Renowned pianist Wael Farouk joins New Philharmonic to perform Brahms Concertos
“It brings some comfort at least that there is a pattern in one’s life that despite challenges … you know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You know that challenges make you stronger, they make you learn about yourself,” said world-renowned pianist Wael Farouk in his interview to Warwick Fairfax from Beyond The Crucible.
Maestro Kirk Muspratt and New Philharmonic are welcoming back Egyptian American pianist Wael Farouk.
New Philharmonic and Farouk will perform Brahms’ Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 14, at the McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn.
A free MAC Chat will precede each concert one hour prior to concert time.
It will be his fourth time performing with the New Philharmonic. Farouk was last seen at the MAC in 2021 performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Concerto No. 2 in C minor and Concerto No. 3 in D minor — all in a single program.
What amazes his audience is his incredible strength and perseverance. Born with short finger ligaments as well as an eye condition where he had to wear very thick eyeglasses, he spent his early childhood exercising his fingers on a toy piano. It led to his deep love for music and a desire to seriously learn to play that instrument. Farouk accomplished something many people thought was impossible. Right before he turned 5, he started playing at churches. By the age of 6, he was playing regularly for the weekly services in the main Coptic cathedral in his town. When his dad took him to The Conservatory, the dean of The Conservatory told his dad that there was not even a 1% chance that his son would be a pianist.
He was wrong. But Farouk was given a chance. And he proved he could do it.
Farouk has performed on five continents in such venues as the White Hall in St. Petersburg, Schumann’s house in Leipzig, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, garnering international acclaim.
Dr. Farouk received his Bachelor of Music degree at the Cairo Conservatory, then came to the United States on a Fulbright Fellowship to study at the Catholic University of America. After receiving a Master of Music degree from Converse College, he continued his studies at the Manhattan School of Music and the Chicago College of Performing Arts. Later, he received a DMA degree from Rutgers University.
Farouk commands a vast repertoire of more than 70 concertos and 60 solo programs, spanning from Scarlatti to Bolcom and including the complete piano works of J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff, 10 solo recitals of Franz Liszt’s music, as well as the complete sonatas of Prokofiev, Scriabin, and Schubert. He has appeared as a soloist with such orchestras as the North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Saint-Etienne National Orchestra, the Academy of the Arts Orchestra, the Manhattan Symphony, and the Cairo Symphony Orchestra.
Farouk has served as Director of the Keyboard Studies Program of Wisconsin’s Carthage College and Piano Faculty at Chicago’s Roosevelt University. Using virtual technology, he has instructed students as far away as China, Nigeria, Ukraine, and Egypt. Farouk is now on the piano faculty at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, his alma mater.
In the spring of 2021, Farouk was approached by Dr. Nash Naam, the president of the American Association of Hand Surgery, after he had read an article in the Chicago Tribune about Farouk’s historic performance of Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos with the New Philharmonic. As a result, in 2022 Farouk delivered the lecture “My Perfect Hands” to members of the American Association of Hand Surgery, which helped hand surgeons understand more about his condition and work better with children with unusual hand conditions and with their parents.
His talent will light up the Chicago area once more on April 13-14. Under the baton of Maestro Muspratt, Farouk along with the New Philharmonic will impress the audience with two masterpieces by famous German composer Johannes Brahms.
Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15, was completed in 1858 and premiered in 1859. It began as a symphony and became a sonata for two pianos, but soon Brahms realized that he conceived it as a much larger work, particularly as a piano concerto.
This emotional and expressive composition will be followed by another incredibly deep and passionate masterpiece — Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83. It debuted 22 years after Concerto No. 1. Concerto No. 2 is one of the most difficult piano concertos to perform.
“Knowing your limitation is a blessing, is often more important than knowing what you’re able to do,” told Farouk to Fairfax. By performing Brahms on his favorite instrument, Farouk will once again share with us his inspirational story of strength, perseverance, and love for music.
For tickets, visit www.atthemac.org/events/brahms/ or call (630) 942-4000. Tickets are $55. The McAninch box office is open Tuesday to Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. and two hours prior to performance.