NCH, Dublin Tonight 8pm 10-35 01-4170000
THE CASTLETOWN CONCERTS
Castletown House, Celbridge, Co Kildare, Fri-Sun castletownconcerts.com 1890-305305
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
Peacock Stage, Abbey Theatre, Dublin Tonight/ Tomorrow 8pm 30 01-8787222; Market Place Theatre, Armagh Tues 8pm £15 048-37521821; and on tour
EAST CORK EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL
Midleton, Cork, Carrigtwohill, Cobh, Thurs 16th-Sun 19th 021-4501673
It's a busy weekend. Kazakh conductor Alan Buribayev has chosen to make his debut as principal conductor of the RTÉ NSO in a Russian-flavoured programme on Friday. The main works are by Rachmaninov (his Fourth Piano Concerto, with Simon Trpceski, and Second Symphony). And a celebratory opener has been commissioned for the occasion: Jump Up!by Elaine Agnew. Buribayev will also introduce himself in a post-concert (10.20pm) "meet greet" in the John Field Room.
The weekend's Castletown Concerts in Celbridge feature leading Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, as conductor as well as composer. He'll be working with Camerata Ireland and conduct a specially assembled student choir and orchestra in his ground-breaking Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshimaand, much later, Benedictus. The weekend also features piano recitals by Alexej Gorlatch and Barry Douglas.
Friday also brings the opening night of Opera Theatre Company's final touring production, of Russian composer Grigory Frid's take on The Diary of Anne Frank,with Armenian-American soprano Ani Maldjian (pictured above) in the title – and only – role.
The East Cork Early Music Festival opens on Thursday with the British recorder ensemble, The Flautadors, playing in Midleton. It runs until September 19th, when the final event, at St Colman's Cathedral, Cobh, is Sacred Hearts, Secret Music, a programme connected to Sarah Dunant's best-selling Renaissance novel Sacred Hearts, with Dunant herself as narrator.
