Courtney Lewis’s code of conduct for the RTÉ National Symphony OrchestraGetting the best out of an orchestra is a challenge, but the young Belfast conductor proves he can handle it with performances of Prokofiev, Borodin and ShostakovichWed Dec 10 2014 - 13:00
Glyndebourne at the Bord Gáis Energy TheatreOne of Europe’s finest outdoor opera companies comes indoors for a brief tour in Dublin with ‘La traviata’Sun Dec 07 2014 - 09:00
Review: La traviataGlyndebourne returns with a terrific production of Verdi’s classicThu Dec 04 2014 - 14:53
Vanbrugh Quartet sound liberated in their post-RTÉ existenceConTempo Quartet, on the other hand, were to take over as RTÉ’s string quartet in Cork in April, but things have been rather mutedWed Dec 03 2014 - 01:00
When it comes to music performance, talk isn’t cheap, it’s invaluableProgrammes are invaluable for concert-goers, and a little discussion from performers rarely does any harmWed Nov 26 2014 - 10:00
Labour of love sees Opera Theatre Company back on the road againOTC says it was ‘the victim of political decisions’ but it’s now back on the road with bigger ambitions than everThu Nov 20 2014 - 10:00
Recording has turned the musical experience on its headThe Emerson Quartet offer a reminder of the advantages of the live performance over the recordingWed Nov 19 2014 - 10:00
Two of Ireland’s younger sopranos would be a casting director’s dreamIf only Ireland had such a thing as a national opera company to utilise the abilities of Anna Devin and Jennifer DavisWed Nov 12 2014 - 01:00
Leonard Elschenbroich - Prokofiev: Cello Sonata; Kabalevsky: Cello Concerto No 2; shorter piecesFri Nov 07 2014 - 02:03
RTÉ’s Halloween menu is presented in the wrong orderThe skill of the players is undermined by the concert’s unconventional structureWed Nov 05 2014 - 01:00
John Ruddock: ‘The impresario you seldom find’Whether promoting at home or recruiting abroad, John Ruddock’s effect on Irish music was profoundSat Nov 01 2014 - 01:00
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique/John Eliot Gardiner: Beethoven Symphonies 2 & 8Thu Oct 30 2014 - 21:18
Wexford Opera review: Silent NightKevin Puts’s opera gets an impassioned performance in its European premiereWed Oct 29 2014 - 17:40
Juan Diego Flórez, it’s good to have you backThe downside to seeing the tenor’s NCH appearance was that I missed an apparently great Wexford productionWed Oct 29 2014 - 01:00
Wexford Festival Opera Review: Don BucefaloToo much commotion and too many gags sometimes smother the froth of the musicMon Oct 27 2014 - 01:00
Wexford Festival Opera review: SaloméA new production that is inert and lacklustreMon Oct 27 2014 - 01:00
Does the Budget mark the end of austerity? Not for the artsNone of the Budget’s so-called feelgood factor reached the arts, which received no boost in fundingWed Oct 22 2014 - 01:00
‘Optimism in the face of brutality’: a great opera about the Great WarThe Wexford-bound Silent Night explores the horror of war through the prism of the unofficial Christmas Eve truce of 1914. Its composer and librettist talk about the making of a Pulitzer Prize winnerTue Oct 21 2014 - 01:00
The closed approach of the Minister for Arts does not inspire confidenceIn her first few months in the job, it’s hard to know what Heather Humphreys thinks about the boards of cultural institutions and the artsWed Oct 15 2014 - 01:00
Maria Callas: ‘Pleasant, amenable, docile, gentle – but, if crossed, like a viper’‘La Divina’, one of the greatest singers of her time, returns in a new version of her studio recordingsMon Oct 06 2014 - 01:00
Galina Ustvolskaya; Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin), Rieto Bieri (clarinet), Markus Hinterhäuser (piano)Fri Sept 26 2014 - 00:15
Haydn a highlight as orchestral season begins with pleasant surprisesIrish Chamber Orchestra’s Gábor Takács-Nagy brings a fresh and fun approach to the composer’s symphoniesWed Sept 17 2014 - 01:00
Beethoven: Complete Works for Cello and Piano Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Alexander Melnikov (piano)Fri Sept 12 2014 - 00:00
Haydn: Piano Concertos Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano), Manchester Camerata / Gábor Takács-NagyFri Sept 12 2014 - 00:00
Holberg Variations: Christian Ihle Hadland, piano, 1B1/Jan Bjøranger, Erlend Skomsvoll, pianoFri Sept 12 2014 - 00:00
Westport’s awake to the sounds of chamber musicIt’s easy to compare the approaches of different instrumentalists at Westport Festival of Chamber MusicWed Sept 10 2014 - 01:00
Fishamble Sinfonia gets off to a good start at Smock AlleyNew orchestra aims to unearth music from the classical period by ‘the lesser-known geniuses’Wed Sept 03 2014 - 01:00
Aschenmusik: Heinz Holliger (oboe, oboe d’amore), Anita Leuzinger (cello), Anton Kernjak (piano)Fri Aug 29 2014 - 00:00
Irish concert repertoire only scratches the surface of our musical heritageOpportunities to experience the broad spectrum of this country’s rich musical history are limitedWed Aug 27 2014 - 01:00
Album review: Wolfgang Holzmair (baritone), Felicity Lott (soprano), Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano ,Giuseppe Verdi/John Axelrod – Brahms BelovedFri Aug 22 2014 - 00:00
Album review: La Serenissima/Adrian Chandler (violin) – Per Monsieur Pisendel 2Fri Aug 22 2014 - 00:00
Kilkenny Arts Festival brings Beethoven to lifeNew director Eugene Downes has put classical music back at the heart of the festival, and in fine styleWed Aug 20 2014 - 01:00
Busoni: Violin Concerto; Beethoven/Busoni: Benedictus; Strauss: Violin ConcertoFri Aug 15 2014 - 00:00
