The illustrious Irish pianist John O’Conor debuts on the Steinway label with impeccable performances of five great works by Franz Joseph Haydn.

Steinway & Sons is proud to release the first album in a series of Haydn Sonatas with esteemed Irish pianist, John O’Conor.  

“O'Conor's great pianistic gifts come through. His Haydn is focused, thoughtful, clean, transparent... O'Conor's performance is thrilling, played to perfection.” 

Fanfare

“Piano virtuosity can take a variety of forms, but one of the rarest belongs to John O'Conor ... He represents a vanishing tradition that favors inner expression and atmosphere over showmanship and bravura.”

  Chicago Tribune

Album Credits

Haydn: Sonatas / John O'Conor • STNS 30058

Release Date: 10/14/2016 

Recorded February 4 and October 26-27, 2015 at Steinway Hall, New York City.
Producer: Jon Feidner
Engineer: Daniel Shores
Assistant Engineer: Lauren Sturm
Mixing and Mastering: Daniel Shores
Editing: Jon Feidner and Kazumi Umeda
Production Assistant: Robert Hillinck

Executive Producers: Eric Feidner, Jon Feidner
Design: Cover to Cover Design, Anilda Carrasquillo 
Cover Photo: Hugh O'Conor
Piano Technician: Lauren Sturm
Piano: Steinway Model D #597590 (New York)

About the Artist

“A pianist of unbounding sensitivity" (Gramophone); "He represents a vanishing tradition that favors inner expression and atmosphere over showmanship and bravura” (Chicago Tribune); “Impeccable technique and musicality… it would be hard to imagine better performances” (Sunday Times - London); “This artist has the kind of flawless touch that makes an audience gasp" (Washington Post); “Exquisite playing” (New York Times).

The Irish pianist John O'Conor has been gathering wonderful reviews for his masterly playing for over forty years. He studied in his native Dublin, in Vienna with Dieter Weber, and was tutored by the legendary Wilhelm Kempff. His unanimous 1st Prize at the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna in 1973 opened the door to a career that has brought him all around the world.

His recordings of the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas led CD Review to say that he “by now should be recognized as the world's premier Beethoven interpreter”and his recent recordings of the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra and Andreas Delfs have also been greeted with acclaim. He recently released two CDs on the Steinway label: Beethoven's Diabelli Variations and volume one in a series of Haydn Sonatas.

A Steinway Artist, he is Chair of the Piano Division at Shenandoah University in Virginia, Professor of Piano 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.

For his services to music he has been decorated “Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Government, awarded the “Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst” by the Austrian Government, the “Order of the Rising Sun” by the Emperor of Japan, and has received many other awards.

About Steinway & Sons label

The STEINWAY & SONS music label produces exceptional albums of solo piano music across all genres. The label — a division of STEINWAY & SONS, maker of the world’s finest pianos — is a perfect vessel for producing the finest quality recordings by some of the most talented pianists in the world.