About Farhan Malik

Farhan Malik’s extensive knowledge of historical pianists, piano literature, and the evolution of performance styles has made him a sought-after lecturer, writer, teacher, and critic. His numerous articles and discographies have appeared in leading piano journals worldwide, including International Piano (formerly International Piano Quarterly). His published surveys of the recorded legacy of specific works broke new ground by attempting to include all known recordings – from the widely available to the rare and obscure – thus offering the most comprehensive overviews of these works.

He has studied recorded piano performance from the beginning of the recording era to the present day. As a serious collector, he has assembled a world-class archive of historically important piano recordings. He has collaborated with several record companies on historical pianist projects, including Marston Records—where he co-produced the three-CD set The Complete Recordings of Emil von Sauer—and Philips Classics on their landmark 200-CD edition Great Pianists of the 20th Century.

Considered as an authority on the Russian piano tradition, Malik has written about several Soviet-era pianists, among them Vladimir Sofronitsky, Sviatoslav Richter, Samuil Feinberg, and Grigory Ginzburg. He serves on the boards of the Scriabin Society of America and the American Liszt Society. His Discography of Recorded Scriabin was published by the Scriabin Society in 1997.

Another area of specialization is neglected piano literature of the 18th and 19th centuries. Current and future projects include a book on 19th-century piano interpretation compared with present-day practice, and a listener’s guide to piano recordings.

Farhan Malik holds both B.M. and M.M. degrees in piano performance.