Criticism

The Master's Return The Master's Return Dermot McLaughlin Frankie Gavin and Malachy Bourke's fiddle tribute to Paddy Killoran is not just about what the Sligo émigré played, but how he played, writes Dermot McLaughlin.
The Last Hotel The Last Hotel Dónal Sarsfield Dónal Sarsfield reviews 'The Last Hotel' at the Dublin Theatre Festival on 27 September.
Big Book, Small Back Room Big Book, Small Back Room Ciaran Carson Reading the Companion to Irish Traditional Music, Ciaran Carson reflects on the many ways traditional music has changed in recent decades, but also how much it has stayed the same.
Lives Defined in Death Lives Defined in Death Stephen Graham Stephen Graham attends the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group's premiere of Seán Clancy's Findetotenlieder and performances of Barry, Grisey and Weir.
The Teetotallers in Concert The Teetotallers in Concert Paul O'Connor Paul O'Connor on the joys of live music as delivered by Martin Hayes, Kevin Crawford and John Doyle.
Without a Core Tradition Without a Core Tradition Stephen Graham Three recent recordings of twentieth and twenty-first century Irish orchestral composition reveal a persistent ambition to fuse an Irish musical heritage with European styles of composition.
Performance Redefined Performance Redefined Scott McLaughlin The 2011 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival included extreme durations, music with found objects, non-orchestral music for orchestra as well as on-stage boxing and wrestling.
Effecting a Divide Effecting a Divide Anna Murray This year's Hard Working Class Heroes festival inadvertently made a clear division between better- and lesser-known acts. The result was that some of the most interesting bands struggled to draw an audience, writes Anna Murray.
Mahler Everywhere Mahler Everywhere George Rafael Was Gustav Mahler the most influential composer of the last 150 years? Two recent books by the journalist and broadcaster Norman Lebrecht claim as much; George Rafael, though, feels the question of Mahler's influence is more personal.
No Movement Without Rhythm No Movement Without Rhythm Jack Talty Rian is a collaboration between the musician Liam Ó Maonlaí and the choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan. For Jack Talty at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, the lines between music and dance began to disappear.

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