Reviews

Below is a selection of concert reviews.

The Independent: Proms 2007
The finales of both the Reubke and Elgar organ sonatas were attacked with knockout insouciance by Iain Farrington. Under his hands the Royal Albert Hall instrument was a family-size box of sonic tricks, some of which would surely register on the Richter scale. This was his Proms debut, and an exciting one. He's an authentic star, and deserves to have a Prom all to himself.

The Daily Telegraph: Proms 2007
The thrill ... was to hear the Albert Hall organ give vent to Elgar and Reubke at the bidding of the lithe soloist Iain Farrington.

The Guardian: Proms 2007
Farrington gave virtuosic performances of the finales of both Elgar's Organ Sonata in G major, and Reubke's in C minor.

Musical Opinion: Featured composer, April 2007
Robert Matthew-Walker introduces a gifted young composer

Not yet thirty, the British musician Iain Farrington is steadily and impressively creating an enviable reputation for himself as a composer, pianist, organist and arranger, to the extent that the wide range of his musical interests and achievements mark him out as a musician of exceptional promise and accomplishment.

I first encountered Iain Farrington through his compositions and was agreeably surprised to learn that he has never studied composition in the generally academic sense: he was not a pupil of anyone in the subject, unless it is one of his idols, Elgar - who also never studied the subject at college or university.
Indeed, in this Elgar year I was equally surprised and delighted to learn that Novello has just published Iain Farrington's edition of Elgar's Five Improvisations for solo piano. The first publication of these pieces constitutes at one remove Elgar's most significant work for the piano, and I welcome the fact that pianists can now add this music to their recitals, for a 25 minute suite for the instrument is a major addition to our understanding of this great composer, thanks to Iain Farrington's timely, assiduous and excellent work.

Only a gifted musician could have undertaken such a task, and I had the chance to hear Farrington's pianistic abilities at a duet recital he gave with Alasdair Beatson at Bishopsgate Hall, including a new work by Farrington himself, Dance Craze. The rhythmic elements in Farrington's music first impressed me in his Heatwave for flute, oboe and piano, and having been able to hear a further selection of his work, I confirm that the melodic and harmonic aspects, allied to the genuine creative character of his music, combine to produce an output that is both modern and attractive.

Other works by Iain Farrington which readers should look out for include his Suite for solo cello, Changes, which Graham Walker plays splendidly, Cityscape for clarinet, violin, cello and piano, and an impressive set of solo piano variations.

A long-term project Farrington is keen to tackle would be an opera, and I cannot resist mentioning several popular song arrangements for solo piano, including the Beatles' Strawberry Fields, a beautiful piece of recomposition, and ABBA's Money, money, money, which Iain Farrington in his guise as arranger and cocktail pianist plays delightfully.

Musical Opinion: Piano duet recital - Bishopsgate Hall, London
The presentation by Sounds Underground Concerts at the Bishopsgate Institute proved to be a remarkable piano duet recital by Alasdair Beatson and Iain Farrington. They began with two new works receiving their world premieres. The first, Dance Craze by Iain Farrington, is an exploration in brilliant fashion of four aspects of modern dance and disco styles. If the material and its treatment would not have fazed audiences used to early Stravinsky, this proved to be an impressively powerful piece overall.
A new version by Iain Farrington of Ravel's La Valse for piano duet, superbly played, ended the first half in excellent fashion, but the programme was dominated by the final work, Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, which received a spellbinding performance of the utmost virtuosity and musicianship. I doubt if any member of the sizable audience present will ever hear a finer account of this shattering masterpiece in this authentic duet version, than the quite unforgettable performance we were treated to on this occasion.

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