John McAlpine

About John McAlpine

John McAlpine was born in 1947 in Rawene, New Zealand. He studied natural sciences at the University of Canterbury and music at Victoria University in Wellington. In 1973, he moved to Germany, where he studied piano with Aloys Kontarsky and Wilhelm Hecker at the Cologne University of Music. Since then, he has worked as a pianist and teacher. He has performed as a soloist and ensemble member in New Zealand, the USA, and numerous European countries. He has also participated in radio productions and recordings of contemporary music. John McAlpine can be heard on numerous recordings featuring works by Walter Zimmermann, Chris Newman, Maria De Alvear, Jürg Frey, Makiko Nishikaze, and Tom Johnson. His album with John Cage's Four Walls was on the Neue Musikzeitung record critics’ top classical list in 1995. Composers who have dedicated works to him include Chris Newman, Howard Skempton, Albrecht Zummach, Michael Pisaro, Tom Johnson, Makiko Nishikaze, and Clarence Barlow.