Barry Douglas

Barry Douglas studied at Methodist College Belfast. The recorded working language is English. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are classical music. Employment is recorded with Royal College of Music. Distinctions recorded are Officer of the Order of the British Empire and 1st prize of the Tchaikovsky International Competition.

• Name — Barry Douglas • Birth Name — William Barry Douglas • Born — 23 April 1960 • Birthplace — Belfast, Northern Ireland • Genre — Classical • Occupation — Musician, conductor • Instrument — Piano • Years Active — 1978–present • Label — Chandos RCA Victor Red Seal Satirino France • Associated Acts — Camerata Ireland

He studied piano, cello, clarinet and organ while growing up in Belfast. He first studied in Belfast while attending Methodist College Belfast and, at 16, had lessons with Felicitas LeWinter, a pupil of Emil von Sauer and grand-pupil of Franz Liszt. In London he studied with John Barstow for four years and then studied privately with Maria Curcio, the last and favourite pupil of Artur Schnabel, going on to study with the Russian pianist Yevgeny Malinin in Paris. He won the Bronze Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Texas in 1985 and second prize in the 1980 Paloma O'Shea Santander International Piano Competition in Spain. He won the gold medal outright in the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1986.

His debut album was a recording of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. He has made many recordings since then and in 2007 he completed (with Camerata Ireland) recording the five Beethoven piano concertos and the Triple Concerto (with Kim Chee-yun and Andrés Díaz). He is Artistic Director of the International Piano Festival in Manchester, England and the Clandeboye Festival in Clandeboye, Bangor, County Down. He founded Camerata Ireland in 1998 which had Elizabeth II and Mary McAleese (the then President of Ireland) as Joint Patrons. Douglas increasingly devotes part of his time to conducting the Camerata Ireland orchestra. He has directed cycles of the complete Beethoven symphonies (in November 2002) and Mozart and Schubert symphonies and Mozart concertos in 2000 and 2001. He has made recordings for the RCA Victor Red Seal and Satirino France labels.