Michael James Houstoun (born 20 October 1952) is a

concert pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

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 (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) 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 coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

in 1952. His parents were Archie and Ngaire Houstoun. He received his education at Claremont Primary School and

Timaru Boys' High School Timaru Boys' High School (also known as TBHS), established in 1880, is a single sex state (public) secondary school located in the port city of Timaru, South Canterbury, New Zealand. TBHS caters for years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 19 years). At th ...

. Houstoun started playing piano at the age of five and studied under Sister Mary Eulalie in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

and, from age 15, Maurice Till in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

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 who, at the age of 23, achieved worldwide recognition when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold Wa ...

(1973, 3rd place),

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

(1975, 4th place) and

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

(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, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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

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

. 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 Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato. There are o ...

on a television documentary about

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

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 The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. 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 ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

. 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 (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

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 (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

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 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