Albert Hall concert demanded four encores.

His popularity has soared in recent years thanks to the regular use of his music in TV shows such as Shane Meadows’ new Channel 4 drama This Is England ’86, BBC shows such as Top Gear and Holby City and film soundtracks such as The Reader and The Piano.

The son of a publisher and grandson of Italy’s first post-war president, Einaudi is Classic FM’s most requested contemporary composer.