Irish pianist John O’ Conor has been garnering wonderful reviews for his masterly playing for over forty years and will perform at the National Concert Hall on Monday 27 April as part of the ‘Piano Masters’ strand of the International Concert Series. His repertoire for the evening will be Schubert’s Sonata in B Flat Major, D.960 and Diabelli Variations, Op. 120 by Beethoven.

Having studied in his native Dublin, in Vienna with Dieter Weber and been tutored by the legendary Wilhelm Kempff, John’s unanimous 1st Prize at the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna, 1973 opened the door to a career that has brought him all around the world and won him great critical acclaim - “A pianist of unbounding sensitivity” (Gramophone)

He has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, and many symphonies in North America and he has given concerts in many of the world’s most famous halls including Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center in New York, Wigmore Hall and South Bank Centre in London.

A Steinway Artist, Professor O’Conor is regarded as one of the most important piano teachers in the world today. He is Distinguished Artist in Residence, Professor of Music and Chair of the Piano Division at Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia, a faculty member at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, International Visiting Artist at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and Visiting Professor at Showa University in Japan. He is in great demand for masterclasses and as juror at the most prestigious International Piano competitions worldwide.

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. He has also been awarded the title Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government, the Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst by the Austrian Government, the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese Government and has received many other awards.

“John O’Conor must be ranked high indeed … this was exquisite playing - lucid, poised and cool; he gave himself to the expression of this graceful music. This was a memorable concert.” - New York Times

John O’Conor Programme (Monday 27 April, 8pm)

Schubert Sonata in B Flat Major, D.960

Beethoven  Diabelli Variations, Op. 120

Prices: €50, €40, €35, €30 (€20 Choir Balcony)

NCH Box Office Tel: 01 417 00 00 or www.nch.ie