Music history is written by the victors, but they are getting harder to spotWithin the rampant fragmentation that’s been with us for so long, the victors have become much harder to identifyWed Feb 05 2014 - 01:00
Beethoven: Cello Sonatas Steven Isserlis (cello), Robert Levin (fortepiano) Hyperion CDA 67981/2 (2 CDs)Fri Jan 31 2014 - 00:00
Bach cut with Mendelssohn: a bit like painting over early artworksAdulterating Bach with Mendelssohn at a concert at the NCH was dreadfully misguidedWed Jan 29 2014 - 01:00
The strange figures and empty chairs of the Arts CouncilThe Arts Council insists that transparency is important, but it’s sadly lacking in its funding decisionsWed Jan 22 2014 - 01:00
Curtain call for Cork, a city proud of its operatic leaningsCork had the first production of 2014, and features in two successful Arts Council funding applicationsWed Jan 15 2014 - 01:00
Bartók: Miraculous Mandarin suite; Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta; Four Pieces Op 12Fri Jan 10 2014 - 00:00
Room at the top: another departure from RTÉ’s performing groupsSeveral key vacancies persist at the top of RTÉ’s performing groups, and one man is currently covering three rolesWed Jan 08 2014 - 01:00
Les Amis: Elizabeth Hainen (harp), Jeffrey Khaner (flute), Robert Diaz (viola), IRIS OrchestraFri Jan 03 2014 - 00:00
Bach: Christmas Oratorio Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/Stephen Layton Hyperion CDA 68031/2 (2 CDs)Fri Dec 27 2013 - 10:36
Grieg: Piano Concerto; Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No 3 Nikolai Lugansky, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Kent Nagano Naïve AM 210Fri Dec 27 2013 - 10:34
Beethoven: Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II; Symphony No 2 San Francisco Symphony Chorus, San Francisco Symphony/Michael Tilson Thomas SFS Media SFS 0058Fri Dec 27 2013 - 10:32
An opera about bankers – the timing could not have been betterThe ‘AntiMidas’ cast of four double as a Greek chorus and the media, presented as a wild line-up of TV punditsWed Dec 18 2013 - 01:00
The Irish Canon: mad ambition, madder promotional strategyThe stated aim of a new concert series is to create a new canon of Irish works and make them repertoire standards. Good luck with thatWed Dec 11 2013 - 01:00
Leonard Bernstein: behind the batonThe Leonard Bernstein Letters, edited by Nigel SimeoneSat Dec 07 2013 - 01:00
Tricky handover as ConTempo Quartet take RTÉ Cork spot from VanbrughPerhaps it is time to revisit Music Network’s idea of a series of quartet residencies around the countryWed Dec 04 2013 - 01:00
How Elwes met Britten: ‘I was a bit of a thug, but I could sing’The tenor John Elwes met Benjamin Britten as a young chorister at Westminster Cathedral, the two sharing a penchant for schoolboy humourThu Nov 28 2013 - 01:00
Key players: a feast for piano fans in Lucerne and DublinIn a single week, it was possible to hear two Dublin International Piano Competition winners playing Chopin’s ‘Études’Wed Nov 27 2013 - 01:00
John Adams: Doctor Atomic Symphony; Short Ride in a Fast Machine; HarmonielehreFri Nov 22 2013 - 00:00
Bloch: Violin Sonata No 2; Janacek: Violin Sonata; Shostakovich: Violin SonataFri Nov 22 2013 - 00:00
Leif Ove Andsnes: ‘the greatest pianist in the world’ gets to know BeethovenThe great Norwegian pianist is focusing on Beethoven rather belatedly. ‘I haven’t been avoiding him,’ he saysThu Nov 21 2013 - 01:00
Fill the vacuum: concerts without context leave listeners none the wiserProgramme notes – or the lack thereof – at recent concerts have me lamenting sins of omissionWed Nov 20 2013 - 01:00
