John Gibson: One of Ireland’s leading pianist-composers

John Gibson, who has died with Parkinson's disease at the age of 65, was one of Ireland's leading pianist-composers, with 90 compositions to his name. It is hard to imagine a more debilitating condition for a pianist than Parkinson's which affects the nervous system, causing loss of co-ordination and getting progressively worse, with no known cure.

Composing since the age of 15, Gibson’s death came days before his composition of children’s songs will be performed at the National Concert Hall in the 29 concert series “Composing the Island”, showcasing music written by 90 Irish composers between 1916 and 2016. Among his other recent commissions was a setting of a poem in commemoration of a much revered teacher at Regina Mundi school in the Cork suburb of Douglas.

Born in Dublin in 1951, he studied piano with Rhona Marshall, and became a theory teacher at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Since 1982, the composer has lived and worked in Cork where he lectured in piano at the CIT Cork School of Music for 29 years until his retirement in 2012.

Over the past 45 years, he has performed extensively with the National Symphony Orchestra, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the RTÉ Vanbrugh String Quartet as a soloist and a chamber musician.

Gibson’s work is widely known internationally. In 1997 he was awarded the prestigious Nijinsky Medal for his piano piece Nijinsky by the International Society of the Friends of Vaclav Nijinsky, and the Polish Ministry of Arts and Culture, the first composer to receive this honour. Four years ago, he was invited to perform in the Kremlin and commissioned to compose Nocturne à la Russe for the anniversary of John Field.

A man of strong faith, he was a frequent Mass-goer and regularly shared in retreats with the monks of Glenstal. He also helped invalids at Lourdes and walked the Camino. A bachelor, he lived alone and liked nothing better than sharing food and a glass of wine with friends, neighbours and fellow musicians in musical soirees at his home. Believing in the age-old custom of sharing his considerable talents with the local community, he regularly played the piano for elderly residents at nearby St Luke’s Home. He also played for handicapped people at the Larche centre in Togher.

He was commissioned by Ian Fox to write a Nocturne for the right hand for the leading Irish pianist John O'Conor and also wrote a Lament for Voice, Cor Anglais and Piano. This was a private commission and the work is included in his new CD, The John Gibson Collection Vol 2 issued in 2011 to celebrate his 60th birthday

Other private commissions include Proverbs 13:12 for Piano and SOLO for Violin, both from an American patron Tom Ayers. In 2009 he wrote a psalm setting for the distinguished Cork choral group Madrigal 75. In 2010 he received a commission from Cork City Council for Christ Church Music performed at the official opening of Christ Church Triskel in April 2011. Seven CDs of his music have been issued, many with Arts Council funding.

The first staged performance of his Chamber Opera, Judith and Holofernes, was sponsored by Cork 2005-European Capital of Culture. His music is played regularly on RTÉ Lyric fm, and his works have also been performed and heard in China, Brazil, America, Russia and throughout Europe and Japan.

In 2015, his music was used for two documentary films by director Padraig Treahy, entitled Tadhg Barry Remembered and The Quiet Revolution, about the Cork sculptor Séamas Murphy.

He is survived by survived by his brothers Peter, David, Richard and Michael and his sister Darina.