NEWS
FIVE CONCERTS WITH THE CBSO THIS SPRING
14th January 2003
This spring Finghin returns to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for the third consecutive season for five concerts featuring Schumann's glorious Piano Concerto. Details of the concerts are as follows:
April 15th 2003 2.15pm
April 16th 2003 7.30pm
Symphony Hall Birmingham
April 17th 2003 7.30pm
Corn Exchange, Cambridge
Finghin Collins piano
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Tadaaki Otaka conductor
May 22nd 2003 8.00pm
Warwick Arts Centre, near Coventry
May 23rd 2003 6.15pm
Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Finghin Collins piano
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Sakari Oramo conductor
The following article appeared recently in the Spring edition of "Music Stand", the CBSO's seasonal magazine:
The 25-year-old Irish pianist Finghin Collins is delighted to be returning for the third consecutive season to play with the CBSO. From the Brahms and Grieg concertos he played in 2000/01 and 2001/02, he's moving on to Schumann's now, learning it for these concerts. "I love it, it's so romantic, so warm, glowing, ardent, passionate..." He's always enjoyed playing Schumann: the 'Abegg Variations', Op. 1, was a set piece in the first round of the 1999 Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Vevey, Switzerland, at which Finghin won first prize. How did that experience shape his career?
"Engagements in Switzerland and abroad including several recitals in Geneva [where he studied for three years], Paris, Lyon, Dortmund, Dublin, Vevey, Berne and concertos in Stuttgart, St. Petersburg, Brussels and Rotterdam." That impressive list, along with concerts throughout Ireland, and invitations to the United States, all sounds enough to keep him busy for some time.
His Mozart and Beethoven concerto performances have been issued on the Claves label and Irish composer Gerry Murphy's First Piano Concerto, dedicated to Collins (who gave the world premiere in the Czech Republic), is out on the Vienna Modern Masters label. But, sensibly, he's not rushing to make recordings and is actually more interested in taking his career in other directions. He recently made his conducting debut with the Serb Radio Symphony Orchestra, directing Mozart from the keyboard and conducting Dvorak's 'New World' Symphony and Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune. "Conducting gives you a completely different feeling to playing the piano, but it's equally satisfying. After all, I play the piano in order to play music, not the other way around. The piano is not what my career is about, it is only the means to a glorious end."
He played the violin for twelve years but his interest in the piano started when he was three. He was helped and inspired by his sister, Mary, now a coach and accompanist. Finghin often appears with her in duo recitals. "Neither of my parents was musical but my two sisters and my brother are all pianists, all working in the music industry." Piano, violin, conducting - I wonder if he has other musical skills hidden away? "Not singing, but I did get through 'Danny Boy' in front of schoolchildren in Houston recently. They were learning about music from other cultures. Singing was the hard bit - telling them the tale of The Children of Lir was a lot easier!"
Although his athletic activities are pretty well restricted to keeping trim at his local gym, when I speak to him Finghin is limbering up for his contribution to the Special Olympic World Games which are taking place in Ireland this summer. He's giving a fund-raising recital including another work by Schumann, Humoreske, to support this enormous international project. "All the proceeds go directly to the Irish athletes taking part in the Games", he tells me, "and it's important for Dublin that they are a success because it's the first time these games have been held outside America." With his fluency in English, French, German, Italian and Russian, Finghin (pronounced Fineen by the way) might well be in demand as a translator during the big event.
His website is worth a visit: www.finghincollins.com
Lynne Walker, Music Stand, Spring 2003
Other related websites:
CBSO
