The 2008 season-opening concert by the Australia Pro Arte Orchestra, featuring Amir Farid as soloist in Mozart’s C minor piano concerto, will be broadcast on ABC Classic FM on Wednesday 21st May at 8pm.

If you were not able to be there, this is an opportunity to hear the concert in its entirety, which also included Frank Martin’s Polytptyque (with violinist Michael Brooks-Reid), and Haydn’s Symphony No.90.

The frequency in Melbourne for ABC Classic FM is 105.9FM.  If you are tuning in outside Melbourne, go to the ABC Classic FM website at www.abc.net.au/classic for frequency details.

To read the review of the concert, click here.

I hope you are able to tune in!

The Age, 1st April 2008 - page 17: 

Under conductor Benjamin Northey, the Australia Pro Arte collection of this city’s brighter young chamber players produced a well-finished, urbane program to open their account for 2008.  With the usual willing string corps that might have gained some woodwind/brass balancing power from an extra desk or two of violins, the APA gave clean delineation to Haydn’s Symphony No. 90 in C, which is seldom heard in live performance but has the distinction of a deceptive finale in which matters appear to reach a conclusion but in fact resume after a four-bar rest.

Once again, the ensemble values proved impressively high, with only a few glitches from the well-exercised wind and a feisty contribution from the low string sections.  To the credit of Northey and artistic director William Hennessy, these samples of an unknown Haydn are enriching APA supporters’ musical experiences considerably, which is doubly welcome after the touted but unachieved promise of a Haydn renaissance during the Markus Stenz years with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Frank Martin’s Polyptyque of 1973 presents six musical images of Christ’s Passion using a soaring and exposed violin solo above a pair of small string orchestras.  APA regular Michael Brooks-Reid gave a penetrating and passionate account of this substantial sequence of meditations, written in an unusually approachable language for the often eclectic Swiss composer, the string bodies reflecting the solo line’s path from anguish to ecstasy with keen concentration.

The afternoon’s emphasis fell heavily on the one post-interval work, Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C minor, with Amir Farid as soloist.  This more-than-gifted young musician appeared in last year’s series with the earlier A Major Concerto, making a persuasive case for its rarely heard pleasures; the later K. 491 asks a good deal more of its executants, not least in balancing the large wind group.

From the initial keyboard statement on, Farid displayed an enviable control, both in handling the restless passage work of the first movement and the composer’s taxing fondness for repeated notes in this section’s startling melodic content.

One of the more notable aspects of this interpretation emerged in Farid’s self-control, especially in the muffled drive in operation across his opening pages.  Later, the E flat Larghetto came over as the intended benign relief between two grave constructs, the meltingly simple lyric arch informed by a simplicity of address from the pianist that found elegant balance from the mirroring wind ensemble.

But if you were looking for indications of Farid’s rapidly developing mastery, it would be hard to go past his gripping reading of the finale’s variations.  In these opulently dour pages, you heard immaculate instances of insightful flair: evenness of touch, firmness without insistence, a responsive engagement with the movement’s phrasing contours.  In a well-populated field, this artist distinguishes himself for all the right reasons.

Clive O’Connell

the Royal Overseas League, based in London, holds an annual music competition open to all instrumentalists and singers, with the priceless grand prize of a Wigmore Hall recital for the overall winner.

Held during February at the ROSL headquarters in London, the first stages of the competition are categorised based on instrument type.  After 2 elimination rounds involving contestants from Commonwealth Countries all around the world, Amir was one of 6 pianists to reach the piano category final.

As one of the top contestants from outside the UK, he was awarded an Australian Music Scholarship of £500.

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.

On the 23rd and 24th of September 2007, Amir Farid performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.12 in A, K.414 with the Australia Pro Arte Orchestra, at BMW Edge Auditorium, Federation Square, Melbourne.  Here are some excerpts from the reviews of the performance held on the 23rd September:

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“Farid took to the (Mozart) A Major Concerto (K.414) with exceptional insight for a young player.  The performance as an entity spoke a persuasive voice - even in delivery, ensemble between soloist and orchestra close to ideal, and a muted virtuosity from the soloist that showed more than anything else his reliable responsiveness to this intelligent, refined music.”
Clive O’Connell - The Age, 25/9/2007

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“Pianist Amir Farid began Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A, K.414 with a carefree, confident air.  There was a delightfully playful character in his first movement phrasing which the orchestra picked up on.”
Anna McAlister - Herald Sun, 25/9/2007

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To read more reviews of performances by Amir Farid, click here to visit the ‘Reviews’ page.

The Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition is considered to be Australia’s most prestigious award for solo pianists. Established in memory of the world renowned international concert pianist and teacher, the competition takes part in Brisbane every 2 years, and is designed to prepare its participants for the international concert platform. It does this by mirroring the requirements of the major international piano competitions, such as a demanding repertoire, international and national jury members, all rounds open to the public, and the final round’s concertos performed with a major symphony orchestra (The Queensland Orchestra).

Amir Farid was among the 18 pianists from around Australia and New Zealand who took part in the 2007 Competition, held between 12th-25th August. After reaching the semi-final stage, Amir was awarded the Encouragement Prize.

More details at the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition website.

The annual Geoffrey Parsons Award, organised by the Accompanists’ Guild of South Australia (AGSA), is one of the only competitions in the country that focuses entirely on the art of piano accompaniment. The competition is held in memory of the Australian-born Geoffrey Parsons, one of the world’s greatest ever Lieder accompanists.

After two days of heats, 3 finalists were chosen to perform in the final on the 12th July, 2007 at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, Adelaide. Amir Farid, performing with flautist Christine Morris, was awarded first prize, playing the 1st movement of Hummel’s sonata for flute and piano, Anne Boyd’s Red Sun, Chill Wind and Muczynski’s fantastic sonata for flute and piano. Each finalist was also required to perform, with minimal rehearsal, the opening movement of Schumann’s Märchenbilder with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra violist Cecily Satchell.

For more information about the Geoffrey Parsons Award, and the Accompanists’ Guild of South Australia, click here to visit the AGSA website.

The Benaud Trio, 2007 3MBS Musicians-in-Residence, will be performing live-to-air as part of the 3MBS Radiothon 2007. Click here for more details about the Radiothon.

The live broadcast will take place on Sunday 20th May at 6.30pm.

The frequency for the Melbourne-based station is 103.5FM. For more details about 3MBS, please click here to visit their website.

We hope that you are able to tune in!

The recording made by the ABC at the Grand Final Concert during the 2006 Australian National Piano Award and which features Amir Farid, Ke Lin and Olivia Sham is now available.

The works on the CD include:

• Prokofiev - Toccata in D minor, Op.11
• Mozart - Sonata in F major, K.332
• Rachmaninoff - Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op.42
• Schubert/Liszt - Der Müller und der Bach
• Mozart - Sonata in D major, K.311

The CD is very high quality and a worthwhile purchase. All proceeds go to the Australian National Piano Award and will help to fund the 2008 Award.The cost of the CD is $25 (including postage within Australia) and it can be obtained from Mrs Judy Longley, Secretary Australian National Piano Award, PO Box 754, Shepparton Victoria 3632.  Tel: 03 5821 5326


The Cds are strictly limited in quantity so we suggest that you order yours today. They make a fine gift to a music lover.

1 comment

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.