Weber & Brahms at the National Concert Hall

It had been a month since my last visit to the National Concert Hall in Dublin, as I have had many distractions recently, so I was pleased to find the time yesterday evening to go again. The walk through Dublin was very pleasant in the fine weather, with lots of people outside the bars and pubs having a drink and enjoying the sunshine. National Symphony Orchestra Ireland was conducted for the occasion by Peter Whelan for a concert of two pieces by Johannes Brahms either side of the Clarinet Concerto No. 1 by Carl Maria von Weber. When I first started writing this blog years ago, I mentioned that I didn’t really get why people think Brahms is so good. It’s not that I actively dislike Brahms, it’s just that I don’t find that he moves me as much as many other composers and so many people rave about him that I think I must be missing something. Anyway, I have persevered and now enjoy at least some of his music. The Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn was written in 1873, when Brahms was…