(Karim Said | Photo courtesy of High Desert Chamber Music)
On Sunday, October 12, High Desert Chamber Music kicks off its 18th season with the Central Oregon debut of pianist Karim Said, presented by Miller Lumber. I had the opportunity to speak with Karim about growing up in the Middle East, how it influenced his musical journey and some of his favorite works.
Karim grew up in the country of Jordan in a musical family – his father is a serious jazz guitarist and drummer. Music has always been a part of his life from early on. Karim told me, “Music was constantly around me since birth. Quite literally — my mother tells me that my father had a Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald cassette playing in the delivery room so that the first thing I heard entering this world was music!” At the age of five, he began studying piano and at age nine, after preparing for an international competition in Bucharest and performing a Mozart concerto with orchestra, he knew that piano was more than a hobby — it was going to be his way of life. When he was ten, he met Daniel Barenboim which led to a wonderful mentorship and further opportunities to develop and progress his career. Around 11, his piano teacher, Maestro Barenboim and the late professor Edward Said (who was also his grandfather’s cousin) encouraged Karim’s parents to send him to the Purcell School of Music in the UK on a scholarship to pursue serious studies in classical piano, conducting and composition. “I have never doubted my passion for music and my intention to become a professional musician,” Karim told me. “I haven’t looked back since, although I am constantly trying to find a balance between my conducting, solo piano and chamber music activities.”
Although spending most of his life in the West, Karim has always kept ties with the Middle East, particularly in Jordan and Lebanon; where his parents came from. Karim mentioned that during COVID, he decided to use the time he had to be the founding director of the Amman Chamber Orchestra and to take part in setting up the new Bank al Etihad Foundation, of which the orchestra is an initiative. The orchestra hosts classically trained musicians from the Arab world a few times a year. “I felt it was time for me to contribute to improving the situation in the region for classical music and those who chose to specialize in it, to make sure that future generations have better access to high art in the region.” Since moving back to Amman, he has also developed relationships with Lebanese musical institutions, regularly engaging as a performer and a conductor, and hosting masterclasses, in both Amman and Beirut.
When asked about favorite repertoire, Karim told me he tries not to have favorites and to be immersed in whatever repertoire he is performing. Like most pianists, Bach’s Goldberg Variations is at the top of the list, but Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 101, which he will be performing at his recital in Bend, holds some special significance. “It is a work that I have been performing since I was 14 years old,” he said. “Every time I play it, I see different things in it — it has helped me grow as a musician and as a person — it is the sonata that kicks off Beethoven’s late period, which was his most philosophical and spiritual period in many ways.”
Please join us on Sunday, October 12 at 5pm at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship for a thrilling program of Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann and more. There will be a concert preview at 4:30pm. Tickets (individual and season packages) are available through High Desert Chamber Music by phone or online. It’s time to come hear the music!