The Goo 1
Scene News CLIODHNA RYAN This month, we’re mainly
at the National Concert Hall, as it presents a varied and thrilling line up of performances and events, including an installation, world and Irish premieres, and some of the finest chamber musicians in the world. Let’s however start at The Hugh Lane Gallery, with a fascinating performance by Karaikudi S. Subramanian, who is one of the most renowned masters in the field of South Indian classical music known as ‘Karnatak’ music. It’s on Sunday 27th November at 12.00. If you’re interested in checking it out be sure to book, as these concerts are always sold out. Let’s head to the National Concert Hall next to hear the Ébène Quartet, who are an ensemble whose artistic daring and musical individuality make for extraordinary concert experiences. In this their NCH début, their playing and fresh approach to the string quartet repertoire will charismatic be palpable in the pairing of works by Purcell and Ligeti, and a highly anticipated collaboration with Irish pianist, Finghin Collins in Brahms’ exhilarating Piano Quintet. The concert on November 28th. We stay at the NCH for our next concert, which is with the Irish Chamber Orchestra and their newly appointed Principal Conductor, Thomas Zehetmair. In this concert, the ICO will play two of Mozart’s most renowned symphonies; No. 38 and No. 40. Between the symphonies, Zehetmair will put down the baton and pick up his violin to perform Hartmann’s Concerto Funebre, a powerful response to the tragic events of World War 2 and the occupation of Czechoslovakia. On Friday December 2nd and still at the NCH, the National Symphony Orchestra with conductor Jaime Martín and violinist Nemanja Radulović, present a concert of high drama and emotion. We open with the Irish premiere of Ellen Reid’s Floodplain, a searing response to environmental threat. This is followed by Nemanja Radulović performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, one of the truly great concertos for the instrument, pulse-quickening and heart-stopping in its raw poetry. The concert concludes with Richard Strauss’s epic and thrilling Alpine Symphony. The performance starts at 7.30pm. Next to the birthday celebrations of Crash Ensemble, as they present two concerts and an installation at the NCH, as well as an album release, workshops and a film. From November 2427, you can catch the The Wingform Installation by Jack Phelan in the Studio Space of the NCH. The first concert is on December 3rd at 6pm, and features soloists Iarla Ó Lionáird and Diamanda La Berge Dramm in Donnacha Dennehy’s Grá agus Bás and Diamanda La Berge Dramm & Neva Elliott’s PAGE 40 Crashed (a world premiere). On Sunday the 4th at 7pm, you can experience the extraordinary Extinction Events and Dawn Chorus by Liza Lim (an Irish premiere), as well as Wingform, the new major masterwork by composer, guitarist and member of Crash Ensemble Barry O’Halpin. Check out my interview with Ryan McAdams for more information on these events. Let’s go back to The Hugh Lane on Sunday 6 November for another new music treat, and the launch of Mixed Circuits, the new record from composer David Bremner. It will be performed by violist Andreea Banciu, clarinitest Paul Roe on clarinet, pianist Izumi Kimura and vocalist Elizabeth Hilliard and starts at 12pm. To The Pavillion in Dun Laoghaire now, for the Irish National Opera’s production of Donizetti’s sparkling operatic comedy Don Pasquale. It’s a hilarious and touching masterpiece that takes a riotously entertaining slant on a threat of disinheritance, a mock marriage, and a spendthrift wife who believes husbands should be seen and not heard. Directed by Orpha Phelan, with set and costume design by Nicky Shaw and lighting design by Matt Haskins, you can catch it on the 12th and 13th of December at 7.30pm. If you’ve never heard Handel’s Messiah performed on authentic instruments, you simply can’t miss the IBO’s performance at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin with director Peter Whelan. They are joined by the Chamber Choir Ireland on December 7th at 7.45 pm. Finally, let’s get ready for Christmas with the The RTÉ Concert Orchestra & Big Band and Guy Barker. Barker sells out the Royal Albert Hall with his incredible Christmas jazz nights. Now as the RTECO’s new Associate Artist, he swings into Christmas, joined by top jazz artists, including Tommy Blaize of Strictly Come Dancing, Vula Malinga of Basement Jaxx and Jess Kav as well as Giacomo Smith on clarinet/ saxophone. Expect swing evergreens, hidden gems and seasonal songs. It’s at The Helix on Monday 19 December 2022 at 8pm.