John Barstow, gifted pianist and teacher who shaped a generation of top performers

John Barstow, who has died aged 87, stepped back from a brilliant career at the piano to teach many of the next generation of pianists; during more than 40 years at the Royal College of Music his students included the 1986 Tchaikovsky Competition winner Barry Douglas and the renowned soloist James Lisney. One former student told how he “was responsible not only for teaching me how to really control the instrument but also how to make friends with it”; another said that “he was the first person to awaken a sense of genuine awe at what the piano and 10 fingers could do”; while a third added that “his lessons were always witty and even hilarious at times, although he quite rightly didn’t suffer fools if sufficient practice hadn’t been done.” John Dennis Barstow was born in Morley, near Leeds, on May 21 1937, the younger of two children of John Barstow and his wife May ; he remained a proud Yorkshireman throughout his life. Apart from a two-year break for National Service with the Army he remained at the college until 1960, studying piano with Cyril Smith and composition with Bernard Stevens, and winning the Chappell Medal. He became known for his strong but sensitive fingers and warm musical sympathy, winning prizes at the 1959 Liverpool International Concerto Competition and the 1960 International Liszt Contest in London.