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Piano Man

2006 1h 10m Television
  • Documentary
  • Arts/Culture
  • Music

Concert pianist Michael Houstoun is a prodigious talent whose career led him back home to New Zealand. This 70-minute documentary tells his life story, from growing up on a Timaru farm to playing prestigious international venues and accomplishing the feat of performing and recording Ludvig van Beethoven's full Sonata cycle. In 1999 he developed a potentially career-ending condition: focal hand dystonia. After five years recuperation he returned to the stage. Piano Man includes footage of Houstoun and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra debuting composer John Psathas' 2006 work View from Olympus.