Montgomery, Elgar, Sibelius and Grieg at the National Concert Hall

Yesterday evening I once again took the train into Dublin for a concert by National Symphony Orchestra Ireland at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. The guest conductor for this occasion was Anna Rakitina. After an appetiser in the form of a short piece called Overture by American composer Jessie Montgomery (no, not the gay pornstar), the main item for the first half of the concert was the Cello Concerto in E Minor by Edward Elgar. This was completed in 1919 but didn’t really become a regular part of the concert repertoire until the 1960s, largely as a result of the landmark recording by Jacqueline du Pré. I’ve never really rated Elgar as a great composer but I do think that his cello concerto is a masterpiece. It certainly has a great emotional depth than any other work that I can think of, with the possible exception of the Dream of Gerontius. The melodic beauty of the first movement Adagio really pulls at the heartstrings, but thereafter charts a path through varied moods and…

Commenting on Bubbles has been removed. Why? If you want to talk about this post, write to the author, use the comments on their blog if it has them, or reply with a "RE:" post on your own blog. Suggestions? feedback@bubbles.town