Peter Donohoe CBE (born 18 June 1953) is an English pianist. Born in Manchester, he studied at Chetham's School of Music and also at the Royal Northern College of Music with Derek Wyndham, and then with Yvonne Loriod in Paris.
For a period he was engaged by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra as an extra percussionist (having played with them in 1974 as one of the piano duettists in Camille Saint-Saens' Organ Symphony). It was as a pianist that he came to public attention, when he was awarded joint-second prize in the 1982 International Tchaikovsky Competition with Vladimir Ovchinnikov (no first prize was awarded that year).
In 1992 a Cincinnati hotel window almost severed fingers on his left hand, but after surgery there was no long term effect on his playing.
The link with the CBSO brought about his performance in 2002 at Simon Rattle's inaugural concert as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Rattle was the CBSO's conductor throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s).
Donohoe's repertoire is extraordinarily broad. Donohoe estimates his concerto repertoire alone includes about 160 works, and it embraces romantic and modern compositions, including mainstream concertos by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, works by Olivier Messiaen, and lesser-known piano concertos such as those by Henry Litolff (which he has recorded for Hyperion Records), Ferruccio Busoni, Dominic Muldowney and mid-twentieth century British composers including Arthur Bliss (of which he is recording a series for Naxos Records). He also plays a wide range of solo works (including the piano sonatas of Michael Tippett which he has broadcast for the BBC) and chamber music.
There is a man, a critic, who thinks this great man's music should be forgotten!
You will find him online just by typing in Tippett.He is an idiot who provokes both anger and sympathy.He thinks this music is over complex, and poorly constructed. Do something wonderful if you disagree!redress the balance and
learn to be open for the sublime harmonies and richness of his orchestration and contrapuntal genius!
ROLANDMC80EX 3 months ago
I think Tippett wrote this when he was 18. Really mature for one so young.
TheScriabin 9 months ago
beautiful music ! well played.
WatchBlueSkies 2 years ago
spontanely i like this 2nd mvt more than the 1st, beautiful playing too
xAmandine 2 years ago