THE headline events of the anniversary celebrations are both I important Dublin debuts the New York Philharmonic plays under Kurt Masur on August 15th, and the Chicago Symphony under Daniel Barenboim on September 9th. Both include Bruckner symphonies, paired with works from our own century by Ned Rorem and Schoenberg.

They also set new levels for ticket prices, from £20 to £50 for the New Yorkers, £30 to £70 for the Chicagoans. The NCH is a State institution, and pricing policy for the celebrity end of the hall's own promotions continues to raise issues of concern, not so much for the level of the top prices (let those who can afford them pay them), but for the astonishing lack of lower ones, something which ought to be of major concern to a Lab our Minister for Arts and Culture.