Richard Farrell
Encyclopedia
Richard Farrell was a gifted New Zealand
classical pianist
who achieved almost legendary status, but whose flourishing career was cut short in a road accident at the age of 31. He has been described as New Zealand's "greatest classical pianist".
in 1926 to Thomas and Ella Farrell, and spent most of his boyhood in Wellington
. His parents were not musicians, but his uncle, John Farrell, was an actor and singer with J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd
. He attended St Mary's Convent School and St. Patrick's College
, both in Wellington.
He made his first radio broadcast when aged only four. From age six he had piano lessons with Florence Fitzgerald, and from age 9 he studied with Gordon Short. At age seven Farrell played his own composition, a lament on the death of Archbishop Francis Redwood
, in a public concert with the Wellington Symphony Orchestra. At the age of 12, he was noted to possess absolute pitch
.
From age 16 he travelled to Australia
, to study under Alexander Sverjensky
at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music
in Sydney
, for five years. During this time, he attracted the notice and commendations from Arthur Rubinstein
and Eileen Joyce
. While the tenor Richard Tauber
was on an Australian tour, he heard Farrell and offered him a European tour, which Farrell was unable to accept due to the war
that was then in progress.
Farrell returned to New Zealand in 1939 and 1942, giving recitals and performances, but spent most of his time in Australia, where he received much support from the Australian Broadcasting Commission
.
invited him to come to the USA when he was ready. Ormandy told the American pianist William Kapell
about him, and Kapell befriended him on his 1947 visit to Australia, and later asked him to best man at his wedding. On Kapell's personal recommendation he was granted a full scholarship to study with Olga Samaroff
at the Juilliard School
in New York
. He remained with Samaroff for the remaining two years of her life, and she was said to have pronounced that Richard Farrell was the best student she had ever had. He also studied conducting at Juilliard with Serge Koussevitzky
.
At Juilliard, he was noticed by Aaron Copland
and studied his 1941 Piano Sonata, which became a feature of his repertoire. Copland was heard to commend Farrell for performing the sonata without the aid of a musical score, saying, "Although I composed it myself, I can't memorise it". Farrell then toured in the United States, giving over 60 recitals a year. After another tour of New Zealand, he had his Carnegie Hall
debut in 1948, and again received very glowing critiques. Arthur Rubinstein
declared that there were "only three pianists in the world" - himself, William Kapell and Richard Farrell. He first appeared with the New York Philharmonic
on 2 December 1950, playing Edvard Grieg
's Piano Concerto in A minor
with Dimitri Mitropoulos conducting.
in 1951 and his renown grew steadily. Princess Marie Louise
, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria
, took him under her wing as her protégé. He was one of the first pianists to play in the newly built Royal Festival Hall
, and also appeared at the Royal Albert Hall
with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
, the London Philharmonic Orchestra
, the Philharmonia
, the Hallé Orchestra
and other orchestras. Among the conductors with whom he worked were Sir Thomas Beecham
, Sir Malcolm Sargent
, Sir Adrian Boult
, Sir John Barbirolli
, George Weldon
and Walter Susskind
, who all professed admiration for him. He also frequently collaborated with his compatriots, the conductors James Robertson
and Warwick Braithwaite
, who said, "At times during performances his artistic temperament would take charge and quite suddenly the whole concerto would be suffused with a glow of intense musical depth and understanding". These collaborations with Braithwaite concluded with a brilliant performance of Franz Liszt
's First Piano Concerto
in front of Queen Elizabeth
during her first Royal Tour of New Zealand in 1954. He was to tour New Zealand four times between 1948 and 1956. His tours also included India
.
His solo and concerto repertoire included Brahms F Minor Sonata
, Ballades, Waltzes, Op. 39
, and the Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel
; Ravel
's Concerto for the Left Hand
and Gaspard de la nuit
; Chopin
's B minor Sonata and Études, Op. 10
; Schumann's Fantasie in C
; Beethoven's concertos No. 4 in G major
and No. 5 in E flat, "Emperor"
, and the "Appassionata"
and E-flat major, Op. 7
sonatas; Prokofiev
's 7th Sonata
; Tchaikovsky
's Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor
; Rachmaninoff
's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor
(which he played under Sir Thomas Beecham), Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42, and Preludes; Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 and transcriptions and paraphrases; Grieg's Concerto in A minor, Ballade in G minor
and Lyric Pieces
; Hindemith
's Sonata No. 2; Copland's Sonata; and pieces by Mendelssohn
, Granados
and Debussy
.
His musical interests, however, were not confined to the piano in solo recitals or in concertos. He performed all of the Beethoven
violin sonatas in the Wigmore Hall
. He formed the Richard Farrell Piano Quartet with the violinist Brenton Langbein, the violist Eduard Melkus
and the cellist Ottomar Borwitzky. They gave three seasons of chamber music concerts throughout Europe, playing music by Brahms
, Schubert
and Schumann
to high praise from the critics. He also often performed with the London String Quartet and with solo artists such as the cellists Pablo Casals
and Paul Grümmer
. He moved to Zürich
, Switzerland
, in preparation for a career as a conductor, which was his greatest ambition.
William Alwyn
composed his Fantasy Waltzes in 1956 for Richard Farrell, who played a number of the individual waltzes on a New Zealand tour, and gave their first complete performance at Broadcasting House
, London, on 2 June 1957. Alwyn also dedicated the fifth of his 12 Preludes (1958) to Farrell's memory; it was written shortly after his death.
, Houghton
, Sussex
, on 27 May 1958. The car in which he was travelling left the road and hit a tree, killing all three occupants. He was buried in London.
spoke highly of Farrell after first hearing him in Sydney during the 1940s, noting that "the possibilities or potentialities of Mr Farrell should carry him beyond routine standards" and, in 1951, that he could "well imagine the delight of young Brahms could he have heard Farrell playing".
, Auckland
is named for him. New Zealand's most prestigious piano competition, the Kerikeri National Piano Competition, now offers a "Richard Farrell Award". In 2008, Radio New Zealand
presented four one-hour programs on Farrell's life and work, with interviews from many people who knew and worked with him.
He left a number of vinyl recordings, on the Pye
label, all in mono. Some of these discs were shared with Iso Elison. His complete studio discography has now been transferred to CD and first volume of his complete recordings (2 CDs) was released in 2008, and the second volume in 2009.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
classical pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
who achieved almost legendary status, but whose flourishing career was cut short in a road accident at the age of 31. He has been described as New Zealand's "greatest classical pianist".
Early life
Thomas Richard Farrell was born in AucklandAuckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
in 1926 to Thomas and Ella Farrell, and spent most of his boyhood in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
. His parents were not musicians, but his uncle, John Farrell, was an actor and singer with J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd
J. C. Williamson
James Cassius Williamson was an American actor and later Australia's foremost theatrical manager, founding J. C. Williamson Ltd....
. He attended St Mary's Convent School and St. Patrick's College
St. Patrick's College, Wellington
- History :Founded by Archbishop Francis Redwood SM, St Patrick's opened on June 1, 1885 with nine day-boys and twelve boarders.The College represents one of the earliest educational establishments of the Society of Mary the religious congregation whose members accompanied Bishop Jean Baptiste...
, both in Wellington.
He made his first radio broadcast when aged only four. From age six he had piano lessons with Florence Fitzgerald, and from age 9 he studied with Gordon Short. At age seven Farrell played his own composition, a lament on the death of Archbishop Francis Redwood
Francis Redwood
Francis William Mary Redwood SM , was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wellington, Metropolitan of New Zealand.Redwood was born on 8 April 1839 on the Tixall estate, Staffordshire, England. In 1842 he sailed to New Zealand with his parents on the George Fyfe...
, in a public concert with the Wellington Symphony Orchestra. At the age of 12, he was noted to possess absolute pitch
Absolute pitch
Absolute pitch , widely referred to as perfect pitch, is the ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of an external reference.-Definition:...
.
From age 16 he travelled to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, to study under Alexander Sverjensky
Alexander Sverjensky
Alexander Borisovich Sverjensky was a Russian-born Australian pianist and teacher....
at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, for five years. During this time, he attracted the notice and commendations from Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein KBE was a Polish-American pianist. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music of a variety of composers...
and Eileen Joyce
Eileen Joyce
Eileen Alannah Joyce CMG was an Australian pianist whose career spanned more than 30 years. She lived in England in her adult years....
. While the tenor Richard Tauber
Richard Tauber
Richard Tauber was an Austrian tenor acclaimed as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. Some critics commented that "his heart felt every word he sang".-Early life:...
was on an Australian tour, he heard Farrell and offered him a European tour, which Farrell was unable to accept due to the war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
that was then in progress.
Farrell returned to New Zealand in 1939 and 1942, giving recitals and performances, but spent most of his time in Australia, where he received much support from the Australian Broadcasting Commission
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
.
Studies and performances in America
In 1945 Eugene OrmandyEugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
invited him to come to the USA when he was ready. Ormandy told the American pianist William Kapell
William Kapell
William Kapell was an outstanding American pianist who was killed in the crash of a commercial airliner.-Biography:...
about him, and Kapell befriended him on his 1947 visit to Australia, and later asked him to best man at his wedding. On Kapell's personal recommendation he was granted a full scholarship to study with Olga Samaroff
Olga Samaroff
Olga Samaroff was a pianist, music critic, and teacher. Her second husband was conductor Leopold Stokowski.Samaroff was born Lucy Mary Agnes Hickenlooper in San Antonio, Texas, and grew up in Galveston, where her family owned a business later wiped out in the Great 1900 Galveston hurricane...
at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He remained with Samaroff for the remaining two years of her life, and she was said to have pronounced that Richard Farrell was the best student she had ever had. He also studied conducting at Juilliard with Serge Koussevitzky
Serge Koussevitzky
Serge Koussevitzky , was a Russian-born Jewish conductor, composer and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949.-Early career:...
.
At Juilliard, he was noticed by Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
and studied his 1941 Piano Sonata, which became a feature of his repertoire. Copland was heard to commend Farrell for performing the sonata without the aid of a musical score, saying, "Although I composed it myself, I can't memorise it". Farrell then toured in the United States, giving over 60 recitals a year. After another tour of New Zealand, he had his Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
debut in 1948, and again received very glowing critiques. Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein KBE was a Polish-American pianist. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music of a variety of composers...
declared that there were "only three pianists in the world" - himself, William Kapell and Richard Farrell. He first appeared with the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
on 2 December 1950, playing Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
's Piano Concerto in A minor
Piano Concerto (Grieg)
The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, composed by Edvard Grieg in 1868, was the only concerto Grieg completed. It is one of his most popular works and among the most popular of all piano concerti.-Structure :The concerto is in three movements:...
with Dimitri Mitropoulos conducting.
International tours
Farrell moved to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1951 and his renown grew steadily. Princess Marie Louise
Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein
-Titles:*1872–1891: Her Highness Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein*1891–1900: Her Highness Princess Aribert of Anhalt*1900–1917: Her Highness Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein...
, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, took him under her wing as her protégé. He was one of the first pianists to play in the newly built Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
, and also appeared at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
, the London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
, the Philharmonia
Philharmonia
The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...
, the Hallé Orchestra
The Hallé
The Hallé is a symphony orchestra based in Manchester, England. It is the UK's oldest extant symphony orchestra , supports a choir, youth choir and a youth orchestra, and releases its recordings on its own record label, though it has occasionally released recordings on Angel Records and EMI...
and other orchestras. Among the conductors with whom he worked were Sir Thomas Beecham
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
, Sir Malcolm Sargent
Malcolm Sargent
Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works...
, Sir Adrian Boult
Adrian Boult
Sir Adrian Cedric Boult CH was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London for the Royal Opera House and Sergei Diaghilev's ballet company. His first prominent post was...
, Sir John Barbirolli
John Barbirolli
Sir John Barbirolli, CH was an English conductor and cellist. Born in London, of Italian and French parentage, he grew up in a family of professional musicians. His father and grandfather were violinists...
, George Weldon
George Weldon
George Weldon was an English conductor.-Biography:Weldon was educated at Sherborne School and at the Royal College of Music. He studied conducting with Malcolm Sargent and Aylmer Buesst...
and Walter Susskind
Walter Susskind
Jan Walter Susskind was a Czech-born British conductor.-Biography:Susskind was born in Prague, Austria–Hungary, now the Czech Republic. His father was a Viennese music critic and his Czech mother was a piano teacher. At the State Conservatorium he studied under composer Josef Suk, the son-in-law...
, who all professed admiration for him. He also frequently collaborated with his compatriots, the conductors James Robertson
James Robertson (conductor)
James Robertson CBE was an English conductor, best known as musical director of Sadler's Wells Opera.Robertson was born in Liverpool and was educated at Winchester College and Trinity College, Cambridge, before studying music at the Leipzig Conservatory and the Royal College of Music in London...
and Warwick Braithwaite
Warwick Braithwaite
Henry Warwick Braithwaite was a New Zealand-born orchestra conductor. He worked mostly in Great Britain and was especially known for his work in opera....
, who said, "At times during performances his artistic temperament would take charge and quite suddenly the whole concerto would be suffused with a glow of intense musical depth and understanding". These collaborations with Braithwaite concluded with a brilliant performance of Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
's First Piano Concerto
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Liszt)
Franz Liszt composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S.124 over a 26-year period; the main themes date from 1830, while the final version dates 1849. The concerto consists of four movements, which are performed without breaks in between, and lasts approximately 20 minutes...
in front of Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
during her first Royal Tour of New Zealand in 1954. He was to tour New Zealand four times between 1948 and 1956. His tours also included India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
His solo and concerto repertoire included Brahms F Minor Sonata
Piano Sonata No. 3 (Brahms)
The Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5 of Johannes Brahms was written in 1853 and published the following year. The sonata is unusually large, consisting of five movements, as opposed to the traditional four. When he wrote this piano sonata, the genre was seen by many to be past its heyday....
, Ballades, Waltzes, Op. 39
Sixteen Waltzes for piano, four hands
Sixteen Waltzes for Piano, four hands, Op. 39 is a set of 16 short waltzes for piano four hands written by Johannes Brahms. They were composed in 1865, and published two years later, dedicated to Eduard Hanslick. These waltzes were also arranged for piano solo by the composer, in two different...
, and the Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel
Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel
The Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, is a work for solo piano written by Johannes Brahms in 1861. It consists of a set of twenty-five variations and a concluding fugue, all based on a theme from George Frideric Handel's Harpsichord Suite No...
; Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
's Concerto for the Left Hand
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (Ravel)
The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major was composed by Maurice Ravel between 1929 and 1930, concurrently with his Piano Concerto in G. It was commissioned by the Austrian pianist, Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm during World War I....
and Gaspard de la nuit
Gaspard de la nuit
Gaspard de la nuit: Trois poèmes pour piano d'après Aloysius Bertrand is a piece for solo piano by Maurice Ravel, written in 1908. It has three movements, each based on a poem by Aloysius Bertrand...
; Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
's B minor Sonata and Études, Op. 10
Études (Chopin)
The Études by Frédéric Chopin are three sets of solo studies for the piano, There are twenty-seven overall, comprising two separate collections of twelve, numbered Opus 10 and 25, and a set of three without opus number.-Composition:...
; Schumann's Fantasie in C
Fantasie in C (Schumann)
The Fantasie in C major, Op. 17, was written by Robert Schumann in 1836. It was revised prior to publication in 1839, when it was dedicated to Franz Liszt. It is generally described as one of Schumann's greatest works for solo piano, and is one of the central works of the early Romantic period. ...
; Beethoven's concertos No. 4 in G major
Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, was composed in 1805–1806, although no autograph copy survives.-Musical forces and movements:...
and No. 5 in E flat, "Emperor"
Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven)
The Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, by Ludwig van Beethoven, popularly known as the Emperor Concerto, was his last piano concerto. It was written between 1809 and 1811 in Vienna, and was dedicated to Archduke Rudolf, Beethoven's patron and pupil...
, and the "Appassionata"
Piano Sonata No. 23 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 is a piano sonata. It is considered one of the three great piano sonatas of his middle period . It was composed during 1804 and 1805, and perhaps 1806, and was dedicated to Count Franz von Brunswick...
and E-flat major, Op. 7
Piano Sonata No. 4 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 4, in E-flat major, Op. 7, sometimes nicknamed the Grand Sonata, dedicated to his student Babette Countess Keglevics, has four movements:#Allegro molto e con brio in E-flat major....
sonatas; Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
's 7th Sonata
Piano Sonata No. 7 (Prokofiev)
Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 7 in B flat major, Op. 83 , the second of his three so-called War Sonatas, was composed between 1939-1942 and premiered January 18, 1943 in Moscow by Sviatoslav Richter....
; Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Tchaikovsky)
The Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between November 1874 and February 1875. It was revised in the summer of 1879 and again in December 1888. The first version received heavy criticism from Nikolai Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky's desired pianist....
; Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor
Piano Concerto No. 3 (Rachmaninoff)
The Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30, composed in 1909 by Sergei Rachmaninoff is famous for its technical and musical demands on the performer...
(which he played under Sir Thomas Beecham), Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42, and Preludes; Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 and transcriptions and paraphrases; Grieg's Concerto in A minor, Ballade in G minor
Ballade in the Form of Variations
Ballade in the Form of Variations on a Norwegian Folk Song in G minor, Op. 24, is a large scale work by Edvard Grieg. It is in the form of theme and variations, the theme being the Norwegian folk song Mountain Song. A performance usually lasts over 20 minutes.The theme is first introduced in 3/4...
and Lyric Pieces
Lyric Pieces
Lyric Pieces is a collection of 66 short pieces for solo piano written by Edvard Grieg. They were published in 10 volumes, from 1867 to 1901...
; Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
's Sonata No. 2; Copland's Sonata; and pieces by Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, Granados
Enrique Granados
Enrique Granados y Campiña was a Spanish pianist and composer of classical music. His music is in a uniquely Spanish style and, as such, representative of musical nationalism...
and Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
.
His musical interests, however, were not confined to the piano in solo recitals or in concertos. He performed all of the Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
violin sonatas in the Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
. He formed the Richard Farrell Piano Quartet with the violinist Brenton Langbein, the violist Eduard Melkus
Eduard Melkus
Eduard Melkus is an Austrian violinist and violist.Following the Second World War, Melkus dedicated himself to the exploration of historically informed performance...
and the cellist Ottomar Borwitzky. They gave three seasons of chamber music concerts throughout Europe, playing music by Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
, Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
and Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
to high praise from the critics. He also often performed with the London String Quartet and with solo artists such as the cellists Pablo Casals
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló , known during his professional career as Pablo Casals, was a Spanish Catalan cellist and conductor. He is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest cellists of all time...
and Paul Grümmer
Paul Grümmer
Paul Grümmer was a German-born cellist.Grümmer was born in Gera in Thuringia. He studied at the Leipzig Conservatory with Julius Klengel.He was well-known as a member of the Busch Quartet, founded by Adolf Busch....
. He moved to Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, in preparation for a career as a conductor, which was his greatest ambition.
William Alwyn
William Alwyn
William Alwyn, CBE, born William Alwyn Smith was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher.-Life and music:...
composed his Fantasy Waltzes in 1956 for Richard Farrell, who played a number of the individual waltzes on a New Zealand tour, and gave their first complete performance at Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London.The building includes the BBC Radio Theatre from where music and speech programmes are recorded in front of a studio audience...
, London, on 2 June 1957. Alwyn also dedicated the fifth of his 12 Preludes (1958) to Farrell's memory; it was written shortly after his death.
Death
Richard Farrell died in a car accident near ArundelArundel
Arundel is a market town and civil parish in the South Downs of West Sussex in the south of England. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Worthing east southeast, Littlehampton to the south and Bognor Regis to...
, Houghton
Houghton, West Sussex
Houghton is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It is located on the River Arun five kilometres to the north of Arundel...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, on 27 May 1958. The car in which he was travelling left the road and hit a tree, killing all three occupants. He was buried in London.
Critical reception
Farrell received many plaudits from musicians and critics. Renowned critic Neville CardusNeville Cardus
Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus CBE was an English writer and critic, best known for his writing on music and cricket. For many years, he wrote for The Manchester Guardian. He was untrained in music, and his style of criticism was subjective, romantic and personal, in contrast with his critical...
spoke highly of Farrell after first hearing him in Sydney during the 1940s, noting that "the possibilities or potentialities of Mr Farrell should carry him beyond routine standards" and, in 1951, that he could "well imagine the delight of young Brahms could he have heard Farrell playing".
Legacy
Richard Farrell Avenue in RemueraRemuera
Remuera is a residential suburban area within Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located four kilometres to the southeast of the city centre...
, Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
is named for him. New Zealand's most prestigious piano competition, the Kerikeri National Piano Competition, now offers a "Richard Farrell Award". In 2008, Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand is a New Zealand public service radio broadcaster and Crown entity formed by the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news, current affairs and arts network Radio New Zealand National and classical music and jazz network Radio New Zealand Concert with full government funding...
presented four one-hour programs on Farrell's life and work, with interviews from many people who knew and worked with him.
He left a number of vinyl recordings, on the Pye
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
label, all in mono. Some of these discs were shared with Iso Elison. His complete studio discography has now been transferred to CD and first volume of his complete recordings (2 CDs) was released in 2008, and the second volume in 2009.
Sources
- Jillett, David, Farrell: a biography, Benton-Ross, Auckland, 1985, ISBN 0908636148
- Grayland, Eugene, More Famous New Zealanders, Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd, 1972, ISBN 0723303355
- Richard Farrell