RDS, Dublin
The Irish Chamber Orchestra’s programme at the RDS was like a large hamper of treats. Well, not quite. There was something that was supposed to be good for you in there, too. Aloys Fleischmann jostled for space along with two Vivaldi concertos, a string of pieces by the king of nuevo tango, Astor Piazzolla, Mozart’s
Eine kleine Nachtmusik
, and a showy accordion concerto by the little-known, near-contemporary of Mendelssohn, Bernhard Molique.
There was so much to go in the hamper that the lid couldn't be forced to close (the programme was too long), and it was the celebration of the centenary of Cork's most famous composer that got the chop, with Fleischmann's suite, The Humours of Carolan, being reduced to a single movement.
That movement, Carolan's Quarrel with the Landlady,was both scholarly and witty enough, and played in a manner both boisterous and svelte enough to make the dropping of the rest of the work seem shocking in the context of what was planned as a celebration.
Molique’s concerto, originally for concertina and arranged for accordion by Franz Krieg, presented the prospect of a large-toned string orchestra being outshone by a small-toned instrument, whose master, Dermot Dunne, played with breath-taking agility.
The Molique, all froth and no substance, was balanced by the perfection of Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik, which the orchestra's leader, Katherine Hunka, directed with extrovert energy.
The second half of the programme interleaved delightfully sprung concertos by Vivaldi with five tangos by Piazzolla, from the stomping, slapping, slashing La Muerte del Angelto the sultry sensuality of Resurreccion del Angel.
Piazzolla’s own loose-limbed, improvisatory style turned into something drilled when arranged for orchestra. But the ICO did the pieces with such style and panache that the audience demanded – and got – some more as an encore.
