Bach and Michael Jackson: The varied musical inspirations of classical pianist Amiri Harewood

The 23-year-old will perform an eclectic programme featuring pieces by Auerbach, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Bach and Brahms, at the Old Swan Hotel on March 23, as part of this year’s Harrogate International Sunday Series.

“I normally either go for a theme or a collection of pieces I really connect to that I feel take the audience on a varied and interesting journey, and which also show the diversity of the piano,” says Amiri. “I’m really looking forward to coming back to Harrogate. They were a really receptive audience last time and hopefully I can provide something enjoyable they can engage with. Also, it’s a really nice town from what I saw so I’d like to explore it a bit more.”

What makes Amiri’s success remarkable is that he doesn’t come from a musical family and didn’t go to a specialist music school. He grew up in Beckenham, a town south of London, and his parents spotted his talent for music. “I had keyboard lessons when I was five and they saw that I enjoyed the piano so they took me for piano lessons and that’s where it started.”

He went to Trinity School in Croydon and credits its “fantastic” music department with helping him explore different types of music, with his piano teacher Richard Evans a pivotal influence. “I’d just done my Grade A exam, and I remember being in his office and he played me the first Chopin Ballade and that changed my whole perspective and opened my mind.”

Amiri performed his first recital when he was 14 at Steinway Hall in London having found himself drawn to classical music. “It’s always been an outlet for me to express myself,” he says. At the same time as immersing himself in classical music he’s also a big Hip Hop fan. “It’s interesting because classical music is not what I listen to the most. I still listen to lots of classical music and there are pieces I feel very passionate about, but I think it’s useful to listen to different music.”

His fledgling career has already seen him enjoy solo recitals at prestigious venues including St Martin-in-the-Fields, Bishopsgate Institute and the Royal Albert Hall (as part of the Steinway Young Artist series), though he says his standout highlight was performing the Grieg Piano Concerto with the renowned Chineke! Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall. “A concerto debut at the Royal Festival Hall is a very special moment but also performing a concerto with Chineke! was something I had always hoped to do ever since I had seen them at the BBC Proms in 2017.”

Amiri is currently studying at the Royal College of Music on a full scholarship and recently signed up with YCAT (Young Classical Artists Trust), a UK charity supporting emerging classical musicians. In 2021, he was also selected as one of the first Tabor Piano Ambassadors for the Leeds International Piano Competition, representing the Royal College of Music.

He is passionate about classical music and believes it plays an important cultural role. “I definitely think classical music is still relevant to people today. I also think there will always be an audience for classical music. Perhaps the culture needs to shift a bit to accommodate a new audience, and it’ll be interesting to see how this is done and how it can stay relevant to people. I always find it interesting to look at how this has been done in theatre, especially with Shakespeare’s plays, which are often directed now to reflect the 21st-century experience, and I wonder what that would look like in classical music.”

He feels classical music offers something unique. “You go on a rollercoaster during a performance and it’s something very special. As much as I love my Hip Hop you don’t get the same big ups and downs as you get in classical music,” he says. “When you think about iconic moments and emotional moments in films, if you remove the classical music from them then they would be nowhere near as powerful. If you take The Godfather, which is an incredible film, if you removed the music it wouldn’t have the same effect. So I think a lot of people do actually enjoy classical music.”

As a young black musician in the classical music world, Amiri is aware of the importance of role models and hopes one day that he might inspire other young people of colour, citing Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton as an inspirational figure to him growing up. “The way he uses his influence to create change and be the best in that industry… for me that’s incredibly inspiring.”

He also points to the success of cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason who became the first black person to win the prestigious BBC Young Musician competition in 2016. “That made me think something like this could be a possibility. So I think these figures are really important and at some point in my life I would love to be one of them.”

Amiri Harewood is at The Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate, on March 23, at 11am. For tickets, visit harrogateinternationalfestivals.com or call the Box Office on 01423 562 303.