Irish Chamber Orchestra Tickets

FEBRUARY 2012    WORLD PREMIÈRE
Irish Chamber Orchestra
Gábor Takács-Nagy Director
Daniel Bates Oboe

Liszt        Angelus! Prière Aux Anges Gardiens    
Beethoven    Symphony No. 4, Op. 60, B-flat Major
Jean Francaix    Suite for Oboe and Orchestra The Flower Clock
Kinsella    Symphony No. 10 (World Première)

Feb 11        RDS Concert Hall, Dublin at  20:00

Gábor Takács-Nagy is renowned the world over as a chamber musician, a founding member of the Takács Quartet and has a formidable reputation as a conductor. Liszt's Années de pèlerinage was written at the end of his life and his Angélus! Prière aux anges gardiens, the f...

FEBRUARY 2012    WORLD PREMIÈRE
Irish Chamber Orchestra
Gábor Takács-Nagy Director
Daniel Bates Oboe

Liszt        Angelus! Prière Aux Anges Gardiens    
Beethoven    Symphony No. 4, Op. 60, B-flat Major
Jean Francaix    Suite for Oboe and Orchestra The Flower Clock
Kinsella    Symphony No. 10 (World Première)

Feb 11        RDS Concert Hall, Dublin at  20:00

Gábor Takács-Nagy is renowned the world over as a chamber musician, a founding member of the Takács Quartet and has a formidable reputation as a conductor. Liszt's Années de pèlerinage was written at the end of his life and his Angélus! Prière aux anges gardiens, the first of seven pieces, was inspired by the Angelus. Beethoven's Fourth Symphony with its freshness and spontaneity of themes, its perfection of the form triggered the enthusiasm of his contemporaries.  It was described as the work ‘of a giant who performs relaxed athletic movements with gigantic ease and fluency'. The Flower Clock, a suite for oboe and orchestra starts sleepily at three o'clock in the morning and passes through the day to nine at night. This captivating piece was inspired by literature and science and is performed by ICO's Principal Oboe, Daniel Bates. Finally a world première of a much anticipated Kinsella Symphony No.10 draws this imaginative programme to a climactic close.


MARCH 2012    LYRICAL LANDSCAPES
Irish Chamber Orchestra
Joana Carneiro Director                  
Allison Bell Soprano

Mahler        Rheinlegendchen
Copland        Appalachian Spring Suite
Schoenberg    Pierrot lunaire
Rachmaninoff    Vocalise
Beethoven    Symphony No. 6 Pastorale, Op. 68, F major

March 31    RDS Concert Hall, Dublin at 20:00


The Irish Chamber Orchestra presents a colourful pastiche of lyrical landscapes from Europe and the US.  Rheinlegendchen is the most charming and delightful of the many Ländler among the Wunderhorn songs, combining playful rhythms and teasingly sophisticated German harmonies to great effect.  Copland's Appalachian Spring captures the very essence of an ideal America, one of open fields and endless possibilities. Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire is awash with paradox. The instrumentalists are soloists and an orchestra at the same time; Pierrot, both hero and fool, acts in a drama that is also a concert piece, performing cabaret as high art and vice versa with song that is also speech; and his is a male role sung by a woman! Ambiguity is centre-stage in this theatrical landscape. Rachmaninoff's Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 4, began its life as a song without text. This beautiful sombre Russian melody was adapted for orchestra and has mass appeal. Beethoven loved the Viennese countryside and described his Pastorale Symphony as "more an expression of feeling than painting."  It was originally titled Recollections of Country Life and had a storyline as well as titles for each of the movements.  Noted for her vibrant performances in a wide diversity of musical styles, Joana Carneiro has attracted considerable attention as one of the most outstanding young conductors of today. In 2009 she became Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony, succeeding Kent Nagano and becoming only the third music director in Berkeley's 40-year history. This performance marks her dèbut, and that of Tasmanian soprano Allison Bell, with the Irish Chamber Orchestra.


APRIL 2012    CLASSIC CLARINET
Irish Chamber Orchestra
Jörg Widmann  Director

Widmann    Freie     Stücke
Mozart        Clarinet Concerto, KV 622, A Major
Widmann        Fantasie for Solo Clarinet
Mendelssohn    Symphony No. 1, in C minor, Op. 11

Newly appointed Artistic Partner Jörg Widmann presents an introductory showcase that highlights his many talents as clarinettist, composer and conductor.  He introduces the first of Mendelssohn's five great symphonies written by the then fifteen-year-old composer.  It is the epitome of youth as it bursts with energy.  Widmann performs two of his own compositions Freie Stücke for chamber orchestra - music of glittering, playful variety and sheer sonic brilliance.  His virtuosic Fantasie, inspired by commedia dell'arte, has been described as ‘the most beautiful circus music ever written'.  The hugely popular Mozart clarinet concerto in A major (K. 622), which featured in the 1985 movie Out of Africa, remains one of the best known clarinet pieces of today and was one of Mozart's final compositions.  Enjoy these classic works with the Irish Chamber Orchestra.

April 21               RDS Concert Hall, Dublin at 20:00