Renowned British pianist Alexis Ffrench aims to change the clichéd image of classical music

For generations together classical music has a clichéd image and has been categorised as outdated.

But now many musicians and composers are coming forward to show the world the beauty behind the genre.

British composer and pianist Alexis Ffrench is a rising black star in the overwhelmingly white world of classical music.

The music composer is on a mission "to change the narrative" that the genre is stuffy and outdated.

British pianist and composer Alexis Ffrench plays a piano at Steinway & Sons in London.

The 48-year-old, who is set to release his latest album next month, is trying to counter what he sees as a false perception by using his fresh take on the music and growing status to reach new audiences.

Ffrench's 2018 hit record "Evolution" propelled him to wider recognition after topping Britain's classical music charts for three weeks and spending around three months in the top 10.

He now boasts nearly two million regular listeners on Spotify and has to date garnered around 200 million streams online, while also hosting a weekly show on new classical music digital station Scala Radio.

"Classical music is under-represented in certain echelons of society, no doubt about that," he told AFP during a practice session this week at legendary piano-maker Steinway and Sons' central London store.

Alexis Ffrench with his piano at his residence.

"I'm determined to use whatever profile, influence, I can to help young people who are certainly disadvantaged in one way or another," he added.

Ffrench was poised to dash from the interview to London's famous Abbey Road studios to continue working with a group of British youngsters not typically identified with classical music.

 'Soulful sensibility'

Ffrench, whose parents emigrated from Jamaica as teenagers, actually trod an orthodox path to a classical music career from the family home in suburban Surrey, southwest of London.

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He trained at the Purcell School -- Britain's oldest specialist music school -- before moving on to the renowned Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy.

Despite his classical training, Ffrench sees his compositions as a synthesis of many styles, with classical music "in the DNA".

He draws on the influence of childhood favourites such as Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley as well as classical greats like Mozart and Beethoven.

"It's classical music, but it's imbued with this kind of soulful sensibility," he explained.