This is How we Fly express a free-spirited philosophy for group playing in traditional Irish music, while staying within the lines of that tradition.

Commissioned to compose a work in response to 9/11, John Adams confronted the question: can modern classical music still be the transcendental force we need it to be? by Barra Ó Séaghdha

The Harpers Connellan: Irish Music of the late 17th century

In works by Leitch Ritchie and John Beverley Nichols, Barra Ó Séaghdha discovers why Indian music is not serious art – while China and Scotland have problems too.

Soap & Skin (Anja Plaschg), Button Factory, Dublin, 22 October 2009; Chip Shop Music, Ireland Institute, Dublin, 23 October 2009; Pastures New: Paddy Glackin, Emer Mayock and Donal Siggins, Kevin Barry Room, National Concert Hall, Dubli

Various, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (SFW40197)

Barra Ó Séaghdha asks where the British free jazz movement fits within definitions of jazz

Barra Ó Séaghdha finds a disapproving account of paganism and the occult

The opinions of Edward Martyn, founder of the Palestrina Choir

RTÉ Vanbrugh QuartetIrish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin3 April 2009In Stepping Stones, the book of interviews with Seamus Heaney conducted by Dennis O’Driscoll, the poet does not give the impression that he actively seeks out music, whether

A period of freedom – and tension – in Chicago jazz through the playing of Anthony Braxton and the AACM

The first in a series of curious anecdotes from musical history.

Elaine Clark (violin), Martin Johnson (cello), David James (cello), Madeleine Staunton (flute), Paul Roe (clarinet), Roberto Oliveira (percussion), Tine Verbeke (soprano), Jane O’Leary (piano)Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin15 February 20

Crash Ensemble, Darragh Morgan (violin), Alan Pierson (conductor)O’Reilly Theatre, Dublin27–28 November 2008Now well over ten years old, the Crash Ensemble has become a fixture of the new music scene in Ireland.

The Cherry Tree, Dublin14 November 2008When two string players and what looked dangerously like a percussionist came out on stage at the Cherrytree in Walkinstown with the piper and the fiddler, I’ll admit I felt a little tremor of pessimis

Andrzej Bauer (cello), Roger Doyle (keyboard), Keith O’Brien (guitar, laptop), Brian Ó hUiginn (uilleann pipes) Liberty Hall, Dublin19 September 2008This year’s burst of concerts from Music 21 was as diverse as ever, taking in the quite...

Barra Ó Séaghdha reviews Faking it, which explores the divide between artist and performance.

Tony MacMahon (accordion), David Power (uilleann pipes, whistle, fiddle, vocals), Dermot Bolger (poetry); Directed by John Comiskey, Produced by David Teevan/Ten42 ProductionsTradition:DL Festival, Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire, Co.

Francesco Turrisi (piano), Gabrielle Mirabassi (clarinet), Roman Bunka (oud), Ronan Guilfoyle (bass), Bijan Chemirani (percussion)National Concert Hall, Dublin24 April 2008Two Italians, a German, an Irishman and a Franco-Iranian (or Irano-F

Bewley’s Café Theatre, Dublin 211 March 2008The immediate impression as you entered Bewley’s Theatre for singer Seán Ó hÉanaigh’s performance was one of relaxed conviviality. People at different tables visited...

Boris Baltschun, Erik Carlsson, Roy Carroll, Axel Dörner, Kai Fagaschinski, Martin Küchen, David Lacey, Jason Lescalleet, Quiet Club (Danny McCarthy & Mick O’Shea), Fred Van Hove, Paul VogelThe Unitarian & Peppercanister Churches, D

Rohan de Saram, Marc Sabat and Garrett Sholdice in Iskanders, Dame Street, Dublin after the performance of Morton Feldman’s Trio at the Printing House Festival of New Music (Photo: Benedict Schlepper-Connolly)Printing House, Trinity College

Olympia Theatre, Dublin27 January 2008The last concert of this year’s Temple Bar Trad was promoted from the usual smaller venues to the Olympia Theatre, thanks to the sponsors and to the fact that the occasion was being televised for TG4.

St Audoen’s Church, Dublin13 February 2008In theory, but only in some theory, music is to be treated as a thing in itself, and the nature of the location, of the audience and of the musicians as people are incidental.

Liberty Hall Theatre/NCH, Dublin9-11 November 2007György Ligeti was still alive when Benjamin Dwyer had the idea of dedicating a festival to his work; Ligeti had been dead for over a year when the idea eventually came to fruition.

Rógaire DubhIn the short time that I have had Lorcán Mac Mathúna’s CD in my possession, my feelings towards it have already gone through a number of phases. As they may shift again, what follows may be more an update on a process...

Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin / National Gallery, Dublin2 December 2007Sunday the 2nd of December almost accidentally became a feast-day for devotees of the string quartet.

NCH, Dublin/4 Dame Lane, Dublin28 September 2007Friday 28 September was a big day for Music 21, as this year’s program of events concluded with two radically different concerts.

Spiegeltent, Dublin Fringe Festival19 September 2007Clear Sky Ensemble is almost a feature writer’s dream.

A review of the inaugural TRADITION:DL, the Dún Laoghaire Festival of Traditional Music

Barra Ó Séaghdha, Dublin, writes: Having complained so much about the poverty of debate on cultural matters in Ireland, I must thank Leith Davis, Ronan Guilfoyle and Barra Boydell for having taken the trouble to respond to recent articles o

New Theatre, Temple Bar, Dublin29 July 2007‘Neck, pegbox and scroll’ was the attractive title of a concert devoted to works for cello and double-bass that took place in the New Theatre on 29 July.

Barra Ó Séaghdha finds much to debate in a recent work on music and Irish identity.

A review of the recent RTÉ Living Music Festival which focused on jazz and the music of American composer John Adams.

The very first Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland, the most comprehensive publication on music ever to have been undertaken in Ireland, is currently in preparation and scheduled to be published in 2010.

Horizons: Featured composer – Donnacha DennehyRTÉ NSO, Darragh Morgan (violin), National Chamber Choir (David Darcy, chorus master), Gavin Maloney (cond.)NCH, Dublin, 30 January 2007Strange Folk!: Crash Ensemble & Iarla Ó LionáirdSamuel

J.J.

Sean Carpio, Simon Jermyn and Joachim BadenhorstSean Carpio’s front room14 September 2006It was the first evening of three on which drummer Sean Carpio and a varying selection of musical accomplices were due to play in his flat as part of t

Sparked by a recent book on musical life in America over the past two centuries – Joseph Horowitz’ Classical Music in America: A History of its Rise and Fall – Barra Ó Séaghdha considers the classical music experiences of the US and Britain

Barra Ó Séaghdha, Dublin 7, writes: If, like many other JMI readers, I was deeply touched by the letter from Ms Choona Day about the tragically curtailed career of her composer-father B’ween Kay Li, there was a further personal dimension...

(chaturangi – 22-string guitar)Farmleigh Salon Series (programmed by Improvised Music Company), Farmleigh, Castleknock, Dublin, 17 July 2006A large black dog nearly put paid to this review – and, for a very long minute or two, it seemed li

ESB Beo Celtic Music Festival, NCH, Dublin5 August 2006It is not difficult to see the thinking behind the pairing of Iarla Ó Lionáird with Martin Hayes for one evening of the ESB Beo Celtic Music Festival.

Recent work by Cork guitarist Mark O'Leary.

Barra Ó Séaghdha experiences a performance at the NCH of the extraordinary String Quartet II by Morton Feldman, which lasts six hours without a break…

The Bray Jazz Festival 2006.

Emigration and exile: songs from Palestine and their relevance to Celtic Tiger Ireland.

Bank of Ireland Arts Centre, Dublin, 3-4 March 2006This year’s Bank of Ireland Mostly Modern Festival was an Irish/Italian affair, with Luciano Berio and the less well-known Francesco Clementi figuring prominently.

Various venues, Dublin, 31 March-1 April 2006Building on last year’s one-day event, the second i-and-e festival of improvised music took place on Friday 31 March and Saturday 1 April.

Various venues, Temple Bar, Dublin, 26-29 January 2006Anyone who can play as Tommy Peoples can is entitled to operate by his own rules.

The Festival de Jazz et de Free Music in Mulhouse, France.

NCH, Dublin, 31 January 2006 Andrew Hamilton – Map; Volans – Cello Concerto; Stravinsky – Four Études for Orchestra; Volans – Strip-weaveRTÉ National Symphony Orchestra;Gavriel Lipkind, cello; Robert Houlihan, conductorThe...

Whelan’s, Dublin, 17 November 2005The appearance of Jon Balke’s Magnetic North Orchestra at Whelan’s on 17 November was one of the last in a year-long series of concerts presented by the Improvised Music Company and the Jazz Architects and.

Vicar Street, Dublin, 24 November 2005Rachid Taha is a leading figure among the new French-Algerian musicians who blend techno-trance/dance influences with rai and other North African sounds.

Composers' Choice 2005.

Dear EditorGiven that I had been quite critical of his programming, it is entirely understandable that Kevin O’Connell should be annoyed with my review of the 2005 RTÉ Living Music Festival.

Barra Ó Séaghdha reviews The Progress of Music in Ireland, a wide-ranging new book of essays by Harry White on the relationship between music, cultural history and musicology in Ireland.

Saturday 23 AprilThe Printing House, Trinity College, DublinDuring the interval of the afternoon session of the first Improv at the Printing House Festival, I suddenly found myself listening intently to the gurgling of water in a pipe again

The RTÉ Living Music Festival has been a great feat of enterprise and adventure for three years. Now, RTÉ is pausing to take stock.

The Sligo New Music Festival and Composers’ Choice.

Has too much been sacrificed by Irish traditional music in embracing the values of modern Ireland? Barra Ó Séaghdha takes some snapshots of a country with 'societal amnesia' and wonders where all the slow airs have gone...

The weekend of 20-22 February saw the RTÉ Living Music Festival 2004 at the Helix in Dublin. Last year's very successful Berio-centred event appears to have set the pattern for the festival.

The 2003 Crash Festival at the Project (Dublin) presented a wide range of formats and activities, from solo piano to video + electronics + percussion to interview. Responses too were varied.

Barra Ó Séaghdha looks back over the JMI's first three years and suggests possibilities for the future...

Barra Ó Séaghdha gives his response to the second Crossroads conference on traditional music which took place in Derry from 25th to 27th April.

There may have been periods when little or nothing seemed to be happening in the contemporary/classical world, but 2002 was not a year for morose contemplation of the difference between nothingness and near-nothingness.

The RTÉ Living Music FestivalFeaturing the music of Lucian Berio, October 25-27 @ The HelixDecision time.

Dear Editor,I was intrigued by Axel Klein's response to Patrick Zuk's review of Harry White’s writings on music and nationalism. It is noteworthy that Dr Klein does not take issue with any specific point raised by Zuk.

A look at the current state of reviewing in jazz, traditional and classical music in Ireland.