Can music really change the world?And what does a composer have to do around here to get one of his works banned?Wed Jul 27 2016 - 01:00
Richard Boothby - William Lawes Complete Music for Solo Lyra Viol album reviewRichard Boothby - William Lawes Complete Music for Solo Lyra Viol album reviewFri Jul 22 2016 - 11:29
A strange forum for Irish composers whose noses are out of jointDave Flynn’s Burren venture is an alternative to the massive 1916 centenary survey – but the fine print is bewilderingWed Jul 20 2016 - 01:00
Frank Almond (violin), William Wolfram (piano) - A Violin’s Life Vol 2 album reviewThu Jul 14 2016 - 11:33
A vocal masterclass lifts West Cork Chamber Music FestivalMark Padmore’s singing is riveting, with an exceptional sense of intimacy and adaptabilityWed Jul 13 2016 - 01:00
Phantasm, Elizabeth Kenny - Dowland: Lachrimae album review: a gripping performanceDowland: LachrimaePhantasm, Elizabeth KennyLinn Records CKD 5275Wed Jul 06 2016 - 17:30
Irish composers unveil devilish and gripping new works in BantryWest Cork Chamber Music Festival heard pieces by Deirdre Gribbin and Seán DohertyWed Jul 06 2016 - 01:00
Celebration of Irish composers neglects women and living composers under 30Composing the Island festival is huge, but it neglects women and living composers under 30Wed Jun 29 2016 - 01:00
Chamber Choir Ireland, Crash Ensemble/Paul Hillier: Barry Meets Beethoven album reviewStephen Richardson (bass), Chamber Choir Ireland, Crash Ensemble/Paul Hillier Barry Meets BeethovenWed Jun 22 2016 - 16:50
Is silence golden? Welcome to ‘the last frontier of music’Ten years after I first heard of Wandelweiser, Louth Contemporary Music Society has brought it to IrelandWed Jun 22 2016 - 01:00
Goeyvaerts String Trio: Whispers of Titans review - intense music-makingWhispers of TitansGoeyvaerts String TrioChallenge Classics CC 727134Thu Jun 16 2016 - 15:30
Classical Music: Choir of 16 voices in the GPO sounds larger than lifeWhile no longer strictly in houses, the Great Music in Irish Houses festival has found good new homesWed Jun 15 2016 - 01:00
Classical music: A musical storm blows in from Brussels, and Mozart is reborn in a stableThe Brussels Philharmonic made a stylish debut at the NCH, but Mozart at Lismore Music Festival needed a lighter touchWed Jun 08 2016 - 01:00
Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos 1 & 4 (Italian) / Jörg Widmann: Ad absurdum album reviewThu Jun 02 2016 - 16:54
Changing of the guard at RTÉ orchestras presents an opportunityAs the principal conductors of the NSO and the CO finish up, the question arises: how best to deal with their succession?Wed Jun 01 2016 - 01:00
Irish Baroque Orchestra: Concerti Bizarri - luscious colours and deep sonoritiesThu May 26 2016 - 15:30
Classical music: Printed programmes are a convention worth keepingA high proportion of composers do not like writing about their work but listeners find such context invaluableWed May 25 2016 - 01:00
Airs & Dances from Dublin Castle: Spackling Band review - comes across with a steady efficiencyAirs & Dances from Dublin CastleSpackling BandAtoll ACD 9153Thu May 19 2016 - 15:30
The strange funding gulf between Opera Theatre Company and WexfordIn the past 10 years, the grant to Wexford has crept up but OTC's has fallen fast. What’s the rationale?Wed May 18 2016 - 01:00
Ingrid Fliter – Schumann: Piano Concerto; Mendelssohn: Fair Melusine album reviewSchumann: Piano Concerto; Mendelssohn: Fair Melusine Overture; Piano Concerto No 1Ingrid Fliter (piano), Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Antonio MéndezLinn Records CKD 5554Wed May 11 2016 - 13:36
A strong Russian accent at the NCH international seriesGreat Music in Irish Houses, Killaloe Chamber Music Festival and Cork Chamber Music Festival also reveal their programmesWed May 11 2016 - 01:00
Adrien La Marca and Thomas Hoppe - English Delight: stylish poise and broad tasteThu May 05 2016 - 15:30
The truth emerges when Beethoven is turned upside-downThe Vanbrugh Quartet’s unusual approach played up the contrast between early and late BeethovenWed May 04 2016 - 01:00
RTÉ takes a fresh approach to new musicCan the Music of Our Time series at the NCH remedy the weaknesses of the national broadcaster’s long-standing approach to new music?Wed Apr 27 2016 - 01:00
Handel at Vauxhall Vol 1 review: ranges from slightly yokelish to sophisticatedly pastoralThu Apr 21 2016 - 13:30
A patient and rewarding approach to BachMusic-making does not come much purer than in Masaaki Suzuki’s approach to Bach at the NCHWed Apr 20 2016 - 01:00
The Barber of Seville review: Rossini gets a rock makeoverCharacters are given space to sing and shine in impressive updating of a comic classicTue Apr 19 2016 - 10:48
Handel-Mendelssohn - Israel in Ägypten: If you’re a stickler for stylistic purity, stay awayHandel-Mendelssohn: Israel in ÄgyptenThu Apr 14 2016 - 15:30
The sound of sadness permeates musical commemorations of the RisingSorrow and loss continue to hold us in greater thrall than the idea of a new order in the offingWed Apr 13 2016 - 01:00
Gli Incogniti/Amandine Beyer - Un orage d’avril: There’s more to Pachelbel than the CanonThu Apr 07 2016 - 15:30
Centenary concerts neglect to take the revolutionary roadMichael Dervan: Two evenings of music and words as part of Ireland 2016 got me thinking about the links that were missedWed Apr 06 2016 - 01:00
Taverner Choir and Players - Western Wind: a well-pointed performance with bracing soprano linesThu Mar 31 2016 - 15:30
The Kevin Barry room gets ready for some fresh experimentationThe NCH room - where the Treaty debates were held - has had a revamp. Will this fix the acoustic problems?Wed Mar 30 2016 - 01:00
Jörg Widmann fights the Round Room – with some successThe Irish Chamber Orchestra’s second attempt at taming the Mansion House room’s intractable acoustic brought some progressWed Mar 23 2016 - 01:00
Angela Gheorghiu might be high-maintenance but she’s worth itShe is sometimes said to live up to the prima donna billing, but after a cautious start she shone at the NCHWed Mar 16 2016 - 01:00
Brook Street Band-Handel; Trio Sonatas: familiar vocal lines that are lively and affectingThu Mar 10 2016 - 17:40
Mixed-and-matched Mozart in a blast from the concert pastFreiburger Barockorchester pay no heed to modern approaches to concert structuresWed Mar 09 2016 - 01:00
Elena Xanthoudakis, Jason Xanthoudakis, Clemens Leske - The Captive Nightingale: Schubert in context of neglected worksThu Mar 03 2016 - 20:30
Not fade away: which classical pieces are most popular?A lucky few can follow their favourite groups and repertoires around the world. The rest of us have to take our chances when we canWed Mar 02 2016 - 01:00
Trio Wanderer - Brahms Piano Trio in B (1854 version)Brahms: Piano Trio in B Op 8; Piano Quartet in C minor Op 60Christophe Gaugué (viola), Trio WandererHarmonia Mundi HMC 9022224Thu Feb 25 2016 - 15:30
Brave young pianist Nathalia Milstein is a work in progressDespite the clear skill of last year’s Dublin International Piano Competition winner, something was missing at a recent concertWed Feb 24 2016 - 01:00
Markku Luolajan-Mikkola - Bach: Sonatas and Partitas: a darkening of tone that takes some getting used toThu Feb 18 2016 - 15:30
Freiburger orchestra monkeys around with MozartThe Freiburger Barockorchester will usher in a new order at their NCH concertThu Feb 18 2016 - 06:00
The sound reasons why orchestras have avoided the Round RoomThe Irish Chamber Orchestra has moved to the Mansion House’s Round Room, and there are challenges to overcomeWed Feb 17 2016 - 01:00
Jack Liebeck - Bruch: Violin Concerto No 1: makes sure nothing sounds fadedBruch: Violin Concerto No 1; Romance; SerenadeJack Liebeck (violin), BBC Scottish SO/Martyn BrabbinsHyperion CDA 680604Thu Feb 11 2016 - 16:31
