The acclaimed Australia Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra have recently released details of their 2008 season, ‘The Range of Light’.

The season opener, entitled ”Diamonds in the Sky”, will take place on 30th and 31st March 2008, featuring Amir Farid as concerto soloist in one of the most dramatic of Mozart’s Piano Concertos, No.24 in c minor.

Dates: Two performances - Sunday 30th at 2.30pm,  and Monday 31st March at 7pm.

Program:

• Haydn - Symphony No.90
• Frank Martin - Polytptyque Six Images de la Passion du Christ (1973)
• Mozart - Piano Concerto No.24 in C minor, K491

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 for Subscription details. For more information, click here to visit the Australia Pro Arte website.

Click here to be taken to the official ABC Classic 100 Concerto Countdown webpage, where you can hear the live-to-air broadcast of the Gala Concert held on 31st October 2007 at Hamer Hall, Melbourne, which includes a performance by Amir Farid of the 1st movement of Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto.

Amir Farid featured as soloist in the 1st movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor with the Australia Pro Arte Orchestra, at the Classic 100 Concerto Countdown Gala Concert, held on 31st October 2007 at Hamer Hall, Melbourne.

To view photos of the event, click here to go to the Classic 100 Concerto Countdown official photo gallery.

For more photos, click the ‘photos’ link at the top of the web page.

For their latest countdown, ABC Classic FM asked listeners to vote for their favourite concerto.  With the results streaming in over a number of months, an eventual list of the top 100 concertos was compiled.

The top 5 Concertos, as voted by Australian music lovers, were performed at a Gala Concert on 31st October 2007, in front of a near-capacity Hamer Hall in Melbourne, and broadcast nationally live-to-air on ABC Classic FM.

Rachmaninoff’s beatiful Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor came in as Australia 2nd favourite concerto, of which the 1st movement was performed by Amir Farid.

To hear the broadcast in its entirety, or to see the other results, click here to be taken to the Official ABC Classic 100 Concerto website.

Mezzo-soprano Alexandra Sherman was winner of the 2006 Mietta Song Recital Award. I was very fortunate to play with her on that occasion, and I am thrilled to be able to accompany her once again in this recital for the Camberwell Music Society (click here for the CMS website).

Venue: Camberwell Uniting Church, 314 Camberwell road, Camberwell Victoria 3124 (see map below - click to enlarge).

Program: To be announced.

Bookings and Enquiries: Please visit the CMS website for subscription details, or contact the society on 9889 2363 or 9882 4560.