John O’Conor
    Through his recitals, concerto appearances and critically acclaimed recordings, the Irish pianist John O'Conor has earned a reputation as a masterful interpreter of the Classic and Early Romantic piano repertoires. He has been praised for his formidable technique and through his eloquent phrasing mastery of keyboard colour and, in particular, his unique sound he has been called a true Poet of the Piano.

    He has performed in Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand and has appeared with such orchestras as the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, l'Orchestre National de France, the Scottish and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestras, the Israel Camerata, the NHK, Yomiuri, Kyushu, Kyoto and Sapporo Symphonies in Japan, the KBS Symphony in Korea, the Singapore Symphony, the New Zealand Symphony and the orchestras of Cleveland, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Seattle, Montreal, Toronto, Tampa and Washington DC in North America.

    He also appears frequently with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (and was soloist with them on their inaugural tour of the USA in 2004) and with the Irish Chamber Orchestra.

    He has given concerts in many of the world's most famous halls including Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, the Wigmore Hall and South Bank Centre in London, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Dvorak Hall in Prague and the Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo.

    He also enjoys collaborating in Lieder Recitals and performing chamber music with many instrumentalists and ensembles such as the Cleveland, Tokyo, Vanbrugh, Vermeer, Takacs, Vogler and Ying Quartets.

    Mr. O'Conor also continues to make significant contributions to the arts in his native country through his numerous performances of music from the traditional repertoire and his championing of the works of Ireland's leading 19th century composer, John Field. He has become a key figure in the development of young artists through his role as Director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and was a co-founder of the AXA Dublin International Piano Competition of which he is Artistic Director and Chairman of the Jury.

    John O'Conor first gained widespread attention in the United States in 1986 with the release of the initial volume of the complete recorded Beethoven Sonata cycle which was issued as a box set in 1994. CD Review described Mr. O'Conor's performances of these sonatas as "piano recording of the highest calibre and Beethoven playing at its best" and went on to say "This Beethoven series should become the complete set of choice".

    Mr. O'Conor has made more than 20 recordings for the Telarc label including the complete Beethoven Bagatelles, which was cited by the New York Times as the best recording of these works; four volumes of Mozart Piano Concertos with Sir Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra; numerous works of Schubert including the late A major Sonata, the complete Impromptus and Moments Musicaux, Waltzes and the Trout Quintet with the Cleveland Quartet; and two volumes of short piano pieces entitled "Piano Classics" and "Autumn Songs". An avid proponent of his fellow countryman John Field, he has recorded most of the composer's major works including the complete Concertos, Sonatas and Nocturnes. His recording of Field's Nocturnes featured on Billboard's classical charts for many weeks. He has also made a recording of his favourite Irish Airs with the Irish Chamber Orchestra entitled "My Ireland".

    In January 2007 he recorded Beethoven Concertos Nos. 2 and 5 with the London Symphony Orchestra under Andreas Delfs and will complete the cycle in 2008.

    John O’Conor’s 2006/2007 season included visits to Korea, France, Israel, Romania, England, Finland, Poland, Austria, Italy, China, and Japan as well as frequent visits to the USA and many concerts around Ireland. The summer of 2007 will see a return to Japan for a Tokyo recital and masterclasses, a first visit to the TCU Music Festival in Fort Worth, Texas and return visits to the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago and the Adamant Music Camp in Vermont. He has been invited to perform at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival in New Mexico and returns to the Aspen Music School and Festival where, apart from his teaching commitments, he will perform Beethoven’s 4th Concerto under the baton of Peter Oundjian and perform with Sarah Chang, Robert McDuffie, Veda Kaplinsky and others.

    The 2007/2008 season will include return visits to the USA, Canada, Korea, Japan, China, Australia, France, Spain, England, Israel, Poland and Turkey. He has also been appointed Distinguished Visiting Artist at Shenandoah University in Virginia which means that apart from teaching and giving masterclasses he will perform a recital, a concerto with their orchestra and chamber music performances with the Audobon String Quartet.

    Mr. O'Conor's early studies began in Dublin where his main piano teacher was Dr. J.J.O'Reilly. He was awarded an Austrian Government scholarship that enabled him to study in Vienna with the renowned pedagogue Dieter Weber. He also made a special study of Beethoven with the legendary German pianist Wilhelm Kempff. In 1973 John O'Conor was unanimously awarded First Prize at the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna and in 1975 he won First Prize at the Bösendorfer Competition.

    John O'Conor is deeply committed to the development of young pianists in Ireland and in other countries. As well as being Professor of Piano at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, he gives masterclasses and lectures in many of the places he performs as well as in many of the major music institutions including the Juilliard and Manhattan Schools in New York, Harvard, Yale, Temple, Rutgers, Indiana and Seattle Universities, the Hamamatsu Piano Academy in Japan, the National University of the Arts in Korea, the Australian National Academy and the Sydney Conservatorium in Australia, the Paris Conservatoire and the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music in London.

    He has been invited on the juries of most of the world's most prestigious International Piano Competitions including those in Leeds, Moscow (Tchaikovsky), Vienna (Beethoven), Warsaw (Chopin), Tel Aviv (Rubinstein), Beijing, Shanghai, Munich, Bolzano (Busoni), Cologne, Vevay (Clara Haskil), Cleveland, Salt Lake City (Gina Bachauer), Sydney, Pretoria, London, College Park (William Kapell), Valencia (Jose Iturbi), Hilton Head and Seoul.

    His students have won many international prizes including First Prize at the Clara Haskil Competition in 1999, Second Prize at the Olivier Messiaen Competition in Paris in 2000, First Prize at the Cologne Competition in 2001 and First Prize at the Franz Liszt Competition in Utrecht in 2002.

    Since 1997 he has taken on the mantle of his revered professor Wilhelm Kempff and gives the annual Beethoven Interpretation Course in Kempff's own villa in Positano, Italy where Kempff gave the course from 1957.

    For his services to music he has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by the National University of Ireland, by Trinity College Dublin and by Shenandoah University, Virginia and an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He has been decorated with the title "Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" by the French Government, has been awarded the "Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst" by the Austrian Government and has also been decorated by the Italian and Polish governments.