Michael Dervan
Classical music critic
What were your highlights of the year?
The RTÉ NSO’s departing principal guest conductor, Hannu Lintu, ended his term with the orchestra in style, with blazingly powerful performances of early and late Sibelius, the rarely heard Kullervo, and Tapiola. The violinist-conductor Julian Rachlin made musical magic with the orchestra in Mozart and Mendelssohn. The Irish Chamber Orchestra’s “principal artistic partner” – that is, conductor – Gábor Takács-Nagy, continues to bring a special electricity to all his work. Gerald Barry’s The Importance of Being Earnest, produced this year in Nancy, London and Ireland (Derry, Belfast, Dublin, Cork), was a must-see operatic experience. There were extraordinary choral delights from Mark Duley’s Resurgam, Harry Christopher’s The Sixteen, and Stile Antico, who perform without a conductor. Alexander Raskatov’s Monk’s Music, modelled on Haydn’s Seven Last Words, made a big impression in concert in Dundalk and on disc. And the memorable performances from visiting orchestras were ChristianIhle Hadland’s handling of the Grieg Concerto (with the Oslo Philharmonic under Vasily Petrenko), and Mahler’s First Symphony from the Sáo Paulo Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop.
Who was 2013’s unsung hero?
Eamonn Quinn of Louth Contemporary Music Society, who, in spite of drastic funding cutbacks, continues to do innovative work in concert and on CD.
http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/our-cultural-highs-and-lows-of-2013-1.1634628?page=3
