Criticism
Letting the Sounds Exist: The Piano Works of Annea Lockwood
Pianist Xenia Pestova Bennett has just released 'Annea Lockwood – The Piano Works', comprising four works by the American composer. Anna Murray reviews. 
A Mass Amidst a Housing Crisis: Amanda Feery’s 'NEST'
Launched this month at the Cork Midsummer Festival, Amanda Feery's new album contains a 43-minute work that the composer describes as a Mass for tenants. Adrian Smith reviews. 
Curated with Care in Dundalk
The Louth Contemporary Music Festival on 13 and 14 June in Dundalk featured Daisy Press, Daan Vandewalle, Apartment House and the Aleph Guitar Quartet. James Camien McGuiggan reviews 
Pushing the Possibilities
British ensemble The Hermes Experiment opened this year's Dublin International Chamber Music Festival. Adrian Smith reviews. 
A Deep Engagement with the Tradition
Composer Seán Doherty has recently released 'The Devil’s Dream', a collection of chamber works inspired by Irish traditional music, featuring the Sonoro Quartet, Sylvia O’Brien and Mark Redmond. Adrian Smith reviews. 
A Tenderness Created in the Moment
Lauren Kinsella and Chris Hyson’s Snowpoet have just released their fourth album, 'Heartstrings'. Philip Watson reviews. 
Tradition in Motion: Strung Live in Dublin
The Irish traditional/classical ensemble Strung – Maria Ryan, Lucia Mac Partlin, Luke Howard and Kaitlin Cullen-Verhauz – performed at the Unitarian Church in Dublin on 20 May. Brendan Finan reviews. 
Electric with Life in the Clovery Kingdom
Roger Doyle’s new album, 'We Who Live Under Heaven', released on Nyahh Records, draws inspiration from Joyce’s 'Finnegans Wake' and a letter by Lucia Joyce to her psychiatrist. James Camien McGuiggan reviews. 
Dancing on Either Side of the Veil
Violist Nathan Sherman has just released his first solo album, 'The Gentle Erasure of Time', featuring works for viola and electronics by Jonathan Nangle, Sam Perkin, Linda Buckley, Karin Rehnqvist, Nicole Lizée and Benjamin Broening. Brendan Finan reviews. 
Our Society’s Dark Secrets from Itself: Music Current 2025
The Music Current contemporary music festival took place in Dublin from 22 to 26 April. Brendan Finan reviews the Saturday evening concerts featuring the French group soundinitiative and pianist Małgorzata Walentynowicz.