New Music Dublin manages to kick up a stormMichael Dervan: Against the odds, Defrosted event offered memorable performancesWed Sept 26 2018 - 05:00
For two years we will again have to do without the NCH as we know itDCU’s Helix, whose acoustics wipe the floor with the NCH, will be the only game in townWed Sept 19 2018 - 05:00
A muscular, finely tuned engine at Westport Chamber Music FestivalThe muscle cars of Cannonball Ireland were no match for the velvet sounds of WestportWed Sept 12 2018 - 05:00
Roll Over Beethoven - and Hoffman: this week’s classical highlightsJean-Christophe Spinosi conducts the ICO; Claudia Boyle in ‘The Tales of Hoffman’Sat Sept 08 2018 - 05:00
David Adams brings a broad church to his papal celebrationOrgan recital in Dún Laoghaire included music from Argentinian composer GinasteraWed Sept 05 2018 - 05:00
Wild Atlantic airs in Westport: This week’s classical highlightsWestport Chamber Music Festival is back; plus Monteverdi’s ‘The Return of Ulysses’Sat Sept 01 2018 - 05:00
Classical gig of the week: Westport Festival of Chamber MusicThe historic setting of Westport House is the centerpiece of this fine boutique festival in Co Mayo featuring works by Grieg, Mozart, Bach, Shostakovich, Schumann and FauréSat Sept 01 2018 - 04:00
Evolution of women composers a missing link in new concert seriesWhy does the NCH need €20,000 before it will bother exploring music by women?Wed Aug 29 2018 - 05:00
Jimmy Vaughan returns to play at concert for Veronica Dunne’s 91st birthdayThe Dublin native explains life as head coach do at one of the world’s great opera housesMon Aug 27 2018 - 00:00
The highs and lows of Eugene Downes in KilkennyHe brought an opera focus to Kilkenny Arts Festival, but new music was neglectedWed Aug 22 2018 - 05:00
Brahms steals the show at the Kilkenny Arts FestivalBrahms’s career saw many changes in the world of piano design and manufactureWed Aug 15 2018 - 05:00
Polkas for pink elephants: this week’s best classical concertsAkademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Johnny Gandelsman and Stravinsky’s circus musicSat Aug 11 2018 - 05:00
A back-to-basics opera experience in the best possible wayThe Return of Ulysses review: The musical equivalent of the world’s best chef using just a clutch of the finest ingredientsFri Aug 10 2018 - 00:00
The magic of Monteverdi and what he means to usParticipants in the first Irish production of ‘The Return of Ulysses’ talk to Michael DervanThu Aug 09 2018 - 05:00
Is the move by the RTÉ NSO to the NCH ‘a reverse takeover’?The players have strong views on the major move – not that they’ve been askedWed Aug 08 2018 - 05:00
Three of the best classical music concerts in Ireland this weekGavan Ring warms up for BBC Proms debut with hometown concert; the first Irish production of Monteverdi’s ‘Il ritorno d’Ulisse’ takes place in KilkennySat Aug 04 2018 - 04:00
Wexford Festival Opera poised for change as artistic director bows outWill it pivot from David Agler’s taste for still alive composers and underuse of Irish talent?Wed Aug 01 2018 - 05:00
Classical music to catch this week in DublinRTÉ Concert Orchestra taking over summer orchestral slots on Tuesdays and Fridays at NCHMon Jul 30 2018 - 17:00
Composer Siobhán Cleary opens Arts Council can of wormsCouncil scheme is set up in a way that cannot deal with idea of ‘equal pay for equal work’Wed Jul 25 2018 - 05:00
Surfeit of sopranos: This week’s classical highlightsSharon Carty, Celine Byrne and Danielle de Niese are all performing in Ireland this weekSat Jul 21 2018 - 05:00
Gender balance not being taken seriously by Irish music organisationsFemale composers are grossly underrepresented, but fixing the issue may not be easyWed Jul 18 2018 - 05:00
Two classical music concerts to see in Dublin this weekOrgan improvisation in Dún Laoghaire and Gavin Maloney conducts the RTÉ NSOSat Jul 14 2018 - 05:00
The NSO’s future is now secure, but why no outside expertise?Will RTÉ, which has been killing off the orchestra, now be allowed to fill key positions?Wed Jul 11 2018 - 05:00
‘Opera is everything . . . sometimes too much of everything’Emma Martin is stepping out of the dance world to direct Irish National Opera’s new production of ‘Orfeo ed Euridice’Tue Jul 10 2018 - 05:00
Two classical music concerts to see in Ireland this weekRTÉ NSO’s fanfares at lunchtime and Eugenio Fagiani improvises in Dún LaoghaireSat Jul 07 2018 - 05:00
Has RTÉ already cast the National Symphony Orchestra adrift?The NSO needs Government action to preserve, protect and nurture itWed Jul 04 2018 - 05:00
Three great classical music concerts to enjoy this weekWest Cork Chamber Music Festival, Sebastian Heindl and Anthony WeedenSat Jun 30 2018 - 05:00
West Cork Chamber Music Festival: big ideas, big subjects, big musicDeirdre Gribbin’s Kindersang addresses the plight of 10,000 Jewish brought to Britain and Northern Ireland the outbreak of the second World WarSat Jun 30 2018 - 05:00
Louth and clear: a maverick’s musical adventures in DundalkLouth Contemporary Music Society’s Book of Hours Festival was unfailingly adventurousWed Jun 27 2018 - 05:00
Worst concert experience? ‘Puberty. Until then everything seemed natural’Musicians playing the West Cork Chamber Music festival on a few of their favourite thingsMon Jun 25 2018 - 05:00
The three best classical concerts in Ireland this weekPaul McNamara, Beckett Chamber Music Series and NCH Female Conductor FinaleSat Jun 23 2018 - 05:00
Kilkenny Art Festival focusing on piano and chamber music of BrahmsFestival director Eugene Downes’ term to come to an end after five years at the helmWed Jun 20 2018 - 05:00
Máire Carroll in the Kirkoskammer series: this week’s classical highlightsAlso, Two-day festival in the Oriel from Louth Contemporary Music SocietySat Jun 16 2018 - 05:00
Claude Debussy centenary: Irish composers salute the masterIreland’s Tombeau to Debussy includes new pieces from seven Irish composers and a trio of NCH concertsWed Jun 13 2018 - 05:00
Great Music in Irish Houses: this week’s classical highlightsAlso: Billionaire orchestra Würth Philharmoniker, and Pipeworks at Christ ChurchSat Jun 09 2018 - 05:00
Blackwater Valley Opera Festival review: In need of some firm quality controlThe festival’s favoured production style is at the gag-rich, pantomime end of the spectrumWed Jun 06 2018 - 05:00
Prelude to a €74m makeover at the National Concert HallDirector Simon Taylor is at the wishlist phase for the redevelopment of the NCHTue Jun 05 2018 - 05:00
ConTempo Quartet does Beethoven: this week’s classical highlightsAlso: Kaleidoscope’s last in series; Fionnuala Moynihan surveys Schubert in Triskel, CorkSat Jun 02 2018 - 05:00
Sae Yoon Chon is first Asian winner of Dublin International Piano CompetitionThe groundbreaking 22-year-old from South Korea picks up €15,000 prizeWed May 30 2018 - 14:55
Conservative Dublin piano competition sees slight change of paceInternational competition has hardly changed in 30 years but has seen increased Asian participationWed May 23 2018 - 05:00
Divide and conquer: the true goal of the RTÉ orchestra report?The review on the RTÉ orchestras is anything but balanced – even absurd in placesWed May 16 2018 - 05:00
West Wicklow Festival at Russborough House: the best classical music this weekHighly acclaimed German baritone Benjamin Appl will colse the close the Dublin Song SeriesSat May 12 2018 - 05:00
Instruments of change: how an orchestra is changing livesBaltimore Symphony Orchestra is working with disadvantaged schools to help open its doors to everybodySat May 12 2018 - 05:00
Why should the taxpayer bail out RTÉ over orchestra mess?RTÉ has all but destroyed the National Symphony Orchestra. Should the State rescue an orchestra not fit for purpose?Wed May 09 2018 - 05:00
Classical music highlights of the weekJohn Luther Adams, Bournemouth SO/Kirill Karabits and RTÉ NSO with Christian VásquezSat May 05 2018 - 05:00
RTÉ has reduced its orchestras to a numbers gameThe Boaden review says the broadcaster should jettison the NSOWed May 02 2018 - 05:00
Alan Rusbridger and Gerald Barry’s Organ Concerto: the best classical concerts of the weekSligo International Chamber Music Festival is another highlight of the next seven daysSat Apr 28 2018 - 05:00
‘Living on the edge is the most fun’Dearbhla Collins, curator/planner of the upcoming Dublin Song Series, is hard at work with German soprano Juliane Banse rehearsing for their NCH concertThu Apr 26 2018 - 05:00
Busy classical music promoters suggest lifting of recessionIt helps, of course, that most of what was on offer was what you would call bankable fareWed Apr 25 2018 - 11:53
Will the Government simply let RTÉ off the orchestra hook?RTÉ’s management of orchestras in recent years was a calculated depreciation of assetsTue Apr 24 2018 - 00:05