NCH, Dublin Sat 8pm €40-€80 01-4170000

Old money, new money, what’s the difference? Well, the German federal state of Saxony is a bit larger than Leinster, and has a population nearly twice as high. Yet its economic output (at least until recently) only exceeded Leinsters by some 15 per cent. But German cultural priorities differ from those in Ireland. In Saxony, the major cities of Dresden and Leipzig have their own opera and ballet companies. Theres a city orchestra in Dresden, the Dresdner Philharmonie, a radio orchestra in Leipzig, the MDR Symphony orchestra, and of course the world-famous Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Staatskapelle Dresden, both of which were ranked in the top 10 European orchestras in a media vote in France’s Le Monde de la Musique in 2006. The Dresdeners, with a claim to being the worlds oldest orchestra, service over 250 opera performances and play over 40 concerts a year. They’re back in Dublin this week, for an all-German programme - Schumanns Genoveva Overture and Violin Concerto, and Brahmss Second Symphony - with non-German stars. The conductor is an Englishman, Daniel Harding; the soloist in the Schumann is Frances Renaud Capuçon.