Focus
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.
Home Sweet Home: Classical Music Culture in Ireland, Britain & America
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 – and what Ireland can learn from them.
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.
Live Reviews: Cork Folk Festival
Cork Folk FestivalVarious venues, Cork City5-10 September 2006After last year’s lavish Capital of Culture edition, Cork Folk Festival 2006 presented a positively minimalist face to the world. Gone were the big concerts in the big venues. In their place,...
Live Reviews: Sean Carpio, Simon Jermyn and Joachim Badenhorst
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 the Drama Festival...
'Goldsmith on his Travels'
A musically unreliable nineteenth-century mezzotint depicting the Longford poet, novelist and dramatist Oliver Goldsmith (1728–74) on the Continet. The engraving, by W. Greatbach, is of a painting by the noted English artist Edward Matthew Ward (1816–79).Goldmith...
The Art Of American Dissent
Singing Out On Us Foreign Policy.