Pianist John O’Conor is almost a national treasure in Ireland, but known by a relatively small circle of connoisseurs here. I was sad that I was away for his masterclasses at the Royal Conservatory of Music last week, and his solo recital last Sunday.
A sensitive, elegant performer, Beethoven master and champion of the music of John Field, his understatement masks a profound artistry.
John Terauds, Editor-Emeritus of Ludwig van Toronto, is currently a Divinity student at the University of Toronto and a church music director. He joined the Toronto Star in 1988, was the classical music critic from 2005 to 2012, and continues as a freelance critic for the paper. He is the co-author of Roy Thomson Hall: A Portrait, a book written with Toronto Star Colleague, William Littler.
Latest posts by John Terauds (see all)
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
He turns 65 today, so I thought I’d celebrate (and make up for my absence on Sunday) by listening to him carefully deploy one of the world’s favourite Beethoven piano sonatas, No. 21, known as the Waldstein, which deceptively starts off in the uncomplicatedly sunny key of C Major.
Here is O’Conor in a Telarc recording from 1987:
http://youtu.be/oOoFi772ebI
John Terauds, Editor-Emeritus of Ludwig van Toronto, is currently a Divinity student at the University of Toronto and a church music director. He joined the Toronto Star in 1988, was the classical music critic from 2005 to 2012, and continues as a freelance critic for the paper. He is the co-author of Roy Thomson Hall: A Portrait, a book written with Toronto Star Colleague, William Littler.
Latest posts by John Terauds (see all)
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
