Focus
Live Reviews: Barry Guy and Mats Gustafsson
J.J. Smyth’s, Dublin 2 / 1 November 2006
Live Reviews: Composers' Choice – Michael Holohan
John Field Room, NCH / 27 November 2006
Improvising the Voice of America
Bob Gilmore discusses the upcoming RTÉ Living Music Festival with Artistic Director Ronan Guilfoyle.
The Silencing of Public Radio
What is happening to the arts, music and culture on RTÉ, the national broadcaster?
Gathering of the Gaeltachtaí
Oireachtas na Gaeilge takes place this year in Derry from 1-5 November and celebrates one hundred and ten years in 2007. Sean-nós singer Lillis Ó Laoire casts an eye over its development since 1897 and its current state.
The Arts: Welfare for the Wealthy?
Is state subsidisation of the arts a tax on the PAYE worker for an activity mostly enjoyed by the well-off? Brian MacGabhann argues that it is, and asks: if the arts are valued so much, why don't those interested pay for them themselves?
Neighbour Relations
Composer John McLachlan's regular comment column on the new music scenes in Ireland and abroad – includes a review of 'Opera', a new CD of work by British composers performed by Irish musicians Darragh Morgan (violin) and Mary Dullea (piano).
How to Send a Piana to Havana
Flautist Ellen Cranitch writes about the unique “Send a Piana to Havana” initiative set up by New York piano-tuner Ben Treuhaft, and previews two upcoming piano concerts, in Dublin and Galway, organised to support the cause.
Wild Air: The Music of Kevin Volans
Originally from South Africa, Kevin Volans was a student of Stockhausen, a close friend of Morton Feldman, and a recording by the Kronos Quartet of his work White Man Sleeps, on Pieces of Africa, spent twenty-six weeks at the top of the classical and world music charts. Interview by Bob Gilmore. Photos by Lucy Clarke.