Sophie Cashell

Sophie Cashell

Sophie Cashell is on a high - a sugar high. The victor of the BBC's Classical Star has just tucked into the richest, fattest brownie it's possible to eat. 'I am a total chocoholic,' confesses the 19-year-old pianist, who may have talent and the Pre-Raphaelite looks that are a marketing man's wet dream but is about as down to earth and well adjusted as a young musician can be.

What makes Cashell really different was winning the country's first reality TV series about classical music, late last year. It beamed the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) student into millions of British households and landed her a recording deal with Universal Classics and Jazz (UCJ).

Her success catapulted Cashell into the media spotlight; now she has to prove she's worthy of the hype and able to handle the pressure.

'One day Tasmin Little came up to me on the street and said, "Excuse me, are you a pianist?"'

A lot is riding on her debut disc - a recital album dominated by Liszt and Chopin - and she's been obliging UCJ with a frantic round of media interviews. She's also been getting used to being approached on the street by fans of the TV show.

'I remember the first time it happened it was a bit weird,' she admits. 'There were some people at Euston Station who came up and said hello. And one day Tasmin Little came up to me on the street and said, "Excuse me, are you a pianist?"'

It was before the TV series had finished and the acclaimed violinist asked Cashell if she'd won.

'I told her I wasn't allowed to say but I think I might have let it slip anyway!' she chuckles. When Cashell had time to think about it afterwards, she 'realised the effect the show had had on so many different people': 'People listened to the music because of the format it was in. The music was at the heart of it and, in that sense, it was a brilliant thing - to be able to open people up to it.

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