Amir Farid featured on ABC Classic FM’s ‘Rising Stars’ program on Sunday 13th may at 9am, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.23 in A major K.488 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, recorded on 27th November 2006 at the Iwaki Auditorium. ‘Rising Stars’ is a weekly program hosted by Graham Abbott, who also conducted this performance.

A live performance of the Variations on a theme of Corelli Op.42 by Rachmaninoff, performed at last year’s Australian National Piano Award, as well as an interview with Graham Abbott, was also broadcast.

If you missed the broadcast and would like to hear it, the segment will be available online at the Rising Stars page until Sunday 20th May.

Here are a couple of videos posted on ‘YouTube’ of me playing with the awesome violinist Jennen Ngiau-Keng (www.jennen.com.au), recorded in Kendall NSW while rehearsing during our concert tour in October 2006.

A passionate and fiery rendition of Monti’s Czardas. As you can probably see and hear, we were having a bit of fun with it!

And here is a slightly improvised (!) bash of Saint-Saens’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso - unfortunately we decided to abort before we reached the end…doh!

I am excited and honoured to be given the opportunity to perform as a concerto soloist with Australia Pro Arte, one of the country’s leading chamber orchestras. This sunday afternoon concert will be held in the stunning glass-encased BMW Edge auditorium on the banks of the Yarra River at Federation Square.

This program will be repeated on Monday 24th September at 7pm.

Program:

• Haydn - Symphony No.57
• Mozart - Piano Concerto No.12 in A major, K414
• Bartok - Divertimento

Venue: BMW Edge, Federation Square, entrance off Flinders street (near corner Russell Street - click here to view map), Melbourne.

Bookings and Enquiries: Please call the APA office on 03 9650 3365 or Ticketmaster on 136100. For more information, click here to visit the Australia Pro Arte website.

Click the play button below to hear this audio clip (size: 5.76mb):

(Recorded in January 2006. Performed by Amir Farid, piano.)

This is a special Alumni concert as part of the Australian National Academy of Music’s 2007 recital series. I am extremely honoured to be teaming up with one of the country’s finest young pianists, Hoang Pham, winner of the 2005 Lev Vlassenko National Piano Competition.

Venue: Australian National Academy of Music, South Melbourne Town Hall, 210 Bank street South Melbourne Victoria 3205 (entrance off Layfield St.) - click here to view map.

Program:

• Maurice Ravel - ‘Mother Goose’ suite
• Maurice Ravel - La Valse

Interval

• John Adams - Hallelujah Junction
• Leonard Bernstein - Westside Story

Please check out the Benaud Trio Multimedia page to view and listen to performances by the Benaud Trio.