WHEN acclaimed international pianist Sergio Tiempo performs his concert in Colchester later this month, he'll be bringing along the family.

Not his real family - more the musical interpretations of them.

"The programme for Colchester," he explains, "or part of it at least, is one based on a programme of music I did for the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London a couple of years ago where every piece of music represents a person in my family."

There's a piece by Brahms, which is his sister Karin, and Beethoven's Appassionata, which "if you knew my mother," Sergio laughs, "is so like my mother."

Other family members include his wife, of course, his son who gets a waltz 'because it was the only piece that would make him sleep', tango for his father and a piece by Debussy, which Sergio suggests is himself.

"It's like bringing my family to the concert," he continues, "and it always makes me smile to know they are there with me."

And as a pianist in demand all over the world, travelling away from home is all part and parcel of the job.

But then Sergio has been used to travelling.

Born in Venezuela to Argentinian parents, his father's work as a diplomat took his family all over the world while his mother's interest in music as a esteemed pianist herself led to Sergio's passion for music.

"I obviously cannot remember it myself," he adds, "but my first public performance was when I was about three. My mother used to put on special concerts for her students and she would compose arrangements of classical pieces especially for us."

At the age of six, Sergio and his family moved to London where they lived for four years until the start of the Falklands War.

"It became very miserable for us living in England," he reveals. "We moved to the UK because my father lost his job after the military took over power but during the Falklands it was difficult for us to travel anywhere. Every time we came back into the country we were interrogated I suppose because we were Argentinian and we were considered the enemy at the time.

"In the end we decided to leave. My father had worked in Brussels before and liked it so much we went there. The whole family have been here ever since.

"Eventually the war ended which was good for us because it meant the military dictatorship ended, the country went back to democracy and my father got his job back as a diplomat."

It also meant Sergio, as well as his sister Karen, had a central European base from which to broaden their classical horizons.

Described by Gramophone Records as a musician 'in love with the infinite variety a piano can produce', Sergio has developed a reputation as one of the most individual and thought-provoking pianists of his generation.

Establishing his international credentials at an early age, he made his professional debut at the age of 14 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. A tour of the USA and a string of engagements across Europe quickly followed. Since then he has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors and is a frequent guest at major festivals worldwide.

"I never really thought about doing anything else," Sergio tells me. "When I was younger it was just such a big part of my life I didn't really think about the possibility of what I might do when I was older.

"Then when I was about 18/19 I found myself a little lost about whether I was going to continue with my music or not. At the time I was interested in so many different things and I think that is what saved me because in the end the one constant in my life was music."

Notable recital engagements since those early years have included a sell-out recital debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London in the International Piano Series, debuts at the Vienna Konzerthaus, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie and Edinburgh International Festival as well as return visits to the Oslo Chamber Music Festival and the Warsaw Chopin Festival.

But perhaps his most important concert was in Stavanger, Norway, when aged just 18 he performed the notoriously difficult Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No 3.

"It was quite exhilarating for me and also a little strange," Sergio says. "From the first rehearsal receiving that mass of sound from the orchestra to the concert performance itself, the whole thing felt very different. It was almost as though I wasn't playing. It was like an out of body experience and I was looking at this guy playing the piano, who was me, obviously," he laughs, "and I thought 'do you know what, this guy isn't so bad'."

As well as solo concerts all over the world, another very enjoyably aspect to Sergio's career has been the frequency with which he has performed on stage with his sister Karin Lechner.

"It's great because we all still live in Brussels," he adds. "My sister and her family, my family and my parents as well. Having my sister around, right from an early age, has really helped me along the way. She's always been someone I have looked up to and playing music with her has always been a complete joy.

"She was the star of the family and begun her career way before me not just in music but as an actress as well. But throughout my life she has always been so generous with her time and her encouragement.

"My favourite thing is going to the Lugano Festival, where my sister and I play every year since the very beginning, coming up with new repertoires especially for the festival."

Later this month he's back in Colchester for another classical music festival, this time the Roman River Music Festival as part of the festival's pre concert events.

"I've played for Roman River before," he says, "at a beautiful church with the wonderful Natalie Klein and I enjoyed it very much.

"To be honest I hadn't really played much in the UK up until eight/nine years ago. I don't know why that was but I'm glad it's changed. The pianos there are some of the best in the world, I think because you have the best piano tuners, but the audiences are also so knowledgeable, erudite and sensitive to the music, which is so pleasing, if not a little scary as well."

Sergio Tiempo

Mercury Theatre,

Balkerne Gate, Colchester.

May 14. 7.30pm.

£24 to £8. 01206 573948.

www.mercurytheatre.co.uk