Cork 2005: If there is any one strand of programming in the Capital of Culture calendar that seems to capture both the attention and the praise of a diverse and demanding public so far, it has to be music.
It's not just that there is so much of it but that there is so much that is different, new, demanding and exciting. The very concept of Music Migrations - now lustily in train - is one example. Then there's the Contemporaries Series begun by Fly last month and carrying on through Vinicius Cantuaria and Michael Nyman (April 9th- 11th ) to Copeland and Peacock in May.
There's new and revived work on the choral and classical agenda, the transfusion of funds to the Cork Orchestral Society for its spread of events and, for a week at Easter, the gorgeous array of city-centre concerts organised by West Cork Music and the RTÉ Vanbrugh String Quartet, assisted by UCC and by a grant from Cork 2005. Given the week that's in it, this event gets off to a sombre start on Friday 25th with Haydn's Seven Last Words from the Cross, at the Dominican church of St Mary, with the music performed by the Vanbrugh and the readings by the Prior, Fr Stephen Hutchinson.
Having thus observed their Lenten duties, the organisers get the full rush of blood to the head in a programme which, as Vanbrugh cellist Christopher Marwood says unapologetically, "is designed as a celebration of a great repertoire, and we just want everyone to come and enjoy it".
The week coincides with the 50th anniversary of the national broadcaster's decision to give Cork a string quartet, in response to a campaign led by the late Aloys Fleischmann who mustered a 3,000-strong list of signatures in a bid for an orchestra.
RTÉ and the then Minister for Posts and Telegraphs couldn't quite manage that, but in becoming the first broadcasting organisation in the world to establish a string quartet, RTÉ laid the foundations of what has grown into the centrepiece of Cork's musical life.
The relationship almost came to an end with the financial shake-up at RTÉ in 1990, but UCC stepped into what might have been a catastrophic breach by appointing the Vanbrugh players (who had succeeded the original group)as artists-in residence.
Something of a joyous recognition informs the wide-ranging Easter programme: "We felt that for this year we should use the best, the best-known and the best-loved music," explains Marwood. "We devised a short access programme for the coffee concerts at the Glucksman at noon, drawing on 200 years of Boccherini with Mozart and Haydn, and for the 5pm rush-hour recitals at city-centre venues (a bank, a church, an art gallery and a customs house) we're using Mozart, Dvorak, and Stravinsky. At the Aula Max, the heavyweights of Beethoven, Brahms, Zemlinsky and Tippett come at 8pm, followed by five performances of Beethoven quartets at 10.30."
This jubilant assembly has a note of sadness, as it will include the final performances of the Lindsay Quartet, disbanding this summer after nearly 40 years at the pinnacle of their profession: their last appearance here will be at 8pm on Friday April 1st at the Aula Maxima. This, with the sheer quality and exuberance of the programme and its international performers - Tokyo, Callino, Debussy, Contempo, Cuarteto Casals and the Vanbrugh, joined by soloists Hugh Tinney, Richard Lester, Michael Collins and Claire-Marie le Guay - indicate that this will be one of Cork's most memorable musical experiences of the year.
A time to act
The theatrical talents of the congregation at St Fin Barre's Cathedral are revealed in "The St Fin Barre Experience", opening at 4pm on St Patrick's Day. A spirited recreation of the building of the cathedral in 1865 guides visitors around the Victorian- Gothic masterpiece to meet architect William Burges, fund-raiser Bishop John Gregg and even Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson on bank holidays until October; booking essential: 021-4963387.
In short . . .
• Anyone waiting for news of Conall Morrison's play on the life and work of Frank O'Connor for the Cork Opera House/ Storytellers Theatre will be disappointed that this 2005 commission could not guarantee a production and has been cancelled.
• The 10-day inaugural European Union Chess Championships begin at the Metropole Hotel next Monday.
