Born in Amman, Jordan in 1988, Karim commenced his piano with Agnes Bashir-Dzodtsoeva before moving to the UK in 2000, aged eleven. He studied piano, composition and conducting at the renowned Purcell School of Music and later at the Royal Academy of Music, both on full scholarships. At the Academy he studied with Prof Tatiana Sarkissova. In more recent years, Karim was coached by Hinrich Alpers in Berlin, where he is currently based. As a conductor, Karim attended masterclasses with Bernard Haitink at the Royal College of Music during his studies in the UK.
He was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, London in 2017. He returned to Jordan and became co-founder of the Amman Chamber Orchestra and Amman Institute of Performing Arts in Jordan (opening in October 2022) with the purpose of creating and developing a vibrant hub for musical education and performances in the Middle East. His dedication to music and his native community has earned him international recognition!
Karim Said came to the public’s attention in 2009, playing concertos with the late Sir Colin Davis and the English Chamber Orchestra in London’s Barbican Centre and at the BBC PROMS with Daniel Barenboim and his West Eastern Divan. Karim has regularly toured with the Divan orchestra as a soloist, under Maestro Barenboim’s baton, performing at such halls as the Philharmonie in Berlin, Musikverein in Vienna and the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. Mostly recently, Karim appeared with the Maestro as a soloist in the opening night of the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, playing the Berg Chamber Concerto.
Karim’s debut album ‘Echoes from an Empire’ (Opus Arte – 2015) was one of Gramphone’s ‘Top Ten recordings of Janacek’ (2016). The repertoire on this album was inspired by his London recital debut series at the Southbank Centre in 2013, where he played the complete solo works by Arnold Schoenberg over three recitals as part of the ‘International Piano Series’ and ‘The Rest Is Noise’ festival. As a chamber musician and song accompanist, Karim has collaborated with artists including Waltraud Meier, Dorothea Röschmann, Gabriel Croitoru, Adrian Brendel, and the Utrecht String Quartet.
Karim has previously recorded with Rubicon Classics, his album ‘Legacy’ which delves into Legacy as a theme between various composers and their protoges, such as William Byrd and his pupils Thomas Tomkins, Thomas Morley and John Bull, Arnold Schoenberg and his pupil Anton Webern, and Schoenberg’s role model Johannes Brahms. “his masterly and creative interpretations hold great interest…He makes every note count in the posthumously published Webern pieces, where the ideal tempos help define the music’s elusive long lines. Bull’s Galliard features beautifully turned ornaments and carefully underlined emphasis of the composer’s unpredictable harmonic twists.” – Gramophone (2019)
Karim has a brand new album arriving this May which explores the two Viennese schools and the evolution of music in europe with works by iconic composers: Beethoven, Mozart, Schoenberg & Webern! Keep an eye out for this delightful collection of piano works!
Karim Said’s third album on Rubicon Classics. This time joined by The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Domingo Hindoyan.
The first and second Viennese school is the focus of Karim Said’s third album for Rubicon.
Karim as a pianist received his education in renowned schools and colleges, including the Purcell School of Music and the Royal Academy of Music.
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