What is it that opera traditionalists want exactly?It has become clear over the years that whatever it is they like, they call it traditionalWed Nov 20 2019 - 05:00
The best classical concerts and opera of the weekCamerata Ireland, Ben Johnson and Sean Shibe, and Anja Bihlmaier and the RTÉ NSOSat Nov 16 2019 - 05:00
Silence is golden: Softly-softly approach to music gets your attentionChristian Tetzlaff and Lars Vogt used surprise softness to great effect at the NCHWed Nov 13 2019 - 05:00
The best classical and opera concerts to see this weekIrish mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught appears in La Cenerentola as AngelinaSat Nov 09 2019 - 05:00
Din emanating from RTÉ over orchestra cuts is hard to listen toContinuity is important in orchestras, and RTÉ’s plans will have a dire effectFri Nov 08 2019 - 06:00
Artistic director plans new theme for every Wexford Festival OperaRosetta Cucchi, who brings an open-hearted warmth to her task, has chosen ‘Shakespeare’ for 2020Wed Nov 06 2019 - 05:00
The best classical music to see this weekListen to The Seven Ages of Man by Paul Hilliard or Andrew Zolinsky’s Resound SeriesSat Nov 02 2019 - 05:00
Bring sandwiches for a five-hour Philip Glass marathon – this week’s classical highlightsThe Veiled Prophet of Khorassan in Wexford; American conductor JoAnn Falletta at NCHSat Oct 26 2019 - 05:00
La cucina/Adina review: A production so busy it ties itself in knotsWexford Festival Opera: Andrew Synnott’s skilful music faces a riot of onstage activityFri Oct 25 2019 - 14:15
Dorilla in Tempe review: A good-looking but unbalanced productionWexford Festival Opera: An oversized orchestra too often compromises solo voicesThu Oct 24 2019 - 16:45
Don Quichotte review: Massenet updated, but in no way diminishedWexford Festival Opera: Aigul Akhmetshinato is a sultry Dulcinée in Rodula Gaitanou’s new productionWed Oct 23 2019 - 15:07
Andrew Synnott: A musician who needs to express himself in all kinds of different waysSynnot will be first living Irish composer to have work featured on main stage of Wexford Festival OperaSat Oct 12 2019 - 05:00
The week’s best classical and opera: Griselda to ConTempo QuartetLondon Mozart Players concert mixes works from the 18th and early 20th centuriesSat Oct 12 2019 - 05:00
Meet Wexford Festival Opera’s next artistic directorRosetta Cucchi thought she was in the wrong place when she first arrived at Theatre RoyalSat Oct 05 2019 - 05:00
The best classical music and opera to see this weekRTÉ NSO chief conductor Jaime Martín opens his reign in style; Katie Bray is GriseldaSat Oct 05 2019 - 05:00
New Ross Piano Festival finishes on a high noteBarry Douglas’s rendition of the Seasons in Wexford delivers a rare sense of scaleWed Oct 02 2019 - 05:00
Book of Sounds at Hugh Lane: This week’s classical highlightsBangers and Crash Percussion Group starts tour, teenage wunderkind Daniel LozakovichSat Sept 28 2019 - 05:00
Meet Electrophone, the streaming service you’ve never heard ofLong before Spotify, music buffs signed up to hear live concerts by telephoneWed Sept 25 2019 - 16:49
Ulster Orchestra’s new principal conductor: ‘Opera was in my DNA’Daniele Rustioni has performed at some the world’s greatest theatresTue Sept 24 2019 - 05:00
The best classical music and opera to see this weekAn opera on Ireland’s direct provision system and New Ross Piano FestivalSat Sept 21 2019 - 05:00
Some nice little arrangements at Westport festivalArranging big works for smaller ensembles has always helped make them more accessibleWed Sept 18 2019 - 05:00
Four to the floor: This week’s best classical music gigsA Culture Night programme at the National Concert Hall is among the highlightsSat Sept 14 2019 - 05:00
The Rachmaninov method: Practise like a snail, play like a gazelleA painstaking approach could be the key to the composer’s complex and technical workWed Sept 11 2019 - 05:00
Vagabones review: Irish witchcraft meets Irish operaRaymond Deane’s Vagabones dramatises one of the few witch trials to have ever taken place in IrelandMon Sept 09 2019 - 15:30
Brett Dean’s ICO debut: This week’s classical highlightsFiachra Garvey with the RTÉ NSO, plus the Westport Chamber Music FestivalSat Sept 07 2019 - 05:00
NCH’s chamber music series offers flexibility amid closure uncertaintyCollaboration part of long tradition of composers coming together with mixed resultsWed Sept 04 2019 - 05:00
This week’s best classical music gigsYuga Wang makes her Irish debut, and Vagabones gets its first Irish airingSat Aug 31 2019 - 05:00
Roger Doyle: Aosdána’s newest Saoi is a champion of Irish composersPrevious saoithe have included Samuel Beckett, Seamus Heaney and Brian Friel, and Doyle believes that Ireland’s composers are up there with our literary greatsWed Aug 28 2019 - 05:00
Handel with care: This week’s best classical music gigsA visit to Dublin by Belgian organist Peter Van de Velde is among the highlightsSat Aug 24 2019 - 05:00
The Hunger review: An opera let down by its musical materialThe composer Donnacha Dennehy struggles to convey the horrors of the Great FamineWed Aug 21 2019 - 13:49
Quatuor Mosaïques bring ‘sophisticated mildness’ to KilkennyPhoenix 55, Malcolm Proud, Crash Ensemble, Quiet Music Ensemble and others also playWed Aug 21 2019 - 05:00
The best classical music and opera to see this weekGet Bach in Kilkenny and The Hunger in DublinSat Aug 17 2019 - 05:00
New director takes new musical direction at Kilkenny Arts FestivalOlga Barry’s first programme was scaled down in ambition, but delivered some big momentsWed Aug 14 2019 - 05:00
John Godfrey: pushing boundaries at the extreme ends of the musical spectrum‘The primary core thinking behind quiet music is that this is a music you choose to engage with’Sat Aug 10 2019 - 05:00
The best classical music to see this weekRachmaninov and Stravinsky among the highlights at Kilkenny Arts FestivalSat Aug 10 2019 - 05:00
Opera by Victorian sensation Pauline Viardot a first for WexfordFamed composer and singer will become the first woman to have an opera presented by Wexford Festival OperaWed Aug 07 2019 - 05:00
The best classical music events this weekSoprano Majella Cullagh comes to Dublin for the RTÉ Concert Orchestra’s latest concertSat Aug 03 2019 - 05:00
Olive Smith: A woman at the heart of Irish musical historyNew book traces life story of ‘visionary’ and efforts to secure concert hall for DublinWed Jul 31 2019 - 16:02
The two best classical music shows to see this weekDidzis Kalnins and Gyula Nagy, Judit MátéSat Jul 27 2019 - 05:00
Aosdána functions as way of hiding fact that arts funding is shamefully lowIf sector was funded to level of European norm there would be no need for allowancesWed Jul 24 2019 - 05:00
The best classical music to go to this weekThe Irish Composers’ Collective and the RTÉ NSO at the National Concert HallSat Jul 20 2019 - 05:00
Schemes for women in music help, just don’t look at the rest of the programmeThe art of misdirection is acceptable in music, until it’s about distractionWed Jul 17 2019 - 05:00
The best classical music and opera to see this weekThe tragic tale of JFK’s sister and National Youth Orchestra moves from east to westSat Jul 13 2019 - 05:00
Lesson from West Cork for Galway’s troubled European Capital of CultureOne shining beacon in Galway’s programme is a cello festival and the West Cork Chamber Music Festival’s offering of less-frequently heard cello repertoire is a timely tasterWed Jul 10 2019 - 05:00
Chamber of promise: The best classical gigs this weekSoprano Anna Devin performs at the West Cork Chamber Music FestivalSat Jul 06 2019 - 05:00
West Cork Chamber Music Festival delivers stunning quartet performancesA singular listening experience prevailed at this unique public recitalWed Jul 03 2019 - 05:00
Rosemary Kennedy: Telling the story of a forgotten daughterComposer Brian Irvine’s new opera focuses on JFK’s intellectually disabled sisterTue Jul 02 2019 - 05:00
‘I went on stage, the piano was locked. And no one had the key’Musical idols, dreams and nightmares of West Cork Chamber Music Festival performersTue Jun 18 2019 - 05:00
Pipeworks festival opens with screening of NosferatuStations of the Sun in several Dundalk venues and runs to five concerts and interviewsSat Jun 15 2019 - 05:00
Your idea of musical hell? – a Q&A for composers and musiciansInternational performers coming to Louth’s Stations of the Sun festival are put on the spotThu Jun 13 2019 - 05:00
