Reviews
“ Amir Farid’s contribution to the success of this disc (Moonlight Reflections - Move Records) cannot be understated - his playing is world-class.” (Inge Southscott, The Music Trust, June 29 2021)
“Amir Farid’s playing of the complex piano part in the Frank Bridge Piano Quintet, along with the Orava Quartet, was impeccable with fine articulation and sensitivity. He is a wonderful chamber musician.” (JohnofOz, November 30 2018)
“Before anything else, much praise must be given to Mr. Farid, who handled his role with complete commitment, when it would have been so easy (and so understandable) to go through the motions given many of the works have the pianist in an almost parenthetical role.” (Jeffrey Williams, New York Concert Review, May 30 2017)
“Farid’s playing is intelligent and nuanced and his technique is first class allowing him to make everything sound effortless.” (Inge Southcott, The Music Trust, April 1 2016)
“Pianist Amir Farid has the most exquisitely refined and delicate touch at the piano; the string players never have to fight to assert themselves, as is quite often the case.” (Stephen Whittington, The Advertiser, October 25 2015)
“Farid is the perfect interpreter of these tiny gems (the piano works of Maroufi). One technical trial is the use of a rapid right-hand tremolo, imitating the sound of the Santur, a Persian dulcimer. Farid sustains these rollicking repeated notes with an almost vocal quality. The melodic lines require rapid subtle inferences that Farid demonstrates his intimate understanding while getting a chance to show his virtuosic chops in the demanding Chargah-e-Esfahan.” (Sascha Kelly, Limelight Magazine, October 6 2015)
“Even more frequent and more dramatic are the switches between dark and light, contemplative and impulsive, of the Dvorak Piano Trio in E minor ‘Dumky’ Op. 09 B 166. The piano is often given the job of stitching the patches together, and Farid’s timing is impeccable, giving our ears just enough space to accommodate the Andante-Vivace non troppo-Andante-Allegretto progress of the third movement while maintaining its inner logic.” (Elizabeth Silsbury, The Music Trust, September 1 2015)
“The very musical pianist Amir Farid, besides playing with great delicacy, holds the whole ensemble together in unforced rubato, with the piano never seeming to be over-dominant.” (Ivan March, Gramophone Magazine, October 2013)
“Farid always impresses with his ability to contribute exactly the right piano sound for chamber music, even if that means the grand is at times the softest instrument.” (Suzanne Yanko, ArtsHub, November 26 2012)
“Farid’s musical intelligence and technical ability were apparent throughout each of the 20 interconnected variations (by Rachmaninoff on a theme of Corelli). The final variations reached a symphonic highpoint before relenting to a quiet restatement of the original thematic material.
The Schubert sonata (in Bb D960) began in a lovely measured tempo with extended melodic lines in the right hand. Thankfully Farid included the first movement repeat. This was not a mere repetition, the retelling a richly layered affair that explored different voicing and subtle variations of tempi and dynamics. The slow movement was music of utterly beautiful pathos and introspection that brought the audience together in collective concentration…Farid was fearless to the end with his approach to the final bars drawing immediate and well-earned applause.” (Martin Duffy, Sydney Morning Herald, June 1 2012)
“There was a third element in the first of two concerts given by the AYO (conducted by Christopher Hogwood) at the Melbourne Recital Centre that contributed greatly to its success: this was the presence of Amir Farid, a superb pianist, known to many as a member of the Benaud Trio, and (as this concert proved) very at home with the 19th century repertoire. Unusually for a soloist in a symphony concert, Farid played a solo: one of Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words Op. 38, No.6 in A flat. The pianist made the melody sing while giving play to the harmonies of the broken chords that move the piece along…Similarly, in the Piano Concerto No.1 in G minor, Op. 25, the balance between all parts – including Farid’s breathtaking command of the piano – was evident.” (Suzanne Yanko, ArtsHub, February 29 2012)
“A word about the pianist, Amir Farid. Throughout, his playing was marked by real individual distinction which would clearly make him a superb solo player, but his precise, carefully shaded acutely pedalled performances in the various pieces, and his collaborative role in a richly symphathetic trio was quite admirable.” (Lindis Taylor, middle-c.org, September 18 2011)
“The Russian theme continued with the Rachmaninov that followed, the justifiably popular Piano Concerto no 2 with Amir Farid at the keyboard. This was a perfect program choice, as the performance provided the spectacle necessary for entertaining a large crowd in an open air venue. Farid delivered the ‘whole package’ so to speak, with a technically accomplished performance, full of emotion that the occasion demanded. The importance of choosing accomplished young musicians at these free concerts cannot be underestimated as a source of inspiration for other young people. Young children throughout the audience were transfixed by Farid’s inspiring performance, which must have a long term effect upon musical fixtures.” (Ronald McCoy, ArtsHub, February 16 2009)
“At the concert’s heart stood the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2, the nonpareil of passionately charged music. Soloist Amir Farid outlined an interpretation distinguished by its assured urgency, making the most of the score’s exposed passages, slotting into the MSO’s eloquent accompaniment with a mature expertise.
Farid avoided any temptation to overdraw technical flourishes, husbanding his outbursts carefully and producing a sensitive, generous-spirited interpretation of this ever-welcome warhorse.” (Clive O’Connell, The Age, February 16 2009)
“In Mozart’s not-so-Bohemian Piano Concerto No 21…Melbourne pianist Amir Farid once again proved himself master of the playful musical corner. Always attentive Farid’s performance was refined, fresh and energetic with good-humoured personality.” (Anna McAlister, Herald Sun, May 20 2008)
“…Amir Farid centred a limpid, controlled version of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C…Farid gave few indications of the work’s difficulty, bringing a concise articulation to the long opening movement and providing popular satisfaction with his reading of the Elvira Madigan central Andante.” (Clive O’Connell, The Age, May 20 2008)
“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 Age, April 1 2008)
“Pianist Amir Farid performed with a restrained aggression that revealed Haydn’s mastery of deft virtuosity, the performer acting as a tightly wound fulcrum for his colleagues…” (Clive O’Connell, The Age, November 22 2007)
“Farid took to the A Major Concerto 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, September 25 2007)
“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, September 25 2007)
“…pianist Amir Farid stood out for his passionate yet mature expressiveness. His opening solos were classically elegant but full of detail and life. His face showed immersion and conviction without being introspective: he was intimately attuned to the group.” (Anna McAlister, Herald Sun, April 18 2007)
“Pianist Amir Farid had immense stage presence. His opening solo was spacious, warm in tone and satisfyingly unrushed.” (Anna McAlister, Herald Sun, December 22 2006)
“Amir Farid’s playing of the complex piano part in the Frank Bridge Piano Quintet, along with the Orava Quartet, was impeccable with fine articulation and sensitivity. He is a wonderful chamber musician.” (JohnofOz, November 30 2018)
“Before anything else, much praise must be given to Mr. Farid, who handled his role with complete commitment, when it would have been so easy (and so understandable) to go through the motions given many of the works have the pianist in an almost parenthetical role.” (Jeffrey Williams, New York Concert Review, May 30 2017)
“Farid’s playing is intelligent and nuanced and his technique is first class allowing him to make everything sound effortless.” (Inge Southcott, The Music Trust, April 1 2016)
“Pianist Amir Farid has the most exquisitely refined and delicate touch at the piano; the string players never have to fight to assert themselves, as is quite often the case.” (Stephen Whittington, The Advertiser, October 25 2015)
“Farid is the perfect interpreter of these tiny gems (the piano works of Maroufi). One technical trial is the use of a rapid right-hand tremolo, imitating the sound of the Santur, a Persian dulcimer. Farid sustains these rollicking repeated notes with an almost vocal quality. The melodic lines require rapid subtle inferences that Farid demonstrates his intimate understanding while getting a chance to show his virtuosic chops in the demanding Chargah-e-Esfahan.” (Sascha Kelly, Limelight Magazine, October 6 2015)
“Even more frequent and more dramatic are the switches between dark and light, contemplative and impulsive, of the Dvorak Piano Trio in E minor ‘Dumky’ Op. 09 B 166. The piano is often given the job of stitching the patches together, and Farid’s timing is impeccable, giving our ears just enough space to accommodate the Andante-Vivace non troppo-Andante-Allegretto progress of the third movement while maintaining its inner logic.” (Elizabeth Silsbury, The Music Trust, September 1 2015)
“The very musical pianist Amir Farid, besides playing with great delicacy, holds the whole ensemble together in unforced rubato, with the piano never seeming to be over-dominant.” (Ivan March, Gramophone Magazine, October 2013)
“Farid always impresses with his ability to contribute exactly the right piano sound for chamber music, even if that means the grand is at times the softest instrument.” (Suzanne Yanko, ArtsHub, November 26 2012)
“Farid’s musical intelligence and technical ability were apparent throughout each of the 20 interconnected variations (by Rachmaninoff on a theme of Corelli). The final variations reached a symphonic highpoint before relenting to a quiet restatement of the original thematic material.
The Schubert sonata (in Bb D960) began in a lovely measured tempo with extended melodic lines in the right hand. Thankfully Farid included the first movement repeat. This was not a mere repetition, the retelling a richly layered affair that explored different voicing and subtle variations of tempi and dynamics. The slow movement was music of utterly beautiful pathos and introspection that brought the audience together in collective concentration…Farid was fearless to the end with his approach to the final bars drawing immediate and well-earned applause.” (Martin Duffy, Sydney Morning Herald, June 1 2012)
“There was a third element in the first of two concerts given by the AYO (conducted by Christopher Hogwood) at the Melbourne Recital Centre that contributed greatly to its success: this was the presence of Amir Farid, a superb pianist, known to many as a member of the Benaud Trio, and (as this concert proved) very at home with the 19th century repertoire. Unusually for a soloist in a symphony concert, Farid played a solo: one of Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words Op. 38, No.6 in A flat. The pianist made the melody sing while giving play to the harmonies of the broken chords that move the piece along…Similarly, in the Piano Concerto No.1 in G minor, Op. 25, the balance between all parts – including Farid’s breathtaking command of the piano – was evident.” (Suzanne Yanko, ArtsHub, February 29 2012)
“A word about the pianist, Amir Farid. Throughout, his playing was marked by real individual distinction which would clearly make him a superb solo player, but his precise, carefully shaded acutely pedalled performances in the various pieces, and his collaborative role in a richly symphathetic trio was quite admirable.” (Lindis Taylor, middle-c.org, September 18 2011)
“The Russian theme continued with the Rachmaninov that followed, the justifiably popular Piano Concerto no 2 with Amir Farid at the keyboard. This was a perfect program choice, as the performance provided the spectacle necessary for entertaining a large crowd in an open air venue. Farid delivered the ‘whole package’ so to speak, with a technically accomplished performance, full of emotion that the occasion demanded. The importance of choosing accomplished young musicians at these free concerts cannot be underestimated as a source of inspiration for other young people. Young children throughout the audience were transfixed by Farid’s inspiring performance, which must have a long term effect upon musical fixtures.” (Ronald McCoy, ArtsHub, February 16 2009)
“At the concert’s heart stood the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2, the nonpareil of passionately charged music. Soloist Amir Farid outlined an interpretation distinguished by its assured urgency, making the most of the score’s exposed passages, slotting into the MSO’s eloquent accompaniment with a mature expertise.
Farid avoided any temptation to overdraw technical flourishes, husbanding his outbursts carefully and producing a sensitive, generous-spirited interpretation of this ever-welcome warhorse.” (Clive O’Connell, The Age, February 16 2009)
“In Mozart’s not-so-Bohemian Piano Concerto No 21…Melbourne pianist Amir Farid once again proved himself master of the playful musical corner. Always attentive Farid’s performance was refined, fresh and energetic with good-humoured personality.” (Anna McAlister, Herald Sun, May 20 2008)
“…Amir Farid centred a limpid, controlled version of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C…Farid gave few indications of the work’s difficulty, bringing a concise articulation to the long opening movement and providing popular satisfaction with his reading of the Elvira Madigan central Andante.” (Clive O’Connell, The Age, May 20 2008)
“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 Age, April 1 2008)
“Pianist Amir Farid performed with a restrained aggression that revealed Haydn’s mastery of deft virtuosity, the performer acting as a tightly wound fulcrum for his colleagues…” (Clive O’Connell, The Age, November 22 2007)
“Farid took to the A Major Concerto 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, September 25 2007)
“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, September 25 2007)
“…pianist Amir Farid stood out for his passionate yet mature expressiveness. His opening solos were classically elegant but full of detail and life. His face showed immersion and conviction without being introspective: he was intimately attuned to the group.” (Anna McAlister, Herald Sun, April 18 2007)
“Pianist Amir Farid had immense stage presence. His opening solo was spacious, warm in tone and satisfyingly unrushed.” (Anna McAlister, Herald Sun, December 22 2006)