Over 5 Fridays 5 Beethoven Piano Concertos 5 Irish pianists 5 great symphonies 5 major orchestral works by 5 Irish composers of our time TICKETS FROM 12
FRIDAY 12 JUNE 8pm KINSELLA Cúchulainn and Ferdia Duel at the Ford Piano Concerto No. 1 in C DVORÁK V Symphony No. 8 in G Robert Houlihan conductor Isabelle O Connell piano Summertime, and the living is busy, bold and brilliant as our survey of Beethoven s piano concertos begins with the irresistibly infectious First Concerto courtesy of internationally in-demand young Irish piano phenom (The New Yorker) Isabelle O Connell. Our focus on Irish composers kicks off with a work commissioned by RTÉ for the orchestra s 60th anniversary in 2008, John Kinsella s Cúchulainn and Ferdia, a dramatic work drawing inspiration from the legend of the epic duel at the ford. V To finish, Dvorák s folk-inspired Eighth Symphony bursting with many of his most inspired melodies and an exuberant start to the first of the five great symphonies on offer this June and July with the RTÉ NSO.
FRIDAY 19 JUNE 8pm WILSON Man-o -War Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5 in B flat As part of the Royal Irish Academy of Music s Beethoven Project Gavin Maloney conductor Maria McGarry piano Ian Wilson s thrusting Man-o -War provides a blistering introduction to a concert of high drama and heartfelt emotions. The first of two concerts in collaboration with the Royal Irish Academy of Music s Beethoven Project showcases the instinctive imagination and musicianship (The Irish Times) of soloist and RIAM alumni Maria McGarry in the classical elegance of this the earliest of the five piano concertos to be written, a work characterised by youthful energy and poetic vision. To end, Prokofiev s Fifth Symphony, a brightly heroic tribute to the greatness of the human spirit; a song of praise of free and happy mankind.
FRIDAY 26 JUNE 8pm FENNESSY Prologue (Silver are the Tears of the Moon) IRISH PREMIERE Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor BERLIOZ Symphonie Fantastique As part of the Royal Irish Academy of Music s Beethoven Project Courtney Lewis conductor Peter Tuite piano David Fennessy s Prologue (Silver are the Tears of the Moon), inspired by the extraordinary tale of operatic obsession depicted in Werner Herzog s film Fitzcarraldo, conjures a magical sound world of opera amidst the rain forests. His peers, the New York Philharmonic s Assistant Conductor Courtney Lewis and pianist Peter Tuite respectively hailed by The Irish Times as the best young Irish conducting talent I ve heard in more than two decades and a musician of a different cast team up for Beethoven s emotionally compelling Third Piano Concerto in the second of two concerts taking place as part of the Royal Irish Academy of Music s Beethoven Project. To end, Berlioz s groundbreaking programmatic symphony, a high point of early romanticism telling a tale of unrequited love and intense emotion brought vividly to life through a unique musical voice and astonishing use of orchestral colour.
FRIDAY 3 JULY 8pm BODLEY A small white cloud drifts over Ireland Piano Concerto No. 4 in G COPLAND Symphony No. 3 Ciaran McAuley conductor Michael McHale piano Our summer showcase of Irish musical talent combined with Beethoven s piano concertos and some truly great symphonies continues in considerable style with: Seóirse Bodley s exquisite A small white cloud drifts over Ireland, from 1975, using distinctive and subtle inflections of traditional music to illuminate an altogether contemporary musical landscape. Michael McHale a young pianist whose international career is in serious take-off mode (Sunday Business Post) playing Beethoven s now poetic, now robust Fourth Symphony. Copland s Third Symphony, regarded by many as the great American symphony of the twentieth century, a full expression of that composer s unique ability to eloquently capture the essence of a place and its people. Its grandeur and poetry offer an inspiring and positive affirmation of the human spirit.
FRIDAY 10 JULY 8pm DEANE Samara RTÉ COMMISSION SIBELIUS Symphony No. 7 in C Piano Concerto No. 5 in E Flat, The Emperor Gavin Maloney conductor Hugh Tinney piano Raymond Deane s Samara (2005) demonstrates this composer s exceptional ability to create a musical response to the imagery of a natural phenomenon, the title being a reference to the winged seed of certain trees, disseminated by the wind. Samara is the perfect companion piece for Sibelius s magisterial Seventh Symphony, which compresses epic sweep and Parnassian grandeur into a concentrated form, surging with all the vitality and urgency of a river in gathering flood. And what better way to conclude our series of Beethoven piano concertos than with the spellbinding Hugh Tinney at the keyboard for the mighty Emperor?
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