Finghin Collins
Piano
“Finghin Collins – beautifully structured, transparent piano playing was the real delight of the performance” – Andrew Clements, The Guardian, August 2008
One of Ireland’s most successful musicians, Dubliner Finghin Collins studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music with John O’Conor and at the Geneva Conservatoire with Dominique Merlet. Winner of the RTE Musician of the Future Competition in 1994 and the Classical Category at the National Entertainment Awards in 1998, he went on to achieve major international success by taking first prize at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Switzerland in 1999. Since then he has developed a flourishing international career that takes him all over Europe, the United States and the Far East.
Finghin has performed with such orchestras as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Gulbenkian Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, garnering consistent praise from critics and public alike. Conductors with whom Finghin has collaborated include Myung-Whun Chung, Christoph Eschenbach, Hans Graf, Emmanuel Krivine, Nicholas McGegan, Gianandrea Noseda, Sakari Oramo, Tadaaki Otaka, Heinrich Schiff, Vassily Sinaisky and Leonard Slatkin.
In August 2008 Finghin made his début at the BBC Proms in London, performing Stanford’s Second Piano Concerto with the Ulster Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Montgomery; his performance was widely praised by the critics. During the 2009/10 season he makes return visits to the Northern Sinfonia, the Ulster Orchestra, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and the RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland. He also makes his début at the Korea International Music Festival as well as giving a major recital tour of Korea with cellist Han-Na Chang. In January 2010 Finghin makes his solo début in the National Concert Hall’s Celebrity Recital Series in Dublin. In September 2010 Finghin will assume the role of Associate Artist with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland for the three seasons 2010/11, 2011/12 and 2012/13.
Finghin’s first volume of recordings in Claves Records’ complete survey of Schumann’s piano works received glowing reviews in the international press, including “Editor’s Choice” in the October 2006 issue of Gramophone Magazine, 4 stars in BBC Music Magazine and 5 Diapasons in “Diapason” Magazine in France. A further double album was released in March 2009 to great acclaim, including 5 Diapasons in “Diapason” Magazine in France. In June 2010 Finghin will record works for piano and orchestra by C.V. Stanford with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, also for Claves Records.
Finghin is Artistic Director of the New Ross Piano Festival. He acknowledges the support of The Arts Council and Music Network through the Music Capital Scheme 2008.