Míċeál O’Rourke’s lifelong commitment to music-making and his extensive repertoire have earned him great critical acclaim. His highly distinctive sound, presence, and ability to communicate musically have gripped public and critics alike. “A tremendous virtuoso, playing with the simplicity of a child singing”commented the Boston Globe on his performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto.
Reviewing his recitals at the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Art, and the Philips Collection, Washington Post critics referred to his “singular poise and velvet cat’s paw touch”, his “most wonderfully quiet hands”, and his being “a pianist with the kind of musical presence that commands, who reinvents the standards of the past”.
“As good as it gets” is how the American Record Guide described Míċeál’s survey on Chandos Recordsof the seven John Field piano concertos with London Mozart Players. His other recordings on the Chandos label include CDs of Debussy, Chopin, Schumann and Michele Esposito. His world première CD of piano music by George Frederick Pinto was elected “Recording of the Year 2000” by the critics of Le Monde de la Musique (France). Míċeál has since then championed Field’s concertos in public performances in Amsterdam, Bratislava, Dublin, Hannover, Krakow, London, Metz, Moscow, New York, Novosibirsk, Rotterdam and Saint Petersburg.
Míċeál has established a close bond with the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia, frequently performing as their concerto soloist in repertory ranging from Mozart and Chopin to Szymanowski and Lutoslawski.  He regularly performs solo recitals and chamber music at the Philharmonia, and in 2015, he will be returning to play Chopin concerto No 2 and  Mozart concerto no.23, as well as chamber music with the Stravinsky String Quartet, and piano and violin sonata programs.
For “outstanding performances of Chopin” Míċeál O’Rourke was awarded the Fréderic Chopin Medal by the Polish Artists Guild. His televised recordings of the complete nocturnes by Chopin have been screened in Australia, Greece, Ireland, Sweden, and by PBS in the United States.
In recent seasons Míċeál O’Rourke has given début performances in Spain, Chile and Argentina as well as making return visits to Belarus, China, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, the United States and to his home base in Paris. In 2015, he will tour a new program of ‘Night Music’ encapsulating the many moods of the night, from the quiet of Schumann’s Traumerei to the drama of Ravel and Samuel Barber.
Míċeál O’Rourke has lectured and given master-classes at Juilliard School, Royal Irish Academy of Music, Hong Kong College of Fine Arts, Beijing and Nanjing Music Academies, State Academy of Music in Vilnius, Chopin Academy of Music, State Music Academy in Minsk and the Novosibirsk Conservatory.
In a vast concerto repertoire of more than fifty works ranging from Bach to Lutoslawski, Míċeál O’Rourke has appeared as soloist with such orchestras as the State Philharmonic of Belarus, Boston Pops, Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra, Irish National Symphony, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian National Philharmonic, London Mozart Players, Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Nice-Côte d’Azur, Norddeutscher Runfunk Orchester, Philharmonie de Lorraine, Royal Philharmonic, Slovak Chamber Orchestra, National Philharmonic of Ukraine and others.

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