Starry visits already announced for the coming year include the Russian soprano Galina Gorchakova (NCH, March), violinists Anne-Sophie Mutter and Joshua Bell (NCH, Feb 6th and 18th) and two appearances by top trumpeter Hakan Hardenberger, with the Ulster Orchestra (Ulster Hall, Belfast, Jan 19th) and with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra (NCH, Feb 7th). The Orchestra of St Cecilia's Bach Festival at St Ann's, Dawson Street (January 21st to March 11th), includes solo recitals by violinist Maya Homburger and harpsichordist Malcolm Proud. The National Concert Hall is running another Composers' Choice series in April, to feature the music of Ronan Guilfoyle, Rhona Clarke, Roger Doyle, John Kinsella and Kevin O'Connell.
The Music Festival in Great Irish Houses (June) will concentrate on French music in its first year with Hugh Tinney as artistic director. The French wind players of the Ensemble Paris-Bastille are at the heart of the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, which this year runs a Hungarian theme (Bartok, Ligeti, Kurtg) as well as mounting performances of Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire and First Chamber Symphony and a staged production of Stravinsky's Soldier's Tale. Kilkenny Arts Festival (August) has invited the cellist JeanGuihen Queyras to programme a strand in the festival, and is also planning a visit by a Swiss chamber orchestra. The Guinness Choir is making daring forays into new repertoire, in Arvo Part's Passio (St Patrick's Cathedral, April 7th), and Harmonium by leading minimalist John Adams (NCH, May).
The NSO is adding just a single work by a living nonIrish composer to its repertoire during the current subscription season, Pierre Boulez's Notations (NCH, April) but also gives the Irish premiere of Anthony Payne's elaboration of the sketches for Elgar's Third Symphony under Tadaaki Otaka (NCH, May). Before all of that, the Hugh Lane Gallery is planning a Brian Boydell commemorative concert on January 14th. The year's premieres will include orchestral works from Grainne Mulvey, Ian Wilson, Michael Alcorn and John Buckley, all from the NSO in Dublin; the orchestra also premieres a new work by David Byers (Belfast, May).
Robert Taub and the RTE Vanbrugh String Quartet premiere a new quintet by Jane O'Leary in Galway (Feb 3rd) and the Medici Quartet play Piers Hellawell's new Driftwood on Sand in Derry in March. The West Cork Chamber Music Festival has commissioned new works from Gerald Barry and Latvia's leading composer, Peteris Vasks.
Michael Dervan