Listen & tracks
2 of 14 tracks have a preview · 8 works · 77:42
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1 Golden Dreams Javād Maroufi 4:20
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2 Rhapsody in B minor, Op. 79, No. 1 Johannes Brahms 10:47
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3 Consolation No. 3 Franz Liszt 5:02
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Sonata in C, Op. 53 'Waldstein'Ludwig van Beethoven 3 movements27:02
- 4 i. Allegro con brio 11:43
- 5 ii. Introduzione: adagio molto 4:34
- 6 iii. Rondo: allegro moderato 10:45
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7 Prelude Javād Maroufi 4:10
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8 Evocation Stuart Greenbaum 9:19
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9 Toccata, Op. 11 Sergei Prokofiev 5:22
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5 BagatellesCarl Vine 5 movements11:40
- 10 Bagatelle 1 3:24
- 11 Bagatelle 2 1:18
- 12 Bagatelle 3 2:14
- 13 Bagatelle 4 1:19
- 14 Bagatelle 5 3:25
Amir Farid has been described as “a highly creative musician – a pianist of great intelligence and integrity. He brings strong musical substance to all that he does, imbuing it with his own particular experience and understanding”, and who “in a well-populated field…distinguishes himself for all the right reasons”.
The programme sets Brahms’s B-minor Rhapsody and Liszt’s third Consolation beside Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata and Prokofiev’s Toccata. Australian works by Carl Vine and Stuart Greenbaum sit with two short pieces by Iranian composer Javad Maroufi, framing a recital that asks technical brilliance to serve the music rather than display itself.
Reviews
This young Australian pianist offers a debut recital of considerable variety. Beethoven’s mighty Waldstein is the big work and is given a solid performance. The Brahms Rhapsody, at nearly 11 minutes, is one of the largest of the composer’s works in this genre. Multi-sectioned and varied, it shows off Farid’s many pianistic talents, as well as his intellect to hold such a work together quite well. Liszt’s most beautiful Consolation is played with all the reverence it deserves. Carl Vine’s (b. 1954) Bagatelles are simply wonderful music and rich in styles. This is my first time hearing them. There is an uneasy Nocturne, a nervous Scherzo, an impressionist love song, an odd jazz jam session, and a very stark and compelling fifth Bagatelle called ‘Threnody: For all the Innocent Victims’ that was premiered by Vine in 1994 at an AIDS event in Australia. This is an excellent beginning for a clearly talented young pianist with much to offer.
Veiled Virtuosity is one of those discs that celebrates a lot of good things in one neat package. First and foremost, it celebrates the engaging artistry of an accomplished young musician. Farid’s experience in accompaniment and in chamber music has helped him develop a sensitivity for texture and colour that translates well to his solo playing…Vine’s bagatelles are an excellent vehicle for Farid’s nuanced approach to timbre and mood setting. The virtuosity is not so veiled in the tumultuous conclusion of the “Waldstein” or in Prokofiev’s Toccata; here we experience Farid in joyous full flight. Perhaps the veiled virtuosity lies in local companies such as Move continuing to promote Australian composers and artists in all their glorious diversity?
In this debut album, the virtuosity is often in full view with a gutsy performance of Beethoven’s Waldstein sonata, the grinding Prokofiev Toccata and a brisk account of the Brahms B minor Rhapsody. But the interleaving pieces give this expert young artist more space to stretch his interpretative wings in a delicate review of Liszt’s mildly virtuosic third Consolation, matched by Stuart Greenbaum’s elegiac Evocation, which Farid premiered four years ago. Another Australian features in Carl Vine’s splendid 5 Bagatelles, here carried off with a panache rivalling the pianist/composer himself. Two short works by Iranian Javad Maroufi make gentle acknowledgement of Farid’s family/cultural heritage.
Artists
Amir Farid
piano
Amir Farid has been described as a highly creative musician – a pianist of great intelligence and integrity who brings strong musical substance to all that he does, imbuing it with his own experience and understanding, and who distinguishes himself for all the right reasons.
Ludwig van Beethoven
composer
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was a German composer and pianist whose music stands at the centre of the Western classical tradition, bridging the Classical and Romantic eras.
Johannes Brahms
composer
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) was a German composer and pianist of the Romantic period. His music for piano, chamber ensemble, orchestra, and voice remains central to the concert repertoire.
Stuart Greenbaum
composer
Stuart Greenbaum’s sound has overt connections to jazz, pop and minimalism, yet is equally grounded in the Western art music tradition, across a large body of orchestral, chamber, choral and stage works.
Franz Liszt
composer
Franz Liszt (1811–1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic era. His vast output reshaped piano technique, invented the symphonic poem and pushed harmony toward the twentieth century.
Javād Maroufi
composer
Javād Ma'roufi was an Iranian composer and pianist. He was the director and where he studied the piano under the music master Tatiana Kharatian. During this period he studied works by Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven and Bach.
Sergei Prokofiev
composer
Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, and one of the major figures of twentieth-century music. His work ranges from ballets, operas and concertos to sonatas and music written for young players.
Carl Vine
composer
Carl Vine AO is one of Australia's best-known and most often performed composers, with an orchestral catalogue of eight symphonies and thirteen concertos. His piano music is played widely around the world, and recordings of his work appear on more than seventy albums across the major streaming services.
Digital booklet
Digital booklet Notes, texts and credits — read online or download the PDF Download the PDFPerformers
- Amir Farid · piano
Technical credits
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Recording Engineer
Vaughan McAlley
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Editing Engineer
Vaughan McAlley
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Mastering Engineer
Martin Wright
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Venue
Move Records Studio
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Credit
Lars Schlereth
Leigh Harrold
Details
- List price
- $25.00 AUD
- Total playing time
- 77 minutes 42 seconds
- Release date
- 8 Sep 2009
- Categories
- Australian, Classical, Keyboard
- Musical work copyright
- © 2009 Move Records
- Sound recording copyright
- ℗ 2009 Move Records
- Catalogue
- MD 3331
- EAN
- 9314574333121
More to explore
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Russian Cello
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Amir Farid plays Javad Maroufi
Javād Maroufi was among the first composers of piano music in Persia, celebrated for his contribution to Persian classical music. Born in Tehran to musician parents Musa and Ezra Maroufi – both pupils of Darvish Khan – he lost his mother young, was raised by his father, and learned violin and tar from an early age.