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 David
Farmer is one of the most exciting and innovative exponents of
the classical accordion in the world today. Still in his 20's,
his performances have attracted praise from many of the world's
leading instrumentalists and he has become a highly sought-after
musician. Since his debut in the BBC Proms in 1998, he has performed
internationally both as a soloist and a chamber musician. In 1999
he was invited by composer Karl Jenkins to feature as a soloist
on the best-selling recording Adimeus 4, resulting in a world
premiere performance at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Born in Scotland, he studied with
Owen
Murray at the Royal Academy of Music in London, England and
Matti Rantanen at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland. In
June 2000 he graduated from the Postgraduate Performance course
at the RAM having been awarded the prestigious DipRAM.
David has been involved in many
diverse projects, from working with the Royal Opera Covent Garden,
to giving a performance of Arne Nordheim's epic accordion concerto
"Spur" in the presence of the composer at the acclaimed Huddersfield
International Contemporary Music festival. David has also given
recitals at the Chelmsford Cathedral, Brighton and Aldeburgh Festivals.
He is rapidly gaining a reputation as a leading interpreter of
contemporary music, and has worked with the London Sinfonietta
under Oliver Knussen and has formed a duo "muta", with clarinetist
Gareth Davis, specializing in new music.
Over the past few years David has
had many competition successes. In 1997 he won the keyboard section
and was a grand finalist in the Royal Overseas League Music Competition.
In 1998 he gave a recital in the Purcell Room as part of the Park
Lane Group Young Artist's series, and has also given performances
and interviews on BBC Radio.
He is frequently invited to sit
as a member of international competition juries, including the
Beijing
International Accordion Competition and the Finnish National
Competition.
David performs Gubaidulina with
profound emotional and philosophical depth, understanding her
"truth", and the complex musical language it is expressed with,
to its fullest. David captures poetry, melancholy and contemplativeness
of Zolotaryov's "Chamber Suite" with mastery and maturity. His
interpretation of this exquisite piece is mild and beautiful on
the surface but it has an explosiveness buried quietly in its
emotional landscape. It is truly a superb performance - accomplished,
considered, polished - a performance of depths in many aspects.
Makes you realize just how thin and fleeting some of what passes
for good accordion playing is. *****
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