The Goo 1
Scene News CLIODHNA RYAN CLASSICAL Culture Night
on September 22 is always an evening of discovery. The CMC at their home on Fishamble Street, and the Irish Georgian Society at the City Assembly House are both worth a visit. Also, check out Brian Irvine and John McIlduff’s Scorched Earth Trilogy, three films inspired by environmental disasters. Expect street art, animation, contemporary music, opera, humour and wit. It will be at the Digital Hub, with times yet to be confirmed, so keep an eye out for further information. Celebrated for their “intense blend, extreme dynamic variation...and constant vitality and flow” (Gramophone), the Danish String Quartet has become one of today’s most in-demand classical quartets, performing in sold-out concert halls around the world. On September 28th , they will be at the National Concert Hall, presenting a programme of works by Schubert, as well as Rituals, a piece by Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir which they premiered at Carnegie Hall earlier this year. There’s a pre-concert talk at 6.45 before the performance, which begins at 8pm. The following evening the National Symphony Orchestra with their Chief conductor Jaime Martin is performing one of the greatest works of the 20th Century. Stravinsky’s The Firebird was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and was a huge success, catapulting the composer to international acclaim. The Irish premiere of a new work by one of Ireland’s greatest composers, Gerald Barry, will be performed by Autumn, along with its stunning visual display, always brings inspiring and thrilling music for Dublin audiences, and this year is no exception. double bassist and principal with the Berlin Philharmonic, Matthew McDonald (pic). Glinka’s effervescent Ruslan and Lyudmilla Overture opens the concert, which is at 7.30pm on September 29th . Breathwork is an intimate new opera by Éna Brennan, a rising star with a fresh compositional voice. It is about a dystopian world under threat from an unknown destructive force and is a direct response to the threat to our environment. Commissioned by the Irish National Opera as part of their 2023/2024 Season, with a text by Olivier awardwinning director David Pountney, it offers a taste of a largerscale operatic work that will premiere at Austria’s Bregenz Festival next year. The running time is 15-20 minutes and there will be six performances daily from September 28th to 30th at the Project Arts Centre. As well as supporting emerging talent and Irish composers this Autumn, the Irish National Opera are presenting a jewel of 19thcentury operatic repertoire. Charles Gounod’s Faust, with its timeless story of love, destiny and the struggle between good and evil, is directed by Jack Furness, with the prize-winning young American tenor Duke Kim in the title role, and riveting Irish soprano Jennifer Davis as Marguerite. The production is at The Gaiety for four nights from October 1st to 7th . The Hugh Lane Gallery Sundays At Noon series is back, and this Autumn you can hear two exceptional Irish pianists presenting programmes that are centuries apart but equally exciting. On October 8th Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Widely acknowledged as one of Ireland’s leading pianists, Fionnuala has a particular affinity with the works of baroque and classical composers. This opportunity to hear Bach’s work in its entirety is not to be missed. On October 22nd Isabelle O’Connell is presenting Cocteau, a programme inspired by artist, filmmaker and playwright, Jean Cocteau. The concert will feature a new work (Irish premiere) by Rhona Clarke. Based in New York, Isabelle is a core member of the Evlana ensemble and has also performed with Crash Ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, Contemporaneous, Da Capo Chamber Players, the ConTempo and New Zealand String Quartets. Tickets are free but are always snapped up, so it’s worth following The Hugh Lane on Eventbrite. Finally, let’s finish with some magic and sparkle. On Thursday, October 5th at 7.30 Fionnuala Moynihan will be playing one of the greatest works for keyboard ever written; pm, the RTE Concert Orchestra present 100 Years Of Disney Music at the National Concert Hall. The concert is presented by Aedín Gormley, with vocalists Bessy Ewa, Eleanor Grant, Juliette Crosbie, Paul Byrom and Tom Solomon joining the orchestra, which will be conducted by Stephen Bell. Featuring some of the greatest hits from The Walt Disney Company, including Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Toy Story, The Little Mermaid, and Frozen, allow yourself to be transported on a magic carpet to a whole new world of fantasy, romance, fun and sheer joy. Autumn is always full of magic as well as fantastic music. It’s the season to throw on a scarf, get out into the evenings, and be transported to the past, the future, and worlds of fantasy. ISABELLE O'CONNOR BREATHWORK PAGE 36 DANISH STRING QUARTET 100 YEARS OF DISNEY