Yesterday evening found me once again at the National Concert Hall in Dublin for a programme of music played by National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, this time conducted by Principal Conductor Designate, Alexander Shelley, who takes over fully for the 2026/7 season. He took the opportunity afforded by the break between the first two numbers needed to bring the piano onstage, to introduce himself to the audience which made a pleasant change from having to watch in silence as all the chairs and desks were moved around.
The programme began with the exuvberant Short Ride in a Fast Machine by American composer John Adams which – believe it or not – was written forty years ago, in 1986. It is an exuberant piece based on interrelated rhythmic figures which is great fun to listen to and an ideal warm-up exercise for the orchestra.
The piano having been hauled into position, it was time to welcome Canadian pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko (who has Hungarian and Ukrainian ancestry) for the Piano Concerto No. 3 by Sergei Rachmaninov. When the soloist walked on stage I was struck by how young he looked. He is, in fact, 27 but looks younger. Still, I’ve reached an age when most people look very young. Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 is a monster of a piece – very long for a piano concerto – and also very difficult, with some fierce cadenzas. For all its reputation as a finger-breaker, it does have some lovely melodies in it. Rachmaninov himself realized he had created bit of a beast and cut some of the toughest bits for early performances, but nowadays we tend to hear the whole original score, as we did last night. I thought Jaeden Izik-Dzurko not only coped admirably with its technical demands but also conveyed its lyrical aspects very tenderly. It was a very impressive performance. The audience at the NCH obviously agreed. A standing ovation greeted him at the end, though he looked almost embarrassed by such an effusive reaction.
After the interval wine break we had a concert performance the complete score for Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird. This is a thrilling piece, involving a huge orchestra, numbering about a hundred musicians, and stunning orchestration. The Firebird is a tour de force: intricate but vividly coloured, full of excitement and colour and NSOI played it with great passion and aplomb. A really brilliant performance.
There was an electronic sign above the orchestra for The Firebird explaining what would be going on in the ballet as the various sections of the music were played. I found that an unwelcome and slightly annoying distraction, but it didn’t detract significantly from the performance. There was thunderous applause at the end of the concert but, it being quite a long concert, I couldn’t stay for all the ovations as I had to leave to catch the train home.
In the Dark 