CORK TOMORROW marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of composer, musicologist, teacher and founder of the Cork Symphony Orchestra, Prof Aloys Fleischmann, with a special ceremony at the Crawford Art Gallery in the city.
Three harpists and three fiddle players from University College Cork will play music from Prof Fleischmann's monumental work The Sources of Irish Traditional Music, while Prof Fleischmann's contribution to ballet will be marked by a performance from ballerina Guzel Atymtayeva.
The ceremony is but one of over 100 events taking place in Cork and around the world to mark the birth of the German-born professor, whose contribution to the cultural and musical life of Cork was recognised when he was awarded the freedom of the city in 1978.
Earlier this year, historian Prof John A Murphy recalled how Prof Fleischmann, who died on July 21st, 1992, and his family had played a role not just in the musical life of Cork but also in the growing cultural nationalism that blossomed in the city in the first half of the last century.
Speaking at the launch of a new booklet entitled The Fleischmanns: A Remarkable Cork Family, published by Cork City Library, Prof Murphy pointed out that it was at the Fleischmann home that a young Terence MacSwiney met his future wife, Muriel Murphy.
Among the 100-plus events planned to mark the centenary of Prof Fleischmann’s birth are some 50 concerts, 10 exhibitions, 10 public lectures and a Fleischmann Week in Dachau near Munich, where Prof Fleischmann was born in 1910 to Irish-based German parents.
For further details, visit www.corkcity. ie/aloysfleischmann