‘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
Cause for deep concern as symphony orchestra moves under NCH’s wingDearth of Irish and female composers in new season offerings at National Concert HallWed Jun 12 2019 - 05:00
Colin Currie: Navigating a tightrope of rhythmWhen it comes to performing Steve Reich, the percussionist says, preparation is keySat Jun 08 2019 - 05:00
Communal virtuosity is abundant in NSO’s Strauss performanceNational Symphony Orchestra and Kazuki Yamada perform almost flawlesslyWed Jun 05 2019 - 05:00
Put Bellucci on your Liszt: this week’s classical music highlightThe fearless Italian pianist goes operatic at this year’s Blackwater Valley Opera FestivalSat Jun 01 2019 - 05:00
Too many cooks: what happens when ensembles go large?Getting bigger groups to work in harmony without a conductor can be trickyWed May 29 2019 - 05:00
Opera in Waterford and an Irish debut: This week’s classical music highlightsThe Blackwater Valley Opera Festival returns with two operas this yearSat May 25 2019 - 05:00
Classical music: What to see at this summer’s festivalsMaster classes, talks, public interviews and recitals in Cork, Kilkenny and GalwayWed May 22 2019 - 05:00
The week’s best classical concertsFrom Boston Symphony Chamber Players in Dublin to the Ulster Orchestra in BelfastSat May 18 2019 - 05:00
Gavan Ring sings swansong as baritone – and starts as tenor‘It’s a matter of getting your passaggio right and placing the voice in the correct way’Thu May 16 2019 - 05:00
What makes Marc-André Hamelin so special? Different classAt his first solo concert in Dublin, the Canadian pianist showed his fearless fluidityWed May 15 2019 - 05:00
A magic night of Mozart: This week’s classical music highlightsIrish National Opera’s The Magic Flute. Plus: Verdi’s Requiem and Camerata IrelandSat May 11 2019 - 05:00
Wexford Festival Opera faces stark financial challengeEvent made significant loss in 2018 despite consistent support from Arts CouncilWed May 08 2019 - 05:00
Classical music development has lagged behind since foundation of StateClassical music has not been documented the way it is in other European countriesWed May 01 2019 - 05:00
Richard Thomas and Sharon Carty: This week’s best classical concertsThe Sligo International Chamber Music Festival with guests from across the globeSat Apr 27 2019 - 05:00
What’s new? Irish festivals reveal the state of contemporary musicLet’s see how new works and living, Irish and female composers fare in upcoming programmesWed Apr 24 2019 - 05:00
Good pairings: The best classical music and opera concerts this weekTara Erraught collaborates with pianist John O’Connor, while Sharon Carty will be accompanied by Siobhán ArmstrongSat Apr 20 2019 - 05:00
Byrne and Workman soar with intensity in Korngold’s masterpieceThe huge orchestra required for Die tote Stadt made the NCH right for the Irish premiereWed Apr 17 2019 - 05:00
Zee Zee tops the bill at the NCH: this week’s classical highlightsThe Chinese pianist makes her Irish debut with the RTÉCO under Jonathan BloxhamSat Apr 13 2019 - 05:00
The first Female Composer Series falls short of the standards expected of the National Concert HallSoprano Anna Devin and tenor Jorge Navarro Colorado in commanding form during Handel’s EstherWed Apr 10 2019 - 05:00
The best classical music gigs happening this weekMendelssohn’s longest symphony and a project to remember the late John LynchSat Apr 06 2019 - 05:00
Fake no more: These violinist/conductors are the real dealThree ‘non-phoney’ concerts in Dublin would have had critic Hans Keller eating his wordsWed Apr 03 2019 - 05:00
Female Composer Series, Pinchas Zukerman, Esther: The best classical music gigs this weekHandel’s Esther is a real rarity in Ireland and hasn’t been performed here in more than 100 yearsSat Mar 30 2019 - 05:00
Swan Hennessy: Ireland’s great lost composerThe Irish-American composer was a peer of Charles Ives and George GerswhinWed Mar 27 2019 - 05:00
Patrick Rafter: ‘I was too chilled out to be a violin prodigy’The gifted Kilkenny violinist plays from the heart, but keeps a strong head on his shouldersMon Mar 25 2019 - 05:00
Celine Byrne is Madama Butterfly: the best classical and opera shows this weekAndrás Schiff brings enlightenment to NCH; Maxim Vengerov multitasks with RTÉ NSOSat Mar 23 2019 - 05:00
‘Towards 2022’ programme symptomatic of orchestra’s lazy thinkingNSO sub-season duplicates previous efforts and focuses too much on British connectionsWed Mar 20 2019 - 05:00
Best classical concerts: Emily Anderson rememberedPlus Nathalie Stutzmann’s French tribute and Rafael Payare’s final seasonSat Mar 16 2019 - 05:00
An all-female composer programme? Sounds greatRecent concerts have provided persuasive proof-of-concept demonstrationsWed Mar 13 2019 - 05:00
Thomas Zehetmair and William Howard: the best classical music concerts this weekItalian pianist Alessandro Taverna performs as part of the latest programme in the NCH’s Towards 2022 mini-seriesSat Mar 09 2019 - 05:00
Past tension: the eternal battle between old and new musicThere was nothing wrong with the New Music Dublin Festival – just its nameWed Mar 06 2019 - 11:43
Best classical concerts: Barry Douglass goes back to the startPlus: the NCH’s Female Composer series features soprano Sarah Power and the IBOSat Mar 02 2019 - 05:00
What is really behind the Wexford Festival Opera funding standoff?Michael Dervan: Arts Council is in an almost unprecedented bind over grant for the eventWed Feb 27 2019 - 05:00
‘Men just get away with being composers. We have to do this activism and keep composing’Irish-born opera composer Jennifer Walshe on scores, made-up history and globalisationMon Feb 25 2019 - 05:00
Let the lute one in: this week’s classical highlightsLutenist Nigel North is the cuckoo in the nest at the NCH’s International Guitar SeriesSat Feb 23 2019 - 05:00
Jascha Heifetz’s New York debut turned up the heat on violinistsThe 16-year-old’s recital in 1917 had Mischa Elman remark, ‘It’s hot in here, isn’t it?’Wed Feb 20 2019 - 05:00
Best classical concerts: Beethoven, Verdi and Vilde FrangFrang, one of the nimblest violinists around, takes on a highly athletic Stravinsky workSat Feb 16 2019 - 05:00
Classical music still lags behind on gender policyWhile awareness of the issue has grown, a huge imbalance remains when it comes to the representation of female composers and performersWed Feb 13 2019 - 05:00
Widmann, Znaider, Terfel: The best classical music concerts this weekBeethoven’s knottiest composition opens ICO’s programme; Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel at NCHSat Feb 09 2019 - 05:00
Are Irish music competitions finally getting to grips with gender?It took nearly 30 years for a woman to win the Dublin International Piano CompetitionWed Feb 06 2019 - 05:00
Classical concerts of the week: From Bach to GluckPaul Lewis plays the NCH, while opera Orfeo ed Euridice tours the countrySat Feb 02 2019 - 05:00
Wexford Festival Opera changes 2019 repertoire ‘for financial reasons’Vivaldi opera has smaller cast than previous planned productionWed Jan 30 2019 - 14:34
UK orchestras more efficient at resolving issues than Irish counterpartsAssociation of British Orchestras holds its annual talking shop in BelfastWed Jan 30 2019 - 05:00
Bach, Beethoven and Brophy: The week’s best classical concertsThe grand final of Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition is on ThursdaySat Jan 26 2019 - 05:00
Galway’s ‘Swansong’ festival offers talent and retrospective themesMusic for Galway programme is full of highlights with promise of new cello festivalWed Jan 23 2019 - 05:00
Experienced insider takes reins at Wexford Festival OperaRosetta Cucchi will succeed David Agler as artistic directorWed Jan 16 2019 - 05:00
Wexford Festival Opera appoints new artistic directorItalian-born Rosetta Cucchi has been involved with the festival since 1995Tue Jan 15 2019 - 08:32
ConTempo con brio: This week’s classical highlightsRTÉ ConTempo Quartet play in Sligo and Galway. Plus: ‘Banished’ in Kilmainham GaolSat Jan 12 2019 - 05:00
