In welcoming the audience to the opening of the 2024/25 season at the National Concert Hall, Chairperson Maura McGrath and CEO Robert Read pointed out that the season would be “one of the most ambitious to date comprising more than sixty concerts and other events, showcasing some of the world’s most exciting and dynamic musicians and ensembles.”
The executives continued, “This is a particularly special season as it realises our long-held ambition to create and present one combined season featuring the National Symphony Orchestra’s own programmes and the International Concert Series.”
Certainly the opening event on September 7th – a return visit by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra – provided an auspicious start under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle, the orchestra’s recently appointed principal conductor. The NSO’s own series began a week later with Estonian Mihhail Gerts at the helm.
The Bavarians made Bruckner’s 4th (Romantic) Symphony the focus of their programme while the NSO settled for Mahler’s 1st Symphony as its focal point. Both concerts had much in their favour that I found very agreeable.
Never satisfied with his compositions and often taking alleged advice from friends and others, Bruckner had a habit of revising his scores. The finale of the 4th Symphony is a case in point and as conductor Rattle reminded us “there is of course no single correct version of the finale, although I find his 1881 revision very satisfying.” And this is what we heard at the NCH. I scribbled on my programme booklet – ‘magisterial, dignified, spellbinding’.
It was good to have the NSO back at the NCH. Interesting, too, in that besides Gustav Mahler’s 1st Symphony the concert included six songs by his wife Alma and which I was hearing for the first time. The soloist was the highly regarded Dame Sarah Connelly.
However, I was reminded of the late Terry O’Connor, long time director of the Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society, and her admonition, “the words, darlings, the words.” While I followed the texts assiduously very few of Dame Sarah’s words were clear. Maybe those seated in the stalls had better fortune.
Late September turns our attention to the annual New Ross piano festival under artistic director Finghin Collins. The 2024 event opened last evening and continues until Sunday next September 29th. Collins has assembled another eclectic mix of artists not least the renowned English pianists Paul Lewis and Steven Osborne.
Others include winner of the 2022 Dublin International Piano Competition (DIPC), Korean Yukine Kuroki and winner of the 2009 Leeds International Piano Competition, Sofya Gulyak.
There are also recitals by Michael McHale – he calls his ‘The Lighter Night’ – and the young Eoin Fleming, winner of the Brennan Prize at the 2018 DIPC. The Spanish group Trio Rodin embrace music by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Bernstein and Piazzolla while artistic director Collins presents what he calls a ‘romantic programme’ that includes Clara Schumann’s Variations on a theme by Robert Schumann (her husband).
Events take place in the acoustically excellent St Mary’s Church of New Ross.