Amiri Harewood
Sponsored by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust
About Amiri Harewood
A postgraduate student at the Royal College of Music under the tutelage of Danny Driver, pianist Amiri Harewood has performed at some of the UK’s most prestigious venues, including the Royal Albert Hall, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Wigmore Hall and Royal Festival Hall.
After being selected as a Grand Prize winner of the Young Classical Artist Trust and Concert Artists Guild International Auditions in May 2024, Amiri has since been named a Classic FM Rising Star for 2025 and has performed throughout the UK including at St George’s Hanover Square, Brunton Theatre near Edinburgh and Harrogate International Festival Sunday Series. His appearances further afield included recitals at the Conservatorio in Venice, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Kissingen KlavierOlymp, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam and the Mozart Music Festival in Forli, Italy. He was selected as one of the participants in the 2025 Lieven Piano Festival, attending masterclasses with Arie Vardi, Andreas Staier and Eldar Nebolsin.
Amiri’s Royal Festival Hall concerto debut with Chineke! Orchestra was universally acclaimed. Over the 2025/26 season Amiri’s career shows no signs of slowing down as he makes his debut at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Berlin Konzerthaus, returns to Wigmore Hall and makes his North American debut with a tour including recitals in Chicago and New York.
About the Music
Amiri’s wide-ranging programme starts with a virtuosic exploration of Gershwin’s well-known song ‘Summertime’. The six dances of Bach’s first French Suite offer contrasting elegance and contemplation. Rachmaninov’s Corelli variations take a simple theme in 20 very different directions. The second half is introduced by Adès’ reworking of a Judeo-Spanish folk tune. Beethoven’s Andante Favori (“favourite” because he was asked to play it so often) was intended as the second movement of the following Waldstein sonata. The Waldstein is considered one of his greatest and most technically challenging piano sonatas.