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

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

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 >>