If the name Francois-Frederic Guy (right) sounds familiar to music lovers in Ireland, it's more than likely because he was one of the competitors at the Dublin International Piano Competition back in 1991.
He was one of the most thoughtful players to feature in the competition that year, though his return for a recital in 1994 didn't leave quite as favourable an impression as the competition performances themselves. Since then he's appeared as soloist with the Ensemble InterContemporain and made a number of highly-praised CDs.
Last season brought debuts with the Orchestre de Paris (under Sawallisch) and the London Philharmonic (under Haitink). There's a chance to catch up with this much-talked-about young player at the National Concert Hall this Friday, when he's playing a programme of Beethoven, Liszt, Bach and Messiaen.
