John O’Conor is something of a national treasure – few musicians in Ireland today command the respect afforded him, as performer, recording artist and teacher.  His life has been tied up with the music of Beethoven, so to hear him talk about that music – as well as play it – allowed a glimpse into the worlds of both Beethoven and O’Conor.

The genesis of tonight’s performance can be traced back to 2004/5, when O’Conor presented the complete cycle of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. Before each concert he would give a talk – about the music itself, as well as his experience with it.  These talks became almost as popular as the performances themselves, so to bring the two aspects together was a natural next move.

The evening is built around the performance of three of Beethoven’s best-loved piano works, with O’Conor presenting each by telling us a little about his experience with each one. Beethoven’s piano sonatas are more than just technically demanding – they are evocative and involved works. By revealing aspects of his personal take on each, he offers a glimpse into how he comes to really understand each piece, to bring out the sense of each work as a whole and to find what Beethoven really meant in these works.

The first work on the programme is the Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 – better known as the Sonata Pathetique. Introducing it, O’Conor talks of his earliest encounter with the piece – of repeated listens to a borrowed record, of first attempting to play it, and of learning and discussing it with mentor Wilhelm Kempf. By playing brief sections of the piece as he talks, he draws attention to some of the subtle elements that make the music so great – as O’Conor remarks, ‘When Beethoven writes a phrase, he means a meaning.’ When he finally does perform the whole sonata then, the audience are prepared – his playing bringing the music to life, a master at work.

The second work of the evening is the Moonlight Sonata, Op. 27. Again, O’Conor talks of his own experiences with the piece, but also of the importance to its performance of having a sense of the story the piece is telling. This sense of a narrative becomes clear in his performance – here is a piece of music that tells its own story, O’Conor bringing out the subtleties that define it. The final work on the programme is the Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 57 – the Appassionata Sonata. As with the first two, this is one of Beethoven’s best known works. What O’Conor shows is that, even when we are faced with music with which we are familiar, a good performance reminds us why they are so popular in the first place. With a clarity of tone and phrasing that allows the fire of Beethoven’s writing to shine through, O’Conor’s playing shows just why he is held in such high esteem.

After exiting the stage to sustained applause, O’Conor returns for two short encores. After treating us to some of Beethoven’s most complex music, he gives us some of his simplest – first six short Ecossaise, followed by the Fur Elise. As simple as they may be, O’Conor’s beautiful playing offers them a new dimension. As much a celebration of a much loved performer as tonight’s concert was, it was also welcome chance to hear a master musician talk about his relationship to the music he knows and loves so well.