Michael McHale, HAYDN IN PARIS - Platform...

www.irishchamberorchestra.com

IRISHCHAMBERORCHESTRA

Gábor Tákacs-Nagy, Principal Artistic Partner/Conductor

Michael McHale, Piano

MARCH 2014DUBLIN

LIMERICKThursday 6 March RDS Concert Hall Dublin

Friday 7 March University Concert Hall, Limerick

HAYDN IN PARIS

Irish Chamber Orchestra | 3

IRISHCHAMBERORCHESTRAMARCH 2013Irish Chamber OrchestraGábor Tákacs-Nagy, Principal Artistic Partner/ConductorMichael McHale, Piano

HAYDN IN PARISHaydn Symphony No. 83 in G Minor (La Poule/The Hen)Garrett Sholdice Piano Concerto (world premiere)Haydn Overture ArmidaVerdi String Quartet in E minor (arr. String Orchestra)

Thursday 6 March RDS Concert Hall, Dublin @ 8pm Friday 7 March University Concert Hall, Limerick @ 8pm

The ICO collaborates with Platform Ireland, an Irish company which provides live Irish culture and entertainment online. Platform Ireland showcases the Irish Chamber Orchestra, live from the University of Limerick, to global online audiences and audiences at home who do not have access to the event in Limerick.

Please ensure that mobile phones and other devices which may be audible are switched off.


4

Under the leadership of Katherine Hunka, the Irish Chamber Orchestra is recognised as one of Ireland’s world-class cultural assets, renowned nationally and internationally for its energy, unique sound, programme diversity and outstanding musicianship. The Irish Chamber Orchestra’s vibrant message rings loud and clear. Music-making is more than a livelihood for the ICO, it is a collaborative adventure. Following a succession of illustrious Artistic Directors including Fionnuala Hunt, Nicholas McGegan and Anthony Marwood, the orchestra is on a musical voyage of discovery. Working with Gábor Tákacs Nagy (Principal Artistic Partner) and Jörg Widmann (Principal Guest Conductor/Artistic Partner), the Irish Chamber Orchestra is breaking boundaries and opening new doors to music.

The orchestra continues to tour with success across Europe with a recent appearance in 2014 at the Storioni Festival, Eindhoven. Other international appearances this year include the Heidelberg Spring International Music Festival in April and the Wurzburg Mozartfest in June.

The ICO continues its rich tradition of collaboration with leading international guest soloists in 2014 including Michael McHale Piano and Tabea Zimmerman Viola.

The orchestra has worked with some of the world’s finest musicians and concerts including Gérard Korsten, Alison

Balsom, Leon Fleisher, Steve Mackey, Jonathan Cohen, Sergeij Nakariakov, Isabelle Van Keulen, István Várdai and Sir James Galway. The orchestra also has warm relationships with celebrated artists including Steven Isserlis, Stephen Hough and Pekka Kuusisto.

The ICO excels in a diverse repertoire ranging from classical to modern day masterpieces and new commissions. Leading Irish composers who have worked with the orchestra include John Kinsella, Linda Buckley, Míchael Ó Súilleabháin, Bill Whelan, Elaine Agnew and Garrett Sholdice.

CD releases include Silver Apples of the Moon, Tchaikovksy/Souvenir de Florence, Night Moves, Hommage and Plectrum & Bow, a collaborative recording with US composer and guitarist Steve Mackey.

Outside the concert hall, the Irish Chamber Orchestra stimulates minds and hearts with vitality unmatched by other ensembles. It offers music as an instrument of social change, introducing children to music, creativity, innovation, understanding and openness, thus helping them to reach their full potential as individuals.

The Irish Chamber Orchestra is resident at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick and is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon.

IrIshChamberOrChestra


Violin 1 Katherine Hunka LeaderNicola SweeneyDiane DalyCliodhna RyanAnna Cashell

Violin 2André SwanepoelEmily Nenniger Kenneth RiceLouis RodenOonagh Keogh

ViolaJoachim RoewerRobin PanterCian O DúillMark Coates Smith.

CelloRudi de GrooteAoife Nic AthlaoíchRichard Angell

BassMalachy Robinson

FluteEmma Roche

OboeDan BatesMatthew Draper

BassoonAmy HarmanÍde Ní Chonaill

HornJames PalmerStephen Nicholls

Board of Directors/ExecutiveMichael Buckley (Chair)Maureen CluneEamon CreganFrank Casey (Hon Life President)Joseph DundonAnn Marie Gill (Deputy Chair)Maurice HealyHugh MurrayStephen Nolan

Chief ExecutiveGerard Keenan

Friends/FinanceMargaret Kelly

Press & Marketing Charlotte Eglington

Community Engagement ManagerKathleen Turner

Production ManagerMario Beck

6

bIOGraPhIesGábor Takács-Nagy Principal Artistic Partner

A native of Budapest, Gábor Takács-Nagy began to study the violin at the age of eight. As a student of

the Franz Liszt Academy, he won First Prize in 1979 in the Jeno Hubay Violin Competition and later pursued studies with Nathan Milstein. His chamber music teachers at that time were Ferenc Rados, András Mihaly, Zoltán Székely, Sándor Végh and György Kurtag. From 1975 to 1992, he was founding member and leader of the acclaimed Takács Quartet performing with legendary artists; Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Georg Solti, Isaac Stern, Mstislav Rostropovitch, and was regularly invited by Sviatoslav Richter to his festivals. The Takács Quartet made many recordings for Decca and Hungaroton. In 1996, he founded the Takács Piano Trio and made world premier recordings of works of Hungarian composers Franz Liszt, Lászlo Lajtha and Sandor Veress.

In 1998 he established the Mikrokosmos String Quartet with compatriots Zoltan Tuska, Sandor Papp and Miklos Perényi, recording in 2008 the complete cycle of Bartok’s String Quartets for which they were awarded the Excellencia prize by Pizzicato Magazine. In 1982, he was awarded the Liszt Prize. Gábor Takács-Nagy is considered one of today’s most authentic exponents of Hungarian music, and in particular, that of Béla Bartok.

In 2002, following Hungarian tradition, Gábor Takács-Nagy turned his attention to conducting, creating his own string ensemble, the Camerata Bellerive (2005) and in 2006 was appointed Music Director of the Weinberger Kammerorchestra. In August 2007, he was named Music Director of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, an integral part of the Verbier Festival and regularly collaborates with the pianist Martha Argerich. A DVD of their performances of Beethoven’s 2nd piano concerto and Shostakovich’s concerto for piano, trumpet and strings was released in June 2011.

From 2010-12 Gábor was Music Director of the MAV Symphony Orchestra Budapest recording a world premiere the epic Bards of Wales oratorio by Karl Jenkins. In September 2011 he was appointed Music Director of Manchester Camerata, one of the UK’s leading chamber orchestras and in September 2012 became Principal Guest Conductor of the Budapest Festival Orchestra. In January 2013 he was appointed Principal Artistic Partner of the Irish Chamber Orchestra.

Gábor Takács-Nagy is a dedicated and highly sought-after teacher. He is Professor of String Quartet at the Haute Ecole de Musique in Geneva and International Chair in Chamber Music at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. In June 2012 he was awarded honorary membership of the Royal Academy of Music in London.


Michael McHale Piano

Belfast-born Michael McHale has established himself as one of the leading Irish pianists of his generation. Since completing

his studies at Cambridge University and the Royal Academy of Music he has developed a busy international career as a solo recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician. Michael has performed at many important musical centres including Suntory Hall, Tokyo; Lincoln Center, New York; Symphony Hall, Boston; Konzerthaus, Berlin; Pesti Vigadó, Budapest; the Ushuaia and Tanglewood Festivals, and for TV and radio broadcasts throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America. His début solo album ‘The Irish Piano’ was released in 2012 on the RTÉ lyric fm label and has already been featured on national radio in France, Austria, Canada, Australia, the USA, Italy, Estonia and the UK. The disc was selected as ‘CD of the Week’ by critic Norman Lebrecht, who described it as “a scintillating recital…fascinating from start to stop”, whilst Gramophone praised “the singing sensibility of McHale’s sensitive and polished pianism”.

Michael has performed frequently as concerto soloist with the Hallé, Bournemouth Symphony and Moscow Symphony orchestras, the Teatro Colon Orchestra, Discovery Ensemble in Boston, the London Mozart Players and all five of the major Irish orchestras in repertoire ranging from Mozart and Beethoven to Gershwin and Rachmaninov.

Michael’s début with the Irish Chamber Orchestra saw him deputise for the indisposed Leon Fleisher in a performance of Prokofiev’s Left Hand Concerto with Gérard Korsten, which was broadcast worldwide on a live online video stream. Engagements in 2013/14 include appearances with the Ulster Orchestra (Liszt Concerto No.2), the RTÉ NSO (Gershwin Concerto) and the Irish Chamber Orchestra (the premiere of Garrett Sholdice’s Piano Concerto) and a début with the Minnesota Orchestra (Mozart K.488) in their Sommerfest series.

His début solo recitals in the Wigmore Hall, London, the National Concert Hall, Dublin, and the Phillips Collection, Washington DC received great public and critical acclaim, with the Washington Post praising his “…bravura playing in the music of Franz Liszt…” and his “…beautifully proportioned and energetic account of Mozart’s Sonata in C minor, K.457…”

In addition to winning first prize and the audience prize at the prestigious Terence Judd/Hallé Award finals in 2009 (previous winners include Nikolai Lugansky and Stephen Hough), Michael was awarded the Brennan and Field Prizes at the 2006 AXA Dublin International Piano Competition and the 2005 Camerata Ireland/Accenture Award. His teachers and mentors include John O’Conor, Réamonn Keary, Christopher Elton, Ronan O’Hora and Barry Douglas.

Michael collaborates regularly with Sir James Galway, Michael Collins, Patricia Rozario, Ensemble Avalon , Cappa Ensemble and the Vogler Quartet, and his discography includes recordings for Chandos, RTÉ lyric fm, Louth CMS, Lorelt and Nimbus Alliance. For more information visit www.michaelmchale.com

8

PrOGrammeNOtes

Symphony No. 83 in G Minor(La Poule/The Hen)Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

1. Allegro spiritoso 2. Andante 3. Minuetto: Allegretto 4. Finale: Vivace

Haydn’s so-called Paris Symphonies of 1785-6 (Symphonies 82-87) were commissioned by the Parisian concert organisation Le Concert de la Loge Olympique. The orchestra of this Masonic lodge, like some other contemporary Parisian ensembles, was considerably larger than the typical German or Austrian court-orchestra, possessing no fewer than forty violins, twelve double-basses and the musicians were resplendently dressed in sky-blue dress-coats with lace ruffles and swords.

The nickname for Symphony No. 83 - The Hen - was widely adopted from the beginning of the 19th century, and refers to the suggestion of clucking in the opening movement’s second subject. Unlike many nicknames, this one is by no means inappropriate or misleading. The symphony begins with an aggressive, strongly accented theme, while the robust, increasingly prominent dotted rhythm and the silences between phrases contribute equally to the tense mood. The flippancy of the second theme, introduced by first violins and characterised by frequent clipped grace notes, could hardly be more

contrasting, although the repeated dotted rhythm is retained in the accompaniment. This dotted figure in the oboe shows Haydn’s purely musical humour also, as it transforms into frivolity a rhythm previously presented with great severity. Following the intense development section, which nevertheless ends with the first subject now smoothed out, the recapitulation soon turns to the warmth of G major.

The serene and elegant opening theme of the Andante opens out beautifully from its innocuous beginning of five repeated notes. Extreme contrasts become an important element of the music, as a sudden loud descending scale-passage is followed by four bars of accompaniment, fading to almost nothing. This ‘marking time’ accompaniment is then interrupted by an even more violent outburst. In the brief development section these eccentric dynamic contrasts are further exploited.

Following the sturdy Minuet, with its gentler trio section in which a charming melody is shared by flute and first violins, the Finale (in 12/8) is characterised by terrific rhythmic energy and buoyancy and has a particularly adventurous and vehement development section. Near the end of the movement Haydn’s characteristic device of a succession of ‘questioning’ pauses is soon swept away.

Philip Borg-Wheeler


Concerto for Piano and Small OrchestraGarrett Sholdice (b.1983)

1. Soft night 2. Alap

The composer writes:“Concerto for Piano and Small Orchestra is, like much of my work over the last year or so, an attempt to get as close as possible to my musical materials – to feel out a natural contour, an abstract poetry... It is the continuation of a striving for a particular clarity of experience.

The first movement, Soft Night, is haunted by my memories of the city of Paris at dusk. The roots of the music lie in my chamber opera, Recueillement Meditation, named after the poem by 19th-century Parisian poet Charles Baudelaire. (The title of this movement also comes from this poem.) A certain moment of eccentric, beautiful stasis in one of Haydn’s ‘Paris’ symphonies provided an important kernel of inspiration too.

The second movement, Alap, scored for piano and strings only, presents an alternative expression for some of the sentiments of the first movement. A late Mozart piano concerto was ringing in my ears as I wrote this, as well as the slowly unfolding alap sections of North Indian ragas. As much a beginning as an ending, this music is about a resolute, child-like concentration.

Concerto for Piano and Small Orchestra was commissioned by the Irish Chamber Orchestra for the ICO and pianist Michael McHale, with partial funding from the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon”.

Garrett Sholdice is an Irish composer based in Berlin and Dublin. His music has been described as possessing an ‘exquisite delicacy’ (The Irish Times). Sholdice’s music is featured on the Ergodos Musicians album, I Call to You, described by RTÉ Ten as ‘perhaps the most important record of new Irish music released this year.’

His work has been performed by, amongst others, the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, violinist Ioana Petcu-Colan, Maya Homburger/Barry Guy duo, Gamelan Sekar Petak, Resurgam chamber choir, and pianist Aki Takahashi. His music has been performed in Europe, North America and Japan. Sholdice has studied with Donnacha Dennehy, Nicola LeFanu and William Brooks. In 2012 he completed a PhD in composition at the University of York under the supervision of William Brooks. More recently, he has received some private lessons from Kevin Volans. During spring 2011 Sholdice was composer-in-residence at the Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris. In April 2011 and 2012, he received Bursary Awards from the Irish Arts Council to enable him to ‘buy time’ to develop his practice as a composer. Garrett is a co-director of Ergodos, a Dublin-based production company, record label and music distributor that he founded with Benedict Schlepper-Connolly in 2006.

© Garrett Sholdice 2013

10

Overture to ArmidaJoseph Haydn (1732-1809)

Opera played some part in Haydn’s life for much of his career, but during the years 1776-90 it dominated his existence as an employee of the aristocratic Esterházy family. Esterháza, the family’s wonderful summer palace situated in the Hungarian countryside about fifty miles south-east of Vienna, soon became known as the Hungarian Versailles. Haydn was employed by the family from 1761 until his death in 1809, although his position became merely nominal after the death of Prince Nikolaus II in 1790. The Esterháza opera house was completed in 1768, though it was not until 1776 that Prince Nikolaus II established a regular opera season. His great love of music inspired the building of two opera houses, one for Italian opera and the other a German marionette theatre. When the Italian opera house burnt down in 1779 it was rebuilt in two years.

At Esterháza during the 1780’s seventy-three different operas received a total of more than 1,000 performances. Haydn was responsible for most rehearsals and performances and he composed ten operas himself, about half of his total output, for Esterháza. However, he never made a significant impact as an operatic composer and even a hundred years after his death this area of his music remained almost unknown. Recordings of Haydn’s operas have been infrequent, though eight of the Esterháza works appeared in the 1970’s, and a few individual operas subsequently. No Haydn opera has ever become established in the repertoire.

Armida, first produced in February 1784, was the last opera Haydn composed for Esterháza and his only full-length opera seria. The plot is derived from Tasso’s Crusade epic Gerusalemme liberata – a subject which inspired well over a hundred operas in the Baroque and Classical periods, later works by Dvořák and Brahms and, more recently, an opera by Judith Weir. This story of the Saracen princess/sorceress Armida and her lover, the Christian knight Rinaldo, highlights the archetypal conflict between love and duty, while the other, equally timeless theme is East versus West. In the overture Haydn manages to convey a great many aspects of the following drama. It begins with alternations of a vigorous gesture and a gentler passage marked cantabile. Percussion instruments are employed to give extra colour to the military-march sections and the development is magnificently fiery. The expressive range of this little piece – which is in effect more of a miniature tone-poem then an overture - encompasses extreme turbulence and aggression, tenderness and elegance.

© Philip Borg-Wheeler

String Quartet in E minor (arr. String Orchestra)Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

1. Allegro2. Andantino3. Prestissimo4. Scherzo Fuga: Allegro assai mosso

Verdi completed his only string quartet in 1873 – i. e. roughly the period of Aida and the Requiem – but, unsure of its value, he delayed publication until three years later. He remarked: “I don’t know whether it is good or bad, only that it is a quartet”. As one might gather from his own diffidence, the piece is unpretentious but much more than a mere diversion from writing operas. As an operatic composer Verdi was not so comfortable within the sonata-form territory implied by the traditional string quartet, but this is not obvious in an opening movement rich in melodic material but also incorporating more than enough development and counterpoint. As early as bar 11 there is even a cello motif which will prove valuable in imitative writing. Throughout the movement Verdi handles his diverse material – including a suavely Mendelssohnian second subject – with an easy mastery, while making considerable technical demands on the players. The second movement begins in graceful manner, not unlike the more relaxed movements which Mendelssohn,

Schumann and Brahms sometimes included within major works to lower the emotional temperature. However, in spite of Verdi’s innocent beginning, this Andantino at times proves capable of considerable muscularity. The middle section has two strongly contrasting ideas – a sustained lyrical theme and a more assertive passage of semiquavers – and in the coda Verdi combines the various elements.

The brilliant scherzo has a demonic quality recalling the ballet music from Verdi’s Macbeth, but the trio section brings delightful contrast, as the cellos play a light serenade initially accompanied by off-beat pizzicato notes. Just as he would do in Falstaff, his last opera, Verdi finishes with fugal writing. Here the inventiveness and all-round contrapuntal skill amount to a tour de force as Verdi displays all the classic fugal techniques as well as achieving a wide variety of textures. Once again there are great demands on the performers – not merely technical agility is needed but also great delicacy, as much of this finale is marked pianissimo. When Verdi heard of a planned London performance with twenty players to a part he did not demur, as he believed that “there are certain passages which require a fuller sonority than a mere quartet can furnish.”

© Philip Borg-Wheeler


frIeNds Of the ICO

12

Frank & Alison CaseyJoseph & Breda ClarkinTom & Hazel CliffordMaureen CluneAngela CoffeyMary CollinsJane ComanAvril CondellKevin & Máirin ConroyAnn CorcoranKieran & Oonagh CorrJackie CostelloEamonn CreganMargaret & James DoddJohn DonnellyMandy DonworthKathleen DowdallAndrea DoyleRoisin DoyleJoe DundonMaeve EarlieMichael & Irene FentonEvelyn FennellyBill & Maura FloodJohn & Eibhlis FlynnEdward GabrielMichael & Mary GalvinBarbara GeraghtyDavid GriffinDrs Tessa Greally & Kevin KelleherDeirdre HanleyMark & Margaret Hely HutchinsonSylvia JonesValerie KeeganEileen KellyNoel & Marie KellyNuala KennedyPatricia KennedySheila KeoghBrian MartinFiona McCarthyMarie McCormickDavid McKennaMichael & Valerie MoloneyPhil MolonyProf. & Mrs E Moxon-Browne

John KellyOonagh KeoghEamonn LawlorUrsula LeslieVictor MalirshLiam McElligottPauline McLaughlinKathy MoynesFergal O’CeallachainJohn O’ConnorDr. Mícheál Ó SúilleabháinMargaret QuigleyKenneth RiceMalachy RobinsonMary RobinsonLouis RodenJoachim RoewerBen RogersonBrian ScanlonHelmut SeeberMadeleine StauntonDr. Thérèse TimoneyDr Edward WalshMary WalshGerard Watson

INdIvIdual frIeNds

Sheila & Gerry BolandSimon BoyleMaura BrannRita BrickFrances BrittonMichael & Sarah BrockMichael & Anne BuckleyDr. Gerard & Patricia BurkeRita ButlerBrian & Sheila CallananJoe & Dympna Callanan

fOrever frIeNds

Paul J CareyMuriel CollinsMaurice & Maire FoleyMáirín HagertyMaurice HealyDr Miriam Hederman O’BrienAlison HunkaSean & Margaret JacksonJohn KelleherHilary & Mary LawlessBeverley & Anthony MackayBernard & Moira McNamaraHazel MinionEve MolonyMáire-Treasa Nic EochagáinBrian PattersonTommy & Ann-Elizabeth Riggs-MillerAndrew & Jenny RobinsonMary RyanFionnuala Sherry & Bernard DoyleNorma Smurfit

famIly frIeNds

Dermot & DorothyMoloney & Family.The Hickey Family.

hONOrary frIeNds

Tom BriggsBrian ByrneLisa GrosmanDaphne HendersonJohn HorganMark Hely Hutchinson

COrPOrate frIeNds


Prof. Noel MulcahyMichael & Vickie McClintockNoreen McDonaghDavid McKennaVivienne McKechnieBrian McMahonElizabeth NesbittRichard and Anna NolanBrian O’BrienDonough O’BrienMary O’ByrneShelagh O’ConnellMariam O’DonovanSeán & Siobhán O’DúillDr. Geraldine O’GradyAnne O’KeeffeDr Eithne O’SharkeyStephen & Oonagh O’SheaAnne O’SullivanFrank & Eugenie O’SullivanPaul & Jan O’Sullivan

Desmond & Johanna ParkerMichael PettyGerard QuinnPeter & Marian RealCharlie & Mary RocheAlice RodenMichael RyanGeoff SimpsonLord & Lady StevensonMargaret Harper & Richard StoopsAnne Marie StynesPeter SweeneyJudith TaggartMervyn & Marlyn TaylorMary ThornburySyl TuckerValerie WalkerEdward & Stephanie WalshT.K. WhitakerDavid R Wilkins

- Crh

- dundon Callanan

- forrestal Wine merchants

- Paddy hoare bldg & Civil engineering

PatrONs &PartNershIPs

14

The Irish Chamber Orchestra strives to share its music with audiences at home and across the globe. It is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland /An Chomhairle Ealíon and kindly supported by individuals, corporate friends and private patrons and the corporate sector. The Irish Chamber Orchestra nurtures lifelong rewarding partnerships while offering a range of benefits and sponsorship opportunities.If you are looking to develop relationships with key stakeholders or if you simply want to expand your brand across the length and breadth of Ireland and further afield, the

Irish Chamber Orchestra offers creative and rewarding solutions that will bring music to your ear. For further information on how you can help contact 061-202620

Robert BallaghJoe BuckleyLeslie BuckleyMichael BuckleyJohn ShinnorsDept of Arts Heritage and the GaeltachtIris O Brien FoundationIreland FundsJP McManus Charitable Foundation

COmmuNIty eNGaGemeNt


The Irish Chamber Orchestra has developed a comprehensive community engagement programme. Every time you buy an ICO ticket, you support this programme which brings live music from the concert hall directly to the community.

Sing Out With StringsThe ICO provides weekly workshops in singing, song-writing and violin tuition for 300 children across Limerick city. The project was established in 2008 by the Irish Chamber Orchestra as a Community Engagement Programme working within Limerick’s regeneration process. It includes four schools, Galvone National School, Southill Junior School, St. Mary’s Boys National School and St. Enda’s Community School. Inspired by El Sistema, the Venezuelan model of music education, Sing Out with Strings has gained a significant place within the musical fabric of primary music provision in Limerick’s regeneration process. This important work has attracted local and national attention and recognition as an excellent model of instrumental music provision within primary schools. The project addresses issues of inclusion, equality of access and provision and highlights the numerous benefits that a long-term project of this nature has on the children, school staff, parents and the wider community. ConCordaConcorda is an exciting international summer programme of chamber music for young string musicians run by the Irish Chamber Orchestra and the Irish Association of Youth Orchestras. The course provides a rare platform for students from fourteen years upwards to discover and explore all aspects of string chamber music in an uncompetitive and inspiring environment. Music FactoryIs the Irish Chamber Orchestra’s summer camp (8-12yrs). Children participate in a range of activities from dance, drama and drumming to singing, songwriting, improvisation and visual art.

Irish Chamber Orchestra Community VisitsICO musicians regularly visit local voluntary organizations/charities performing for audiences who are unable to attend concerts. Visits to St Gabriel’s School for Children with Special Needs, St Paul’s Nursing Home, The Children’s Ark, Limerick Regional Hospital, Sisters of Charity and Milford Hospice have garnered overwhelmingly positive feedback. AcademosThe ICO is resident at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the heart of an emerging college of Performing Arts at the University of Limerick. The Academy boasts a respected MA in Classical Strings, in which the orchestra plays a key role. Central to the course is the Irish World Academy String Ensemble, Academos which is tutored by members of the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Ceol na MaraCeol na Mara takes place each July in Connemara West Centre, Letterfrack and is designed to give string players of all ages and standards the opportunity to meet and play music together under the guidance of ICO’s Oonagh Keogh, Director and violist Lisa Grosman. Saturday Strings at the ICOAn innovative string programme for children run by ICO violinist Diane Daly, at the ICO Studios.

IRISHCHAMBERORCHESTRA


APRIL 2014Irish Chamber OrchestraJörg Widmann Principal Guest Conductor/ ClarinetTabea Zimmermann Viola

THE HIGHLANDS, HEBRIDES, LEIPZIG & BEYOND…

Mendelssohn The Hebrides Op. 26 (Fingal’s Cave)Widmann String Quartet No. 4Bruch Double Concerto for Clarinet, Viola and OrchestraMendelssohn Symphony No. 3 (Scottish)

Widmann journeys once more through the great Mendelssohn Symphonies. A twenty-year-old Mendelssohn made his first performances in England in 1829 and set off on a walking tour of Scotland that would prove inspirational for two compositions - Fingal’s Cave Overture and his last and finest Scottish Symphony. One of the greatest gifts of Jörg Widmann’s string quartets is his ability to explore the most intimate of sound worlds. His Quartet No. 4 offers a walking bass line with ascending and descending patterns along with chiaroscuro textures. Max Bruch’s seldom heard double concerto for clarinet and viola is Mendelssohnian in style. Joining clarinettist Jörg Widmann is violist, Tabea Zimmermann, one of the most renowned musicians of our time.

Wednesday 2 April University Concert Hall, Limerick @ 8pm 061-331549 www.uch.ie e20, e18 and e10 students

Thursday 3 April National Concert Hall, Dublin @8pm 01 417 0000 www.nch.ie e20, e18 and e10 students

Michael McHale, HAYDN IN PARIS - Platform...

Documents

Transcript of Michael McHale, HAYDN IN PARIS - Platform...