Michael James Houstoun (born 20 October 1952) is a concert pianist from New Zealand. He has twice in his life performed the complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas and in between these achievements, he overcame focal hand dystonia.

Early life

Houstoun was born in

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

in 1952. His parents were Archie and Ngaire Houstoun. He received his education at Claremont Primary School and Timaru Boys' High School. Houstoun started playing piano at the age of five and studied under Sister Mary Eulalie in

and, from age 15, Maurice Till in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

Career

Having won every New Zealand piano competition and award as a teenager, Houstoun then travelled and entered three major international competitions:

Van Cliburn Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. (July 12, 1934February 27, 2013) was an American pianist. At the age of 23, Cliburn achieved worldwide recognition when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold ...

(1973, 3rd place),

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

(1975, 4th place) and

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

(1982, 6th). From 1974 to 1981, he studied at the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on a full scholarshi ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and London. Houstoun returned to live in New Zealand in 1981; he lived in

Feilding Feilding is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on New Zealand State Highway 54, State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. ...

. He regularly plays with New Zealand's professional music-ensembles as well as giving solo recitals and recording. Aged 40, he performed and recorded the complete Beethoven-sonata cycle, and collaborated with Tainui Stephens on a television documentary about

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

entitled ''Icon in B minor''. In 1987, he launched the Kerikeri competition which became the Kerikeri International Piano Competition in 2012, attracting outstanding pianists and teachers from around the world. In 1990, Houstoun received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In 1999, Houstoun received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

in literature from

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

. Houstoun started suffering from focal hand dystonia, which could easily have ended his career. The condition was treated with physiotherapy and acupuncture, and he had splints made, used rubber bands, and learned

braille Braille ( , ) is a Tactile alphabet, tactile writing system used by blindness, blind or visually impaired people. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displays that connect to computers and smartphone device ...

as sensory retraining, but Houstoun believes that his relaxation technique helped him overcome the condition. In 2001 a documentary was filmed about his condition. After five years he started performing again as a soloist. In the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours Houstoun was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

for services as a pianist. In 2013, he repeated his achievement from 20 years earlier of performing all 32 Beethoven piano-sonatas.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houstoun, Michael 1952 births Living people New Zealand classical pianists New Zealand male classical pianists People from Timaru Prize-winners of the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit People educated at Timaru Boys' High School Curtis Institute of Music alumni Massey University alumni 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century male musicians 20th-century New Zealand male musicians 21st-century New Zealand male musicians Musicians with dystonia