Before his much-anticipated performances at this summer’s Mostly Mozart Festival, pianist, composer, and writer Stephen Hough comes to the Library to read from his new novel, The Final Retreat, and talk about his newest recording, Dream Album. Join us for an evening of stories and insights from his art-infused life.Named by The Economist as one of Twenty Living Polymaths, Hough was the first classical performer to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship and was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year’s Honours 2014.
Mr. Hough’s first novel, The Final Retreat, was published by Sylph Editions. The novel is the diary of a middle-aged Catholic priest on silent retreat while being blackmailed. Through the protagonist’s state of desperation and crisis of faith, Mr. Hough explores themes that have been on his mind for many years, including the idea of the “wounded healer”—“those people who set themselves up as being helpers in the community and then fail in themselves.”

About Stephen Hough
Stephen Hough is regarded as a Renaissance man of his time. Over the course of his career he has distinguished himself as a true polymath, not only securing a reputation as an insightful pianist, but also as a writer and composer. In 2001, he was the first classical performing artist to receive a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and, in 2013, he was named a Commander of the British Empire. He has appeared with most of the major American and European orchestras and plays recitals regularly in major halls and concert series around the world.  As a writer, he has contributed to The New York Times, BBC Music Magazine, The Guardian, The Times, and Gramophone, among other publications, and for seven years, his blog for The Telegraph was one of the most popular and influential forums for cultural discussion. His musical compositions are published by Josef Weinberger Ltd., and he is also an avid and exhibited painter.

To learn more about Stephen Hough, visit stephenhough.com and follow him at @houghhough on Twitter and Facebook.

Hough performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra on August 10 and 11. Tickets available HERE.

(If you need assistance with online reservations, please visit the welcome desk at the Library for the Performing Arts’ Lincoln Center Plaza entrance, where volunteers will make a reservation for you, even if you do not use email. For free events, The Library generally overbooks to ensure a full house. All registered seats are released 15 minutes before start time, so we recommend that you arrive early.)