By Bae Keun-min
Staff Reporter
Promising young Irish pianist Finghin Collins will hold a solo recital in Korea at Kumho Art Hall in central Seoul on May 11.
Collins, the first prize winner of the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Vevey, Switzerland in 1999, first appeared on the local stage in March, performing with the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra.
As part of the art hall's World Artists Series, Collins, 30, will present a program comprised of George Handel's Suite for Keyboard Vol. 1, No. 5 in E Minor (HWV.430), Franz Schubert's Piano Sonata No. 21 in Bb Major (D. 960), and ``Scenes from Childhood'' for piano (Op. 15) and ``Phantasiebilder'' for piano (Op. 26) by Robert Schumann.
His Schumann performance is especially worth attending. The October issue of Gramophone Magazine in 2006 reviewed for his Schumann album, saying ``At his finest his playing is enviably clear and transparent yet touched with a subtle and distinctive eloquence, allowing Schumann's voice to shine through.''
Before putting his name on the map by winning the 1999 Haskil Competition, Dubliner Collins studied at the Royal Irish Academy of Music with John O'Conor and at the Geneva Conservatoire with Dominique Merlet. He also won the RTE Musician of the Future Competition in 1994 and the Classical Category at the National Entertainment Awards in 1998.
In 2005, Collins released his debut solo album ``Impromptu'' featuring 19 piano classics. His second solo, a double CD album of Schumann piano music received glowing reviews both from fans and critics.
Tickets cost 30,000 won. For more information, call 1588-7890 or (02) 6303-1919.