Sponsored
by Boydens (Estate Agent)
John
Suchet Will not be attending
he is being replaced with a good music
programme
John tells the riveting story of the Strauss family, set against the
turbulence of the times, with the Bernard Lanskey ensemble and guest soprano performing the instantly
recognisable and unforgettable music.
John remains one of the country’s best known television newscasters, having presented all of ITN’s
bulletins for nearly 20 years. Before becoming a newscaster John was a reporter for ITN, covering major events
around the world. He has been honoured for both roles: Television Journalist of the Year 1986, and Television
Newscaster of the Year 1996.
The Royal Television Society awarded John Suchet its highest honour - a Lifetime Achievement
Award. At the RTS's 2008 annual awards for excellence in television news, the judges praised John's 35 years as
a television journalist, as both reporter and newscaster. They particularly commended him for his willingness to
pass on his knowledge and experience to a new generation of television journalists.
John retired from ITN in March 2004, but Channel Five television invited him back into the
news studio in January 2006, where he once again presented national news bulletins.
John began his career with Reuters news agency. After a brief spell with BBC TV News he joined
ITN in August 1972, intending to return to the BBC after a year. He stayed at ITN for almost 32 years.
John Suchet has a great passion for Beethoven
Away from the news, John’s great passion is the life and work of Beethoven. He began writing
the story of the great composer’s life in 1990. It was published in three volumes entitled The Last Master, a
trilogy which earned wide acclaim. The Daily Telegraph wrote: “This book is not for academics but for you and me
and anyone moved by Beethoven’s music, and will probably do more to further understanding of the composer than
any professorial paper.”
John now travels around the UK giving talks about Beethoven, The Last Master,
accompanied by his own group of musicians. He has performed in more than 150 theatres, as well as Britain’s
major concert halls. He has also given his talk at an international symposium in Beethoven’s home city,
Vienna.
In 2000 John was appointed Honorary Doctor of Laws by his old university, the University of
Dundee. In 2001 the Royal Academy of Music appointed him Honorary Fellow in recognition of his work on
Beethoven, and in 2003 he was elected onto the Academy’s Governing Body. In 2007 he was invited onto the
Academy's Council of Honour.
John’s interest in Beethoven has led him to take an active role in promoting the welfare of
people who are deaf and hard of hearing. He is past President of the charity Hearing Concern and past Patron of
STAGETEXT, which captions theatre for people with impaired hearing.
In September 2005 he launched a new talk, again accompanied by musicians, on Johann Strauss
and Vienna, entitled ‘The Last Waltz’. On New Year’s Eve 2005 and
2006 John wrote and presented a special New Year’s Eve concert on Classic FM on the life and music of Johann
Strauss and did so again on New Year's Eve 2007. John also presents a talk, with slides, about his career in
television news, entitled One More Shot, Bob.
John Suchet - Television & Radio Presenter
He continues to broadcast regularly. He returned to ITN to commentate on the 60th anniversary
of the D-Day landings in May 2004. He has presented ITV’s This Morning programme, and for Channel Five he has
presented a programme during which the engine of a Hurricane which crashed on central London during the Battle
of Britain was dug up, as well as a live two-part programme on the building of Stonehenge. He also presented a
three-part series on Discovery Europe entitled World War II Experience.
John can also be heard on radio and broadcasts regularly on Classic FM. He makes frequent
appearances on Radios 3 and 4 talking about Beethoven and music. He was series consultant to the highly
acclaimed BBC2 television series entitled The Genius of Beethoven, which was aired in June 2005, and read from
his Beethoven trilogy on BBC Radio 3’s week long Beethoven Experience. He has also presented a series for BBC
Radio 4 on Vienna, City of Music, recorded entirely on location. In December 2005 he presented a three-part
series for BBC Radio 4 entitled Mozart’s Legacy.
Bernard Lanskey
Born in Cairns, Australia, Bernard studied music, philosophy and mathematics at the University
of Queensland, graduating with first class honours in 1981. A period of more specialised studies took him first
to Paris and then to the Royal College of Music in London (as a recipient of the 1984/6 Florence Davey
Scholarship) to complete a master’s degree, studying with Peter Wallfisch.
He currently teaches at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama where he is Assistant
Director of Music.
As a pianist he has focused on the middle and late repertoire of a succession of
pianist-composers – Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Debussy, Bartok – each of whom also saw chamber music and
song as central to their compositional life. He has performed regularly throughout Australia and Great Britain
and in several other European countries.
He has given a series of lecture-recital presentations, including an exploration of
Beethoven’s Sonata Opus 110 using philosophical and artistic metaphors, a study of the relationship between
Brahms’ songs and his violin sonatas, and a journey into the compositional detail of late works by Brahms and
Debussy.
In recent years he has worked with John Suchet, with whom he has toured Great Britain and
beyond with John’s production, Beethoven: The Last Master.
He has also worked closely for many years with the Australian composer Andrew Schultz of whose
works he has given many first performances. A CD of four-hand piano music by Brahms, Schubert and Schultz, which
was recorded with Stephen Emmerson for Tall Poppies, was released in July 2001.
| John Suchet's Stage Shows |
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John is a recognised authority on the life and music of Beethoven. He tours the country with his
own group of musicians giving his show “Beethoven – The Last Master”. John also has a show about
the great Strauss waltz dynasty, set against the swirling crinolines of Vienna and the wealth and
opulence – but fatal decline – of the Habsburg dynasty, entitled “The Last Waltz”. And for those
who know him as one of Britain’s most popular television newscasters, he presents a show about his
dangerous, exciting, and hilarious years as television reporter and newscaster, “One More Shot
Bob”.
John talking to Sonia Ainger Hon. General Secretary
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The Royal Television Society has awarded John
Suchet its highest honour - a Lifetime Achievement Award. At the RTS's 2008 annual awards for excellence in
television news, the judges praised John's 35 years as a television journalist, as both reporter and
newscaster. They particularly commended him for his willingness to pass on his knowledge and experience to a
new generation of television journalists.
John was described as a genuinely modest man with a boundless enthusiasm for his job. A short video was shown at
the awards ceremony, showing highlights of John's long career. This included his live commentary on the funeral of
Princess Diana, which was described as the most outstanding coverage of a live event in ITN's history. The audience
also enjoyed seeing an excerpt from John's camera test in 1975, complete with long sideburns, wide lapels, and
tinted glasses.
In his acceptance speech, John stressed that for him the essence of television news is teamwork, and he
expressed his gratitude for the help shown to him over the years by camera teams he had worked with as a reporter,
and programme editors he had collaborated with as a newscaster. As a surprise, the RTS had invited some of John's
old colleagues from his ITN days, and the evening was a memorable and emotional occasion, full of reminiscences and
laughter.
For further information contact John's agent,
David Foster Management >>
| Renowned Presenter, Author & Scholar |
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John is one of the country’s best known television newscasters, for ITN for 17 years until
2004, then again for Channel Five in 2006. Before becoming a newscaster, John was a reporter for
ITN, covering major events around the world. He has been honoured for both roles: Television
Journalist of the Year 1986, and Television Newscaster of the Year 1996.
John began his career with Reuters news agency. In the summer of 1968 he was in Paris covering
his first major story: the student riots which ultimately brought down President de Gaulle. After a
brief spell with BBC TV News, he joined ITN in August 1972, intending to return to the BBC after a
year. He stayed at ITN for the rest of his career.
John’s great passion away from the news is music, particularly the life and work of Beethoven.
He began researching and writing the story of the great composer’s life in 1990. In the late 90’s
his trilogy, The Last Master, was published to wide acclaim. The Daily Telegraph wrote: “This book
is not for academics but for you and me and anyone moved by Beethoven’s music, and will probably do
more to further understanding of the composer than any professorial paper.”
John began giving short talks about Beethoven’s life after the publication of his books. The
talk developed, and he soon gave his first perfromance with Bernard Lanskey, Assistant Director of
Music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, as piano accompanist.
Since then John has presented his show, Beethoven – The Last Master, accompanied by Bernard
leading a piano trio, in more than 150 theatres and concert halls around the UK. BBC Television
filmed John’s show at the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, and the film has been shown many times as
part of the Open University on BBC 2. He has also performed at an international symposium in
Beethoven’s home city, Vienna.
In January 2006 Classic FM commissioned John to write the second book in their series on the
great composers, The Classic FM Friendly Guide to Beethoven.
In early 2005 John launched a new show about his career as a television journalist, “One More
Shot, Bob”, accompanied by slides, recounting his amazing experiences covering major stories around
the world, including the world’s first modern Islamic revolution, led by Ayatollah Khomeini in
Iran, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan – not to mention the pitfalls of broadcasting daily to
millions of people.
In the autumn of 2005 he launched a new musical show about the Strauss family and Vienna,
accompanied again by Bernard Lanskey and his musicians. “The Last Waltz” tells the extraordinary
story of Johann Strauss, the tensions, rivalry and bitterness behind some of loveliest melodies
ever composed, set against the terminal decline of the Habsburg Imperial Royal Family as World War
One approaches.
In 2002 John wrote and presented a three-part series for BBC Radio 4, entitled “ Vienna, City of
Music”, recorded entirely on location. The series was short listed by the BBC for a Sony radio
award. In 2005 he was Series Consultant on BBC 2’s highly acclaimed television series, “The Genius
of Beethoven”, and read from his books on BBC Radio 3’s ground-breaking “The Beethoven Experience”,
a week in which every note composed by Beethoven was broadcast.
In December he wrote and presented a three-part series for Radio 4, entitled “The Legacy of
Mozart”.
John has been honoured by his old university, the University of Dundee, which appointed him
Honorary Doctor of Laws in 2000. In 2001 the Royal Academy of Music appointed him Honorary Fellow
in recognition of his work on Beethoven, and in 2003 he was elected onto the Academy’s Governing
Body.
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