It seems I can’t escape from Beethoven at the moment but then it is his 250th anniversary. A recent email from Gillian Hennessy of Cork’s Triskel Arts Centre tells me about its commemorative programmes. Supported by the National String Quartet Foundation, the final Triskel event takes place at lunchtime on Saturday, March 7 with the…
Fidelio’s long trek brings it to stage in Dublin’s NCH
In 1803 Emanuel Schikaneder, who collaborated with Mozart on The Magic Flute but was then director of Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, approached Beethoven with an operatic libretto – Vestas Feuer (Vestal Flame). Initially the composer reacted favourably and completed almost two scenes before becoming disenchanted and laying it aside. However, two of its arias…
Commemorations of Beethoven moving countrywide
As I mentioned at the beginning of the year, 2020 commemorates the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth in Bonn in December 1770. Son of Johann, a court musician, and his wife Maria Magdalena, Ludwig was their second child. An older brother, also named Ludwig, lived only a few days in April of the previous year.…
NCH resounds to a joyous celebration for Veronica McSwiney
Earlier this month the National Concert Hall was the venue for a significant celebration – the 80th birthday of treasured pianist Veronica McSwiney. The occasion, promoted by Dublin International Piano Competition, found her in spectacular form, playing with her usual aplomb and communicating with her audience through the mastery of her musicianship. The evening was…
Music world will long remember Mawby and Cleobury
A happy and celebratory New Year as we remember Beethoven’s 250th anniversary. Born in Bonn in December 1770, he was the second son of court musician Johann and his wife Maria Magdalena. Somewhat harsh and severe, Johann was Ludwig’s first teacher. The composer’s mother was a quiet and serious person and Beethoven was very fond…
Camerata Ireland showcases magnificent young talent
A fortnight ago I wrote about some of our young musicians and their competition successes. This week I am mentioning another group who are further advanced in their respective careers. An opportunity of hearing five of them arose at the NCH’s recent Friends’ Gala with Camerata Ireland under its founder/director Barry Douglas. The orchestra is…
Free-flowing musicians meet the standard…and then some
Time was when RTÉ ran its own ‘Musician of the Future’ competition. However, the scene changed with the station deciding to discontinue its involvement. This disappointed many not least Jane Carty who had a long-term commitment to the competition and other RTÉ ventures advancing the careers of young musicians. Undaunted, Ms Carty decided ‘Musician of…
National Symphony Orchestra steady as the ground moves
There are plans afoot to move the National Symphony Orchestra away from RTÉ and bring it under the aegis of the National Concert Hall. While the proposed transfer may be causing anxieties to the musicians involved, these concerns are certainly not affecting the standard of their playing. With the 2019/20 season in full swing, the…
A spiritual treat for all as The Dream materialises at NCH
The recent canonisation by Pope Francis of St John Henry Newman, responsible for the building of University Church, an artistic gem erected in the garden of 87 St Stephen’s Green in Dublin, has turned my attention again to the saint’s The Dream of Gerontius. In the 1865 seven-phase poem the elderly Gerontius – his name…
Superb orchestra with impressive and royal origins
Relatively soon after the re-unification of Germany in 1990 I made my first visit to Dresden, capital of the eastern state of Saxony. Although part of a group I extricated myself to attend two performances at the city’s famous Semper Opera House – Wagner’s Tannhäuser, which had its première in the Semper in 1845 and…