The National Concert Hall presents
NCH 40th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION CONCERT with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra Jaime Martín
conductor
Friday 10 December 2021 nch.ie
John O’Conor performing with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
THANK YOU To all our Friends, supporters, associates, sponsors, musicians and audiences for your continued support over the last 40 years
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WELCOME A message from President Michael D. Higgins
Across these forty years the National Concert Hall has played an integral role in the cultural life of our nation. Generations of Irish citizens have regularly come to the National Concert Hall to experience the joy of live music and superb performance. This building, which has welcomed so many distinguished artistes from across the world is close to the heart of so many from all over Ireland and beyond. Tonight then is an important milestone in the life of the National Concert Hall as we mark the 40th anniversary of its establishment. How fortunate we are to have access to such a remarkable and generous cultural space, which makes an invaluable contribution to our lives. I join with all those who will wish to thank all those who have been part of the evolving story of the National Concert Hall, in wishing you every success as you continue your important work. Le gach dea-guí don todchaí Beir Beannacht Michael D. Higgins Uachtarán na hÉireann President of Ireland
Board of Directors Maura McGrath Chair James Cavanagh • Rebecca Gageby • Hilary Hough Michelle O’Sullivan • John Reynolds • Don Thornhill Patron Michael D. Higgins President of Ireland
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WELCOME A message from the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Tá an-áthas orm an deis seo a fháil chun comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis an gCeoláras Náisiúnta agus iad ag ceiliúradh 40 bliain ar an bhfód i mbliana. Níl aon dabht faoi, ach gur seod luachmhar é i saol cultúrtha na tíre. Since the commencement of my role as Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, I have worked with the Board and Staff of the NCH and I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to support the activities of our National Cultural Institution for music. When President Patrick J. Hillery opened the National Concert Hall on 9th September 1981, he described it as “the realisation of a dream long cherished.” That dream, shared by music and arts lovers nationwide, led to the creation of An Ceoláras Náisiúnta one of the finest concert halls in the world. It is now 40 years since that landmark occasion in the cultural history of this country and the NCH remains Ireland’s premier venue for the performance of live music of all genres. For 40 years now the hall has enriched the lives of its audiences through the magic of live performance and innovative educational programming. As Ireland’s national centre for the creation and performance of live music, the NCH’s live programme offers a remarkable variety of entertainment for all ages and tastes. Located in the historic architecture of Earlsfort Terrace, the NCH is an iconic venue as well as a leading advocate for music. I am particularly delighted that the NCH is marking this occasion with a performance by our RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, a world-class ensemble of musicians, constantly resident in the hall. It is wonderful to have them back.
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It is particularly appropriate to reflect upon the NCH’s history at this juncture, as the hall prepares to embark on a major redevelopment programme that will upgrade its spaces to the standards required of an international music venue. This capital project will provide a high quality experience for musicians and visitors alike and herald a new era for music in Ireland. I am pleased that the Government will be supporting this project as part of Project Ireland 2040, ensuring that Ireland has a creative, innovative and culturally rich society, whose people, institutions and communities are enabled to further our creative endeavour. This has been a challenging year for live performance, both for musicians and their audiences, so I want to commend the National Concert Hall for continuing to provide music to the public even when doing so required some innovative thinking. Finally, I would like to congratulate the Board and Staff of the National Concert Hall, both past and present, for all of their achievements over the last 40 years.I look forward to seeing many more memorable concerts – and, indeed, celebrating many more anniversaries – in the Seasons to come . Guím gach rath ar an gCeoláras Náisiúnta san obair mhór atá rompu. Táimid go léir ag tnúth le freastal ar cheolchoirmeacha iontacha ann amach anseo.
Catherine Martin Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
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WELCOME A message from our Chairperson and CEO
On September 9th 1981 His Excellency Dr Patrick J Hillary, President of Ireland, declared An Ceoláras Náisiúnta officially open. Tonight, we mark its 40th Anniversary. In Ireland, we are rightly proud of our musical heritage and the creative power of the artists who bring our culture to the four corners of the world. And, among the many artists who visit Ireland, we are also renowned for the appreciation and enthusiasm we display for their art and culture. This sharing of art, between individuals and across frontiers, is what makes the National Concert Hall proud of its role as ‘The home of music in Ireland’. These walls have witnessed a great deal of social, musical and artistic change. This anniversary is an opportunity to salute those who have paved the path we continue to follow: from the artists who have graced our stages - old and young, from near and far, traditional, contemporary, classical and experimental; to our resident ensembles, including the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra which is currently transferring from RTÉ. Then there is the wide range of stakeholders, from promoters, broadcasters and the media, to patrons, sponsors and friends – but most of all you. Because above all, the National Concert Hall exists to support you – the audience – in your love of music. Particular thanks are also due to the hundreds of staff, since opening, whose professionalism and enthusiasm, along with their pride in the National Concert Hall, has made this journey possible. With this anniversary, we are entering a new and exciting era. The government has committed to the renovation of the current facilities and the incorporation of additional spaces within the Earlsfort Terrace site, allowing the National Concert Hall to reach more people, in more ways, nurturing, uplifting and enriching lives through music. This will be the start of the next 40 year phase, as the National Concert Hall continues to build its ongoing legacy. 4
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In 1981, the Raidió Teilifís Éireann Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Colman Pearce, opened the National Concert Hall. Tonight, that same orchestra, now the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jaime Martín, will perform three pieces: the world premiere of Brian Byrne’s The Treaty Debates, Anne-Marie O’Farrell’s Eitilt, and Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 From the New World. There is no denying the fact that Covid-19 has made it very difficult for performers over the last 2 years. At the same time, however, it has reconfirmed the role music plays in our lives, as a constant source of solace and inspiration. Over that period Covid has also denied us the opportunity to mourn the loss, and celebrate the lives, of those who have passed, a number that includes, among too many more, the following: Brendan Kennelly – whose poetry was put to music for the launch in 1981 Cara O’Sullivan – much loved Irish soprano who was among the most frequent performers across our stages John Kinsella – composer, one of Ireland’s most prolific symphonists and former Head of Music at RTÉ. Recipient of the NCH Lifetime Achievement Award Miriam Murphy - internationally acclaimed Irish opera singer who had a particular fondness for performing at the NCH due its acoustics and warm audiences Paddy Moloney – a former Board Member, recipient of the inaugural NCH Lifetime Achievement Award, and towering influence on traditional music Tom Briggs and John O’Mahony Adams – highly regarded members of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra who both played at the opening concert in 1981 Shay Healy – celebrated songwriter and broadcaster who loved being both on our stage and in the audience Veronica ‘Ronnie’ Dunne – renowned singer and teacher, appointed to the first Board of the NCH, and NCH Lifetime Achievement Award recipient A poem by the late Brendan Kennelly, put to the music of Seoirse Bodley’s ‘Ceol’ on that opening night in 1981
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Níl fearann, níl tíos agam, Níl fíonta ná ceol... Go where you will You who are listening And listen well Wherever you go The music of yes Is heart-transfiguring And heart-withering The music of no. Hearts are beating In the house of music And they do not fear Their own decline But who is the sad heart In its own darkness Staring impoverished At the house of wine? Are you my father? Are you my son? Are you my brother Or my own ghost? Whoever you are Go bury your frown And after the burial We’ll drink a toast To the hearts with music And the hearts without To the souls that damn us And those that bless To those who listen Or who wander heedless To the people of no And the people of yes. Brendan Kennelly (1936 – 2021) We hope you enjoy tonight’s performance, and we look forward to welcoming you back to the Hall to share in the magic of live music together. Tá súil againn go mbainfidh tú taitneamh as ceolchoirm na hoíche anocht, agus gabhaimid buíochas libh go léir as bhur tacaíocht don Ceoláras Náisiúnta.
Maura McGrath Robert Read Chairperson CEO
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PROGRAMME
Brian Byrne
The Treaty Debates
World Premiere An NCH/RTÉ NSO Commission Anne-Marie O’Farrell
Eitilt
Dvořák
Symphony No. 9
From the New World
REMINDERS Mobile Devices Please ensure all mobile devices are switched off during the performance. Camera, Video and Recording Equipment Camera, video and recording equipment are NOT permitted in the auditorium. 7
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RTÉ NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Patron: Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland
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The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra has been at the centre of Ireland’s cultural life since 1948 when the Raidió Éireann Symphony Orchestra, as it was originally called, was founded.
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Resident orchestra at the National Concert Hall since its opening in 1981, today it is a primary force in Irish musical life through year-long programmes of live performances of music ranging from symphonic, choral and operatic to music of the stage and screen, popular and traditional music, new commissions, recordings, broadcasts on RTÉ and internationally through the European Broadcasting Union as well as educational projects and a mentoring scheme for young musicians. In October 2019 it entered an exciting new era when Jaime Martín made his debut in concert as the orchestra’s new Chief Conductor. With a long-established international reputation, the RTÉ NSO has worked with successive generations of worldfamous composers from Igor Stravinsky and Karlheinz Stockhausen to Michael Tippett, Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt. Among the legendary conductors, soloists and singers with whom it has performed are Wilhelm Kempff, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Josef Szigeti, Martha Argerich, Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Mstislav Rostropovich and our own Bernadette Greevy. More recent luminaries include Kiri Te Kanawa, Bryn Terfel, Angela Gheorghiu, Angela Hewitt, Nikolai Demidenko, Maxim Vengerov, Daniel Hope, Tasmin Little and Leonard Slatkin. Collaborations with Irish artists include, among so many others, Sir James Galway, Mary Black, Lisa Hannigan, Liam O’Flynn, Brian Byrne, David Brophy, Eímear Noone, The Riptide Movement, Barry Douglas,
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“RTÉ NSO has worked with successive generations of worldfamous composers from Igor Stravinsky and Karlheinz Stockhausen to Michael Tippett, Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt.” John O’Conor, Patricia Bardon, Tara Erraught, Celine Byrne and Ailish Tynan. Countless world premieres by Irish composers have included Elaine Agnew, Gerald Barry, Ed Bennett, Linda Buckley, Ann Cleare, Rhona Clarke, Siobhán Cleary, Shaun Davey, David Fennessy, Marian Ingoldsby, Brian Irvine, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, Karen Power, Jennifer Walshe, James Wilson and Bill Whelan. The RTÉ NSO’s acclaimed catalogue of recordings include the complete symphonies of Malcolm Arnold, Rachmaninov, Mendelssohn and Nielsen, works by established names – Gerald Barry, Seóirse Bodley, Raymond Deane, Aloys Fleischmann, John Kinsella, Seán Ó Riada – and a new generation of remarkable voices, including Donnacha Dennehy, Deirdre Gribbin, Kevin Volans and Ian Wilson.
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JAIME MARTÍN
Opposite: Jaime Martín performing with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
Chief Conductor
Since September 2019 Spanish conductor Jaime Martín has been Chief Conductor of Ireland’s RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. In 2022 Maestro Martín takes on the position of Chief Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He is also Music Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, a position begun in 2019 and now extended to 2027. He has been the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Gävle Symphony Orchestra since 2013, and was recently announced as the Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España (Spanish National Orchestra) for the 22/23 season. Having spent many years as a highly regarded flautist, Jaime turned to conducting full-time in 2013, and has become very quickly sought after at the highest level. Recent and future engagements include appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, Antwerp Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony and Gulbenkian orchestras, as well as a nine-city European tour with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Martín has recorded a series of highly acclaimed Brahms discs for Ondine Records with the Gävle Symphony. He has also recorded with Orquestra de Cadaqués and various discs with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra for Tritó Records. He has 12
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also commissioned multiple world and regional premieres of works by composers including Ellen Reid, Andrew Norman, Missy Mazzoli, Derrick Spiva, Albert Schnelzer and Juan Pablo Contreras. As a flautist, Martín was principal flute of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, English National Opera, Academy of St Martin the Fields and London Philharmonic Orchestra. Martín is the Artistic Advisor and previous Artistic Director of the Santander Festival. He was also a founding member of the Orquestra de Cadaqués, where he was Chief Conductor from 2012 to 2019. Jaime Martín is a Fellow of the Royal College of Music, London, where he was a flute professor. 14
“Having spent many years as a highly regarded flautist, Jaime turned to conducting fulltime in 2013”
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FORTY FACTS ABOUT THE NCH
Exhibition buildings, Earlsfort Terrace c.1865
1 T he opening of the Exhibition Palace and Winter Gardens on Earlsfort Terrace by Albert, Prince of Wales, on 9 May 1865 gave Dublin a new concert venue in addition to the established Rotunda (1767) on Cavendish Row and Antient Concert Rooms (1842) on Great Brunswick (now Pearse) Street.
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2 T he Guinness Family purchased the Exhibition buildings in May 1871, agreeing that ‘popular entertainment’ continue as before for a further ten years.
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20 Colm Wilkinson and Rebecca Storm with the NCH Orchestra directed by the US arranger, pianist and conductor Steve Hunter take part in the NCH Summer Proms on July 22 2007 in the Iveagh Gardens. Ute Lemper brings her interpretation of Weil and Brecht’s Seven Deadly Sins to the National Concert Hall on October 29.
2011 sees the appointment of Simon Taylor as CEO of the National Concert Hall. His previous role was CEO of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. The Gloaming make their live debut on August 20 and in November Paddy Moloney and the Chieftains receive the first NCH Lifetime Achievement Award.
2015’s Lifetime Achievement award goes to acclaimed singersongwriter Paul Brady. The year sees performances by Ladysmith Black Mambazo on July 2 and Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell on July 19. As part of a tour marking their 250th anniversary Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra play the NCH with conductor Andrew Litton.
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2003’s highlights include recitals by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, April 9, pianist Lang Lang, October 16 and a visit of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Bobby McFerrin on September 6. The Eagle Star Face to Face Series sees a host of interviews by Gay Byrne with high profile celebrities including Seve Ballesteros October 13; John Major November 8; Neil Armstrong, November 17.
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40thANNIVERSARY TIMELINE
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January 20 1999 marks the first visit to Ireland of San Francisco Symphony with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. US baritone Thomas Hampson performs with Bavarian pianist Wolfgang Rieger perform on April 27. May 17 sees a visit by BBC Philharmonic Orchestra with Peter Maxwell Davies and Yan Pascal Tortelier.
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Legendary jazz composer and pianist Chick Corea takes to the National Concert Hall stage with acclaimed banjo player Béla Fleck on July 10 2017. The year also sees visits by Kamasi Washington on June 29, Kristin Hersch on July 23 and City of London Sinfonia on November 11. Pianist John O’Conor is the 2017 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Acclaimed pianist John Kinsella is the recipient of the 2019 NCH Lifetime Achievement Award in a year that sees performances by Ronnie Spector (January 21), Bill Frisell (February 21) and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (March 23). On July 30 and 31 KD Lang performs Ingénue Redux, celebrating 25 years of the award-winning album.
Robert Read becomes CEO of the NCH in February. Live music returns on June 10 with a sociallydistanced concert by James Vincent McMorrow in the Iveagh Gardens. The Hall itself reopens on September 9 with a performance by the Irish Chamber Orchestra. The official NCH 40th Anniversary Concert on December 10 sees the NSO perform Brian Byrne’s The Treaty Debates, Anne-Marie O’Farrell’s Eitilt and Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9 From the New World.
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Virtuoso flautist James Galway is the recipient of the NCH Lifetime Achievement Award this year. 2013 also sees the Irish Baroque Orchestra, Music Network and Music Generation become NCH residents. On July 24 one of the world’s most respected sopranos Renée Fleming makes her NCH debut with a varied recital that includes Handel, Strauss and Aretha Franklin.
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David Byrne takes to the NCH stage as part of The Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno tour on April 6 2009. The setlist is heavy with Talking Heads songs to the delight of the capacity audience. José Feliciano plays the National Concert Hall on November 3, a few months earlier he received his seventh Grammy for the album Señor Bolero.
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The first Irish concert of Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with conductor Mariss Jansons takes place in the National Concert Hall on September 4 2005. October 1 sees a performance by the Philharmonia Orchestra with conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi and pianist Till Fellner. Return visits by pianist Alfred Brendel, August 21 and Lang Lang, November 2. On September 9 2006 the NCH holds its 25th Anniversary Concert featuring the RTÉ NSO reprising Beethoven’s Ninth and performing a speciallycommissioned work by an Irish composer, John Buckley’s Campane in Aria.
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The first visit by Swedish Radio Symphony with conductor Mandred Honeck takes place on February 7 2001. Greek singer Nana Mouskouri performs to a packed audience in the National Concert Hall on April 17. Pianist Mitsuko Ushida takes to the NCH stage on October 14. Additional performances include Detroit Symphony with conductor Leif Segerstram on October 4 and Danish National Radio Symphony with Michael Schonwandt on November 1.
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Eminent Japanese violinist Midori makes her National Concert Hall debut on January 28 1995 and August 10 sees celebrated German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter in recital. Rotterdam Philharmonic with principal conductor Valery Gergiev perform on April 6 and on December 1 Oslo Philharmonic visit with musical director Mariss Jansons.
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John O’Conor celebrates his 50th birthday year with a recital on January 16 1997 while Brian Boydell’s 80th is commemorated with a special programme on March 25. Welsh bass baritone Bryn Terfyl makes a welcome return to Dublin on August 16. Other highlights include a performance by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra with Andrew Litton and violinist Joshua Bell on September 1 and a performance by the legendary Herbie Hancock on November 2.
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1991 marks The National Concert Hall’s Tenth Anniversary. The year sees concerts by Czech Philharmonic with conductor Libor Pešek on September 16 and 17. The Kenneth Jones organ is installed with gala inauguration by Peter Hurford and Gerard Gillen on September 28. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra perform with Paul Daniel and Peter Maxwell Davies with Evelyn Glennie and John O’Conor on September 18 and 19.
Judith Woodworth is appointed to the new post of Director of National Concert Hall in 1993. As part of a special world tour celebrating 30 years of folk singing Joan Baez visits the NCH on July 3. On July 14 celebrated American singer Tony Bennet performs with the Ralph Sharon Trio. December 4 sees a recital by Romanian pianist Radu Lupu, that same month the Irish Entertainment Awards take place in the NCH featuring Bono, Dolores O’Riordan and more.
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First visits to Ireland of Leningrad Philharmonic/Mariss Jansons on October 15 and Warsaw Philharmonic/Kazimierz Kord on December 2 1987. European Youth Community Orchestra performs with James Judd and Yehudi Menuhin, April 19 of that year.
The Dublin Grand Opera Society present the first fully staged opera at the National Concert Hall with Suzanne Murphy in the title role of Bellini’s Norma on March 31 1989. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Charles Groves perform on May 8 and the Hallé Orchestra with Stanislaw Skrowaczewski on September 6 1989. June 15 of that year sees the legendary Neil Sedaka take to the Concert Hall stage.
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4 /’8 83 19 1983 sees the hall welcome visiting orchestras from around the world including the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Gunther Herbig on January 7, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic with conductor Marek Janowski on July 15 and USSR State Symphony with conductor Arvid Jansons on November 14.
European Music Year sees the BBC Symphony Orchestra with conductor Mark Elder and pianist Peter Donohoe perform on February 16 1985. On May 12 American violinist Isaac Stern and French pianist JeanBernard Pommier give a recital. Additional highlights of the year include Lorin Maazel conducting the Vienna Philharmonic on March 28 and a visit from Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on August 17.
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The National Concert Hall’s gala opening by his excellency President Patrick J Hillery on September 9 1981 is followed by an inaugural concert featuring Seoirse Bodley’s Ceol and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The following month sees a series of celebrity recitals by Galina Vishnevskaya and Mstislav Rostropovich on October 2.
3 T he glass and iron Winter Gardens building was sold in May 1882 and subsequently erected in Battersea Park, London where it became the Albert Palace of Science and Art. It was demolished in 1894. 4 T he Dublin Musical Society made its debut at the Exhibition Palace in May1876 in a programme that included Gounod’s St Cecilia Mass, ‘with every seat occupied’. 5 O n its first visit to Ireland, the Hallé Orchestra gave two concerts – afternoon and evening - at the Earlsfort Terrace Exhibition Palace on 26 October 1878. The programmes included Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with 9 The Civil Service Commission and Intermediate Education Hallé himself as soloist in one and Board examinations were held symphonies by Beethoven (Pastoral) in RUI’s Great Hall but conferrals and Mozart (Jupiter) in the other. occasionally got out of hand. The playing of God save the King in 6 T he Guinness Family sold the early 1900s resulted in rowdy the Exhibition Palace to the interruptions by students singing Commissioners of Public Works on 1 God save Ireland. March 1883. 10 T he Irish Universities Act of 1908 7 A n Act of Parliament had brought the establishment of established the Royal University of University College Dublin (UCD) and Ireland (RUI) in 1879 and the RUI the dissolution of RUI on 31 October occupied the premises from 1883 to 1909. 1909. Concerts and small exhibitions continued. 11 A s the college premises were somewhat dilapidated, extensive 8 D ame Nellie Melba gave a renovations were undertaken recital at the Exhibition Palace and additional space donated of 28 August 1900 in aid of the by Edward Cecil Guinness whose Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Help Society. neighbouring property (Iveagh Her programme included the House and Gardens) on St Mad Scene from Donizetti’s Stephen’s Green South abutted the Lucia di Lammermoor and she University’s grounds. accompanied herself on the piano in a number of encores.
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12 Some additional space in Hatch Street, owned by the HelyHutchinson family, was also obtained, again through the intervention of Edward Cecil Guinness. 13 The Great Hall could seat up to 2,000 and was used for large functions, freshers’ week and conferrals. Although only college activities were officially sanctioned, occasional concerts by outside promoters were permitted. 14 Thomas MacDonagh, one of the signatories to the Proclamation of the Republic during the Easter 1916 Rising was a lecturer in English at UCD. He was executed in Kilmainham Jail on 3 May 1916. 15 Several other members of staff and students were also involved in the Rising including Professor Eoin MacNeill and student Richard Mulcahy who became Chief of Staff of the Volunteers (Óglaigh na hÉireann). During the War of Independence, unknown to British Intelligence, Mulcahy directed operations from a room off the chemistry corridor of University College.
Arthur Griffith arriving at Earlsfort Terrace
17 F ollowing the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in London on 6 December 1921, Dáil Éireann met in UCD’s Council Chamber between 14 December and 10 January 1922. 18 T he ratification of the Treaty by Dáil Éireann took place in UCD on 7 January 1922 with 64 deputies in favour and 57 against. 19 T he final session of Dáil Éireann in UCD took place on 10 January 1922 when Arthur Griffith was elected president of the Dáil.
20 A memorial stained-glass window dedicated to Kevin Barry and other 16 At 11 am on 20 September 1920, UCD students and graduates who eighteen-year old UCD medical lost their lives in the struggle for student Kevin Barry was part of an Irish independence was unveiled IRA ambush of a British Army truck in by chancellor of the National Dublin’s Church Street. The incident University of Ireland, Eamon de left three young soldiers dead and Valera, on 1 November 1934, the Barry unable to escape capture. He 14th anniversary of Barry’s death. was due to take an examination at The window remained in Earlsfort UCD at 2 pm that day. Against huge Terrace until 2010 when it was public outcry, Barry was executed in removed and reinstalled in UCD’s Mountjoy Jail on 1 November 1920. suburban campus at Belfield. 18
Crowds gathered outside Earlsfort Terrace during Treaty ratification meeting
21 With a ‘State of Emergency’ declared in Ireland at the outbreak of WWII in 1939, it was decided the organ in the Great Hall could be a security risk and it was dismantled. ‘Unscrupulous citizens’ gradually removed its pipes, which had been stacked outside the building while turf and other goods were stored in the Great Hall.
23 I n February 1972 RTÉ contacted the Office of Public Works regarding the future of UCD’s Examination (Great) Hall once the college’s move to Belfield was complete. RTÉ hoped the Hall would become its symphony orchestra’s permanent base and principal concert venue rather than the inadequacy of the St Francis Xavier Hall on Dublin’s Upper Sherrard Street for its studio broadcasts and the Gaiety Theatre for its subscription concerts.
22 P rofessors of Music in UCD began with Charles Herbert Kitson’s appointment in 1916. His pupil John overnment agreed in 1974 that F Larchet followed him holding the 24 G the Examination Hall be completely chair from 1921 to 1958. Anthony Hughes, a pupil of Larchet, held renovated to become the National the professorship from 1959 to postConcert Hall (NCH). transfer to Belfield. 25 W ork on the project began in May 1978.
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Lorin maazel conducting the Vienna Philharmonic
26 A test concert, held in the reconstructed premises on 9 July 1981, had the RTÉ SO conducted by Colman Pearce with, its leader, Audrey Park as soloist in Bruch’s G minor Violin Concerto. The NCH was set to be the orchestra’s home for the future.
28 I ndicating the Hall would satisfy diverse musical tastes, The Chieftains took to the stage three days later with pianist John O’Conor presenting the first solo recital there on 12 September 1981. 29 U SSR State Symphony Orchestra under Arvid Jansons made its only NCH visit in November 1983.
27 President Patrick Hillery officially opened the National Concert Hall 30 B BC Symphony under Mark Elder on 9 September 1981with Colman made its first NCH visit in February Pearce conducting the RTÉ SO, 1985. soloists Violet Twomey, Bernadette Greevy, Louis Browne, William 31 V ienna Philharmonic under Lorin Young and Aindreas Ó Gallchoir and various choirs. The programme Maazel appeared for the first time consisted of the première of Seóirse at the NCH in March 1985. Bodley’s specially commissioned Ceol (Symphony No 3) and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
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37 D espite EU funding in 1998, plans to convert the old indoor tennis court – a separate building to the right of the NCH at one faces it – into a recital hall were thwarted by objections from the Real Tennis Association. 38 T his frustration led to the renovation of the first-floor Kevin Barry Recital Rooms, inaugurated on 11 April 2016, as a venue for small and intimate vocal and instrumental concerts.
Mariss Jansons conducting the Leningrad Philharmonic
32 Leningrad Philharmonic under Mariss Jansons gave its first concert in the Hall in October 1987. 33 Following problems with the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin Grand Opera Society moved its April 1989 production of Bellini’s Norma into the NCH with Suzanne Murphy in the title role. 34 Czech Philharmonic under Libor Pešek made its first NCH visit with two concerts in September 1991 celebrating the 150th anniversary of Dvořák’s birth.
39 I n April 2018 a special report, commissioned by RTÉ, recommended that the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (the renamed RTÉ SO from 1 January 1990) be transferred from under the aegis of the Broadcasting Authority to become part of the National Concert Hall’s establishment. The Government accepted this change but the move remains to be implemented. 40 G overnment approved plans for extensive overdue renovations to the NCH in July 2018. This upcoming project will begin the Hall’s next forty-year chapter.
35 On 28 September 1991 Peter Hurford and Gerard Gillen inaugurated the Hall’s magnificent new Kenneth Jones built organ. 36 New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur gave its first NCH concert in August 1996 with the Chicago Symphony under Daniel Barenboim making its debut there the following month.
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HAPPY RUBY ANNIVERSARY NATIONAL CONCERT HALL
While an old saying tells me tempus fugit, I still find it hard to believe the National Concert Hall is 40 years old. Opening on 9 September 1981, it has been my musical home ever since. Having been extramurally connected with it over the past four decades I look back on this involvement as both privilege and blessing.
The first NCH concert programme
There have been so many instances of being ‘lifted in spirit’ as I listened to so much music expressed with love and devotion, and occasionally a little trepidation. Worldrenowned musicians and lesser-known exponents of their art somehow carried me beyond the ordinary into a realm of the ethereal. They deepened the level of my emotional experiences and certainly enriched my life through their endeavours. I thank God and all of them for the sentient empathies they have touched within me. My enjoyment of music began in earnest in March 1953 when my piano teacher at the time, Jane Barron, took me to an RTÉ SO Sunday ‘Proms’ concert at Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre. An all-Tchaikovsky affair, Danish soloist France Ellegaard played the Russian master’s First Piano Concerto under German conductor Winfried Zillig. I was hooked. I soon found out the orchestra gave studio concerts at the Phoenix Hall in Dublin’s Dame Court. Tickets were obtainable from Radio Éireann’s HQ in Henry Street and, attending on a very regular basis, the Phoenix Hall was where I learned so much of the orchestral repertoire, live and free of charge. Who could ask for anything more? While the classics and romantics were essential
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ingredients in the staple diet, there was also a bounty of contemporary works enabling the broadening of one’s mind to embrace the new and untried. I loved the Phoenix Hall but, alas, the aftermath of a nearby fire damaged the building and forced the orchestra to look for a new home. There were some broadcasts from the Metropolitan Hall in Dublin’s Lower Abbey Street but by early 1963, the RÉSO (RTÉSO from 1964) had moved across the Liffey to the Jesuit-owned St Francis Xavier Hall (SFX) in Upper Sherrard Street. Despite the somewhat cramped backstage conditions, the orchestra gave its studio concerts from the SFX platform until July 1981 when it re-crossed the Liffey to Earlsfort Terrace. Bliss.
Naturally this transition did not take place overnight. Following its formation in 1948, the Music Association of Ireland began to agitate for a concert hall in Dublin. To this end, in late 1952 it established an offshoot body – Concert and Assembly Hall Limited (CAH) - to promote this cause. Progress was slow and following the assassination of US President John F Kennedy in November 1962 the Government stepped in with a plan of its own to honour the late President’s memory with a conferencecum-concert complex. This proposal, welcome though it was, negated CAH’s energies up to that time and eventually brought its existence to an end. A number of possible sites across the city were studied but after posturing and shilly-shallying nothing happened. 23
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It took the 1972 transfer of University College Dublin (UCD) from Earlsfort Terrace to a new purpose built campus in Belfield to point the way along the path towards an eventual conclusion. As RTÉ recognised the potential of UCD’s Examination Hall as a more suitable home for its symphony orchestra, it pressed the Government to pursue the possibility. Following lengthy negotiations, the results proved positive with work on the conversion commencing in 1978. It was quite appropriate that Uachtarán na hÉireann Patrick Hillery should be the one to officially declare the National Concert Hall open on 9 September 1981 because, as Minister for Finance in 1964, he chaired the first committee of the proposed John F Kennedy Memorial Hall. Broadcast live on RTÉ Radio and Television, the opening was also screened by BBC and Belgian TV services together with those of the former Soviet Union. It was relayed by state radio in Belgium, Spain and the countries then comprising Yugoslavia as well as beyond Europe in Australia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the United States.
Mstislav Rostropovich
The soloists were soprano Violet Twomey, alto Bernadette Greevy, tenor Louis Browne, bass William Young and narrator Aindreas Ó Gallchoir with the RTÉ Singers and Choral Society, Our Lady’s Choral Society and the boy choristers of Dublin’s St Patrick’s Cathedral. Along with Beethoven’s Ninth, Ceol provided what might well have been described as a ‘joyful noise’.
Indicating the Hall would satisfy diverse musical tastes, The Chieftains took to the stage three days later with pianist The music chosen for the glittering John O’Conor presenting the first solo occasion was Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony preceded by RTÉ’s specially recital there on 12 September 1981. His programme included the première commissioned Ceol (Symphony No 3) of Raymond Deane’s Second Piano by Dublin-born composer and UCD Sonata - another commission, this time graduate, Seóirse Bodley. For this large-scale work, one of the country’s by the Performing Rights Society. leading poets, Brendan Kennelly, The first chamber music event brought supplied a text that explored the RTÉ’s Cork-based Academica String nature of music and its relationship Quartet with works by Bartók, in to its listeners. Colman Pearce, celebration of his centenary, and the RTÉ SO’s Dublin-born principal Beethoven while the first recitals by conductor at the time, directed the artists from abroad came on 3 and 4 performance. October with Russian soprano Galina 24
Vishnevskaya accompanied by her cellist husband Mstislav Rostropovich at the piano. With Dublin pianist John Gibson as soloist, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra made its debut in the Hall on 16 October under the baton of Albert Rosen. With the RTÉ SO, the Concert Orchestra would become an essential part of the life of the National Concert Hall. Belfast’s Ulster Orchestra had the honour of being the first major visiting ensemble to play in the new Hall with its programme, on 18 October under Bryden Thomson, including Berlioz’ song cycle Nuits d’été with Bernadette Greevy. During the opening months the spotlight also shone on Stephane Grapelli and Yehudi Menuhin, violinists from different spheres of the music spectrum, Russian pianists Emil Gilels with his daughter Elena in an allSchubert evening and Spanish diva Monserrat Caballé. The Dublin Grand Opera Society presented Madame Caballé’s recital with its conductor Napoleone Annovazzi as her piano accompanist. Admirable standards had been set and these were intended to be maintained.
Bernadette Greevy
With considerable effort at home and abroad, the target was reached and the contract for building and installing the instrument was awarded to the firm of Kenneth Jones of Bray, Co Wicklow, against formidable competition from overseas organ builders. It was then Taoiseach Charles Haughey’s wish to have the organ fully installed during Dublin’s term as European City of Culture in 1991 and so it was. The pipe dream had become a reality.
The magnificent instrument was ‘christened’ by English mastermusician Peter Hurford on 28 If it had not been realised earlier, September 1991 with a number of solo it soon became obvious after the inaugural excitement that the National pieces including Bach’s elaborate Concert Hall was lacking an important E flat BWV 552 Prelude and Fugue. Gerard Gillen then took command feature – an organ. It fell to the of the console for Saint-Saëns’ Third second board, in situ between 1986 Symphony with the RTÉ National and 1991 and which had Ireland’s Symphony Orchestra (as the RTÉ organ supremo, Gerard Gillen, as a SO had by then been renamed) member, to achieve this aim. As the conducted by Proinnsías Ó Duinn. I estimated cost was in the region of described the performance in the £600,000, fund raising was vital. Evening Press the following day as ‘a luscious excess’ but added that ‘its 25
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festive brilliance was the perfect end to a truly gala occasion’. Another acknowledged deficiency in the NCH’s make up was the lack of a designated smaller venue for song and chamber music recitals. The socalled John Field Room – not really a room at all but a licensed refreshment area with the only public stairway leading to the balcony – served the purpose in a makeshift way for many years and, indeed, still does from time to time. With the appointment of the fourth board in 1996, approaches were made to the Government for funding for the conversion of the indoor tennis courts - housed in the separate premises to the right of the Hall as one faces the main entrance - into a proper recital space. Government’s approaches to the EU for funding were rewarded with a grant of £1,750,000. With plans drawn up and everything seemingly in place, objections from the Real Tennis Association proved a fly in the ointment and forced the whole idea to be abandoned. One wonders when tennis was last played there? The John Field Room carried on its dual function of public bar and recital platform. Within the relatively recent past a further attempt was made to rectify the position with some refurbishment of the Kevin Barry Rooms (KBRs) on the Hall’s first floor. Then Taoiseach Enda Kenny formally opened them on 11 April 2016. Whatever about the sense of intimacy offered between artists and audiences, in my view, the KBRs are less than acoustically perfect and should only be reckoned as an
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Yehudi Menuhin
ongoing stopgap response to the ultimate realisation of the goal for a proper recital hall. Hopefully, the Real Tennis Association will find a way to changing its mind and no longer be an obstacle to what is a reasonable proposition. Hope springs eternal. I wish all involved in the operation of the National Concert Hall ‘Happy Ruby Anniversary’. Over the past forty years I have always found a warm and cordial welcome from management and staff and for this I will be eternally grateful. Ad multos annos. Pat O’Kelly
PROGRAMME NOTES
Brian Byrne The Treaty Debates (2021) This fanfare commission from the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the National Concert Hall serves two purposes: to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the NCH and its wonderful achievements and contribution to Irish arts and culture and secondly to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the tumultuous Treaty Debates that led up to it in 1921. The opening few bars use simple, Irish traditional, modal influences in the solo fiddle and solo trumpet over a drone effect in the timpani and lower strings. This leads to a celebratory brass version of the same simple motif that can be heard throughout the piece. I thought it would be too simple a task to just remain in a happier, diatonic fanfare setting so I intermingled moments of chromaticism and conflict in the harmony, a little chaos to add to the excitement and starkness of the time and to reflect both sides of the argument of the Treaty Debates. Ultimately ending in a celebration of both these important Irish anniversaries. It is a lovely honour to be asked to write this piece and here’s to forty more years for this wonderful Concert Hall and important Irish institution. by Brian Byrne
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Anne-Marie O’Farrell Eitilt for symphony orchestra (2021) Eitilt was commissioned by the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra for the New Music Dublin Festival at the National Concert Hall, Dublin in April 2021, conducted by David Brophy. The title means flight or airborne, air being the carrier of sound, and as wind, it is also a metaphor for inspiration. It is in five movements, and contains many musical elements inherited from Irish musical tradition. Some of these are newly composed, while others directly reference well-known Irish songs and anthems. There are associations with moments of national sentiment, as well as glimpses of audioscape from Ireland’s national broadcaster. Universal themes of joy, grief, and the preciousness of children are mirrored in Ireland’s trinity of song forms, the suantraí (lullaby), goltraí (lament) and geantraí (invigorating music), all of which are represented here. The suantraí of the fourth movement is paired with a hymn, suggesting the distortion of religion for authoritarian ends, sadly common in the Ireland of the last hundred years. The legacy of our national instrument, the harp, is glimpsed in melodic contours of the finale movement. A range of compositional techniques enables the creation of pitch and rhythmic systems, enhanced by occasional use of extended techniques to further enlarge the palette of colours. There are many instrumental solos throughout, to showcase the outstanding individual artistry of the musicians of Ireland’s RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, and to reflect the soloistic origins of many of the musical ideas in the work. by Anne-Marie O’Farrell
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Antonin Dvořák Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 From the New World (1893) 1. Adagio; Allegro molto 2. Largo 3. Scherzo: Molto vivace 4. Finale: Allegro con fuoco
This is a musical piece that best represents the perspective of Antonín Dvořák, a Czech composer who having moved to America and spent time teaching at the National Conservatory of Music, in New York, from late 1892 to early 1895, summed up his experiences and influences in his music and more specifically in this piece. Swapping the rolling hills of bohemia for the urban setting of New York city made Dvořák homesick however. Three years after arriving, he left the US and returned to Prague and his beloved homeland. His relatively short stay in the US however was not in vain. During his time there he composed such masterworks as his String Quartet in F major (Op. 96, the American), String Quintet in E-flat major (Op. 97), and Symphony No. 9 otherwise known as From the New World now widely considered one of his best-known works. The symphony was premiered by the New York Philharmonic in December 1893, and is reported to have been a huge success, described at the time as a “noble composition …of heroic proportions” (New York Herald) and as “the greatest symphonic work ever composed in this country” (New York Evening Post). While in the US, Dvořák is said to have been greatly influenced by his AfricanAmerican assistant and singer Henry T. Burleigh who supported Dvořák in his discovery of American folk music, of which the spiritual was his favourite form. It is this love of American and native music that informs so much of the themes and melodic lines in his Symphony No. 9. The first movement’s flute solo is said to resemble the tune of the popular African -American spiritual ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’. The principal theme of the Largo movement, sounded by the English horn, is assumed to be from an existing spiritual, however it was in fact Dvořák’s own creation. Featuring prominently in the Largo movement it can also be heard throughout, albeit in other iterations. The tune was later popularised by a former student of Dvořák’s–
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William Arms Fisher – who some 30 years later, in 1922, added lyrics to fit the tune and titled it ‘Goin’ Home’. It is often remarked that it was Fisher’s reworking that made Dvořák’s now instantly recognisable theme tune so appealing to global audiences. Henry Wadworth Longfellow’s epic poem Song of Hiawatha featuring native American characters is also said to have inspired Dvořák’s writing of the middle movements of the Symphony. Apart from any references to American music (real or otherwise), the New World Symphony is also influenced by the rhythms, tones and melodic lines of Bohemian folk music and that of Germany, France and Scotland. This is evidenced by the theme in the third movement of his symphony which is said to have sounds of Dvořák’s earlier Slavonic Dances, Op. 46 (1878) which were inspired by the rhythms and spirit of Bohemian folk music. While heavily influenced in parts by the folk music of times past, Dvořák’s New World Symphony was also focused firmly on developing a new soundscape for American music . He has been quoted as saying: “America can have her own music, a fine music growing up from her own soil and having its own special character—the natural voice of a free and great nation.” His intent was clear and the gift of his New World Symphony was a tour de force in realising his vision and charting the course for classical and American symphonic music. Today, Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 is widely regarded as his signature work and remains one of the most popular symphonies by any composer and a favourite of concert-going audiences world-wide. Note by Sinead Doyle
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RTÉ NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA First Violin
Cello
Fionnuala Hunt Sebastian Liebig (Principal) Orla Ní Bhraoin (String Sub-Principal) Catherine McCarthy Ting Zhong Deng David Clark Anne Harte Brona Fitzgerald Claudie Driesen Karl Sweeney Molly O’Shea David McElroy Jennifer Murphy Matthew Wylie
Martin Johnson (Section Leader) Polly Ballard (Associate Principal) Violetta-Valerie Muth (String Sub-Principal) Úna Ní Chanainn Ailbhe McDonagh Anne Murnaghan Paula Hughes Niall O’Loughlin
Second Violin Danny McCann Williams Elizabeth McLaren (Associate Principal) Joanne Campbell (String Sub-Principal) Mary Wheatley Rosalind Brown Paul Fanning Dara O’Connell Melanie Cull Evelyn McGrory Elena Quinn Jenny Burns Duffy Magda Kowalska Viola Alexander Koustas Francis Harte (String Sub-Principal) Neil Martin Aine O’Neill Cliona O’Riordan Margarete Clark Nathan Sherman Anthony Mulholland Aoife Magee Thomas McShane
Double Bass Roger McCann Mark Jenkins (Associate Principal) Aisling Reilly (String Sub-Principal) Waldemar Kozak Helen Morgan Jenni Meade Edward Tapceanu Flute Catriona Ryan (Section Leader) Ríona Ó Duinnín (Associate Principal) Piccolo Sinéad Farrell (Principal) Oboe Matthew Manning (Section Leader) Sylvain Gnemmi (Associate Principal) Cor Anglais Deborah Clifford (Principal) Clarinet Matthew Billing (Principal) Fintan Sutton Bass Clarinet Fintan Sutton (Principal)
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Bassoon Greg Crowley (Section Leader) Hilary Sheil
Anthony Long
Hilary Sheil (Principal)
Marketing & Communications Manager: Assumpta Lawless
Horn
Orchestra Manager:
Bethan Watkeys (Principal) Sarah Johnson Liam Duffy David Atcheler (Sub-Principal) Thomas Bettley
Debbra Walters
Contra Bassoon
Trumpet Colm Byrne William Palmer Charles Cavannagh Trombone Jason Sinclair (Section Leader) Gavin Roche (Associate Principal) Bass Trombone Angus Butt Tuba Francis Magee (Section Leader) Timpani Noel Eccles Percussion Bernard Reilly (Sub-Principal 1) Maeve O’Hara Harp Andreja Malír (Section Leader)
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General Manager, RTÉ NSO & RTÉ Philharmonic Choir:
Librarian: Aedín Donnelly Concerts & Planning Co-ordinator: Cathy Stokes Orchestra Administration Assistant: Olive Kelly Management Assistant: Lloyd Byrne Senior Orchestra Assistant: Ari Nekrasius Orchestral Assistant: Andy Dunne
THANK YOU TO OUR CORPORATE AND INDIVIDUAL SUPPORTERS We would like to acknowledge with appreciation and gratitude the generous support of our Corporate Partners, Corporate Members, Patrons, John Field Society Members and Friends. Your support helps us to secure the future of the National Concert Hall and enables us to: • bring world class artists to Irish audiences • provide a home for the finest in Irish music-making • play a leading role in supporting the Irish music sector • deliver our wide range of learning and participation programmes both on and off stage and • foster the love, appreciation and knowledge of music as an integral part of Irish life.
INNOVATION PARTNER
PROGRAMME PARTNERS Brackaville Investments
Michael and Loret O’Brien
TRUST & FOUNDATION PARTNERS
CORPORATE MEMBERS OVATION
ENCORE
APPLAUSE Earlsfort Group
SILVER Frank Glennon Ltd
PATRONS & JOHN FIELD SOCIETY MEMBERS Deirdre Baneham, Frank & Ivy Bannister, James Billett, Anthony Brown, Michael Bourke, Sharon Burke, Dr Tom Carey, John Carr, Brid Cannon & Juan Pablo Cortes Ocampo, Bernadette Coggins, Denis & Grainne Cremins, Monica Cullinan, Dr Crona Gallagher & Jim Clery, Sir James & Lady Jeanne Galway, Dianne Jamieson, Brian Kingham, Mary Mac Aodha, Brian McElroy, John O Conor, Prof Deirdre O Grady, Dr Rachel Patton, Beverly Sperry, Kieran Tobin, Stephen Vernon
Friends, Season Friends and Supporting Friends Please get in touch with a member of the Partnerships & Philanthropy Team to learn more and find out how you can support your National Concert Hall today: Justine McNinch Acting Head of Partnerships & Philanthropy justine.mcninch@nch.ie
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Emmet McSwiney Individual Giving Executive emmet.mcswiney@nch.ie
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