When we think of the great Beethoven interpreters of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the name of Irish pianist, John O’Conor, immediately springs to mind. His sensitive, intelligent and historically-informed pilgrimage through the herculian pianistic mire of 32 sonatas and 5 concertos has garnered worldwide acclaim. Notwithstanding the standard greats of the piano repertoire, O’Conor has received notable respect and adulation for his performances of the concertos of Mozart and Field. His talent, wit, charm, dedication, and no-nonsense approach to playing have collectively seduced audiences of the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, the Wigmore Hall and South Bank Centre in London, the Wiener Musikverein in Vienna, the Dvořák Hall in Prague, and the Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo.

An enthusiastic champion of the arts and devoted pedagogue, O’Conor is constantly in demand for his breadth of musical knowledge by conservatoires and music institutions the world over. His former role as director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and current position as founder/artistic director of the Dublin International Piano Competition, has led to O’Conor’s appearance on the jury panels of the world’s most distinguished piano competitions. For his services to classical music, the esteemed pianist has been decorated with many accolades including: Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government, Ehrenkreuz fur Wissenschaft und Kunst by the Austrian Government, and Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese Government. In Ireland O’Conor has received Honorary Doctorates from the National University of Ireland, Trinity College Dublin, and the Dublin Institute of Technology. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Irish Academy of Music. As a Distinguished Artist in Residence, and Professor of Music and Chair of the Piano Division at Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia, O’Conor also holds a faculty position at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

We speak with the larger-than-life Dublin man in between his numerous concert and teaching engagements in America.

Let’s go back to the beginning John, what are your abiding memories of your early lessons with Dr J. J. O’Reilly at the College of Music?

The “Doc” — as we all called him — was an inspiring teacher in many ways. He was very exact in making me play scales with the correct passing under of the thumb. He talked all the time about sound — and would never let me play a harsh sound. He talked about opera, string quartets, encouraged me to go to as many concerts as possible, and talked about making special moments in performances. When I was about 16 he announced that it was time for me to learn my first complete Beethoven Sonata — but before doing so, he insisted on my reading a book about Beethoven’s life…which he lent to me. “You have to understand what he was like as a person“, he said. And he was so right. It was in that book that I realised how rude Beethoven could be. Being brought up really well by my father, who was a stickler for good manners, I was astounded at some of Beethoven’s rudeness…and intrigued too! It started my life-long fascination with the man, which has never waned. He also encouraged me to play as much chamber music as possible and introduced me to Jaroslav Vanecek, who was the amazing violin teacher in the College at the time. We became great friends and I played for almost all his students.

The Doc also brought me to Veronica (Ronnie) Dunne when I was about 16. “His sight-reading is terrible!…throw anything at him!“, he said. And she did! It was the beginning of a love affair with Ronnie that has lasted to this day. I learned so much from watching her teach: learning how singers could vary the sound and tone so much (which is what Mozart and Chopin wrote about in their letters), and how to make a performance more telling. I played for all her students at the Feis Ceoil, and could spend up to 13 hours at her house some days, just rehearsing — and it never seemed long! At the end of the day she would throw a few steaks on the grill, pour a glass of wine, and I thought I was in heaven!

I suppose the main thing that the Doc gave me was a sense of imagination — even as regards a career! I loved proving him right when my success happened! And still…when I think of him…it is always with a cigarette dangling from his lips and the ash falling down on the front of his three-piece suit!

At this time, did any particular classical musician inspire you?

Veronia Mc Swiney was my idol when I was a kid. She played so well and I used to love watching her perform. She was also a pupil of the Doc and sometimes I would manage to slip into one of her lessons, which was a bonus! When I was about 11, I was still doing a lot of drama in the Burke School of Elocution, and one day I was coming out of a rehearsal with Joe Dowling (who went on to become Artistic Director of the Abbey, and is now with the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis), and he saw an Abbey actor walking along the street. We were around the same age and my mother was putting pressure on me to give up either music or acting, as I would be soon going into secondary school. When I saw how excited Joe was I realised that if it had been Ronnie Mc Swiney I would have been as equally excited — so I gave up the drama!

Later, Ronnie played for me at the Feis Ceoil when I was 17 and won the big concerto competition (the ‘Hamilton Harty’ Cup). I was so thrilled to be playing with her. She always encouraged me greatly, and when the Irish National Opera were touring around Ireland, she recommended me to play for them when she was not free. Our friendship has lasted to this day and I love her as much as ever. I am thrilled that she has agreed to come back on the jury of the Dublin International Piano Competition in May of this year.

Many performers struggle with the hours devoted to theory and musicology when studying music at university level, did you have any issue with this at University College Dublin?

I had a major problem dealing with my musicology degree at UCD in the 1960s. My mother was so totally opposed to my choosing music for a career, that we had major rows in my home. I was supposed to study accountancy and take over my uncle’s business! The compromise we reached was that I would undertake to do the music degree at UCD so that I would “have something to fall back on when all this piano-playing nonsense was past!” Even then, my mother refused to pay for the degree, so I taught piano, played every gig around (including playing for ballet classes, accompanying anybody doing any examination etc…), so that I could survive. I lived at home so that helped.

But Professor Anthony Hughes in UCD ran a very strict ship, and I was not enamoured of the degree. When he spent one entire history lecture reading word for word from a book, I bought the book and stayed home. There were also so many unbreakable rules we had to follow in harmony — at the same time I had friends studying for the music degree in Trinity where Joe Groocock would say: “Yes, parallel 5th are not acceptable — but Bach does them every so often where it works so you have to develop your own judgement!”

Once, towards the end of 2nd year, when Prof. Hughes and I were having yet another argument, he said to me: “When are you going to stop practising the piano and start studying your music?” I was deeply shocked by that. And at the same time, I learned a lot.

For my final exam I did write a complete fugue (I think I was the only person to finish it), wrote the exposition and sketched the development of a String Quartet. I also developed a deep love of the operas of Richard Strauss and Britten. And it was Prof. Hughes who told me about, and encouraged me to apply for, the Austrian Government scholarship, which changed my life. So, I am always grateful to him for that.

The ultimate outcome of my studies at UCD was that I determined to develop an undergraduate Performance degree in Dublin where performers would have enough time, freedom, and encouragement to practise their instrument, and when I got to a position of influence at the RIAM that’s what we did, and I am proud of that — and the Masters and Doctoral degrees, subsequently.