Richard Pine

Richard Pine, Director of the Durrell School of Corfu, is a former Concerts Manager in RTÉ. He is the author and editor of books on Irish music history and of definitive studies of Oscar Wilde, Brian Friel and Lawrence Durrell.

A Missionary Spirit
In an extract from his biography of Irish Times music critic Charles Acton (1914–1999), Richard Pine discusses the role of the critic from the 1950s up to the 1980s. In doing so, he also responds to some questions raised by Bob Gilmore in his article ‘He’s Just Not That Into You’ from the June-July issue.
What's Wrong with the Royal Irish Academy of Music?
If we cared as much about our musical life as we do about our national theatre we would already have seen the Royal Irish Academy of Music discussed in the same terms as the Abbey, argues former RIAM Governor Richard Pine. But can a way forward now be found, one that involves the creation of an Irish Academy for the Performing Arts?
Ita Beausang’s article on music education in the Sept-Oct issue of JMI evoked a strong letter from Richard Pine in our last issue. In this email debate we bring the two together to further discuss the future of music education in Ireland.
Richard Pine, Dublin, writes:I wish I shared Ita Beausang’s optimism. I wish rain was beer. But I don’t and it isn’t. In her article on music education she asks ‘Where do we go from here?’ My answer is ‘Nowhere, absolutely...
Letters: Looking for the Irish Bartók
David Flynn’s search for the ‘Irish Bartók’
Needed: Flight Simulator
Would-be orchestral musicians in Ireland are at a disadvantage – despite several attempts over the years to address the problem, there is no training orchestra or postgraduate diploma in orchestral studies which could prepare players for positions in Irish orchestras.
The National Ear: Part 2
The story so far: in the first extract from his book on music and broadcasting (JMI Vol. 3 No. 2) Richard Pine outlined the instability of the political and social environment in which the government established 2RN, the state broadcasting service, in 1926, and the cultural uncertainties attending the development of Irish identity. In this concluding extract he examines the responses of Irish composers to the question of identity and the role played by broadcasting in sustaining musical activity.
The National Ear: Part 1
In the first of two extracts from his forthcoming book, Ceol-Áras: music and broadcasting in Ireland 1926-2001, Richard Pine describes the context of musical life in Ireland when RTÉ was established.
In Dreams Begins Responsibility:  An Irish Academy for the Performing Arts?
Richard Pine examines the issues surrounding the establishment of an Irish Academy for the Performing Arts.