I have mentioned Beethoven’s 250th anniversary at various times during the year but another composer’s significant anniversary should also be remembered. The one in question is that of Louis Vierne, maybe better known to church organ enthusiasts than general music lovers. Born in Poitiers in the west-central region of France on October 8, 1870, his…
Despite the Covid-19 Level 3 restrictions, the RTÉ NSO continues its season at the National Concert Hall. Playing without audience and behind closed doors, the concerts are being broadcast on RTÉ Lyric fm and streamed live on www.rte.ie/culture on Friday nights at 7pm. The current series brings the welcome return of principal conductor Jaime Martín…
Besides his deafness, Beethoven had poor eyesight, suffered persistent liver and abdominal problems and endured serious bouts of depression. The early 1820s were particularly difficult for him but, when his health began to improve, he plunged into a remarkably concentrated period of creative endeavour resulting in his Missa Solemnis, Ninth Symphony and late string quartets.…
While my late friend and revered music critic of the Irish Independent, Mary MacGoris, maintained danger lurked around every corner, I believe things are looking up. As Fred Astaire sang in the Gershwin brothers film A Damsel in Distress, “bitter was my cup/but no more will I be the mourner/for I’ve certainly turned the corner/oh,…
Writing about Beethoven’s Quartets last time, I got as far as his three Op 59s. Now I’ll go on a little further. Early in 1809, Princes Franz Lobkowitz and Ferdinand Kinsky together with Archduke Rudolph combined to grant the composer an annuity of 4,000 florins. As a result Beethoven considered marriage but his subsequent rejection…
One might not think Beethoven could fall victim to Covid-19 but in a way he has. With the closure of our concert venues live performances of his music have either been postponed or abandoned. Unfortunate really as this year celebrates the 250th anniversary of his birth. At the time of writing, the National String Quartet…
Had all gone according to plan, I should be in Salzburg – Mozart’s birthplace – this evening (August 6) at Richard Strauss’ opera Elektra. But, as ‘man proposes and God disposes’, I abandoned my travels. Anyway, the Festival, celebrating its centenary this year, cancelled its original programme, proposing something less adventurous instead. With a ‘select…
Mention Mozart’s operas and possibly four spring to mind immediately – The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte and The Magic Flute – but there others not least La clemenza di Tito, which like The Magic Flute, was written in the last months of the composer’s life in 1791. But going back a…
In my previous column, I left Charles Villiers Stanford as deputy organist of Trinity College, Cambridge in 1873. He was promoted the following year but before accepting the principal post stipulated that he be allowed to study in Germany during the next two summers. Cambridge agreed and Stanford went to Leipzig. It didn’t work well.…
Relatively recently, I mentioned Charles Villiers Stanford in relation to his opera The Veiled Prophet. This spurred me on to delve further into the archives and discover more about the composer born in Dublin’s Herbert Street in 1852. His father, a well-to-do lawyer, John James, was a cellist and noted bass who sang the title…