A Taste Of The Classical
I've already taken a look at what's happening over the opening weekend of the festival on the classical music strand but, if you haven't been keeping an eye on the YouTube channel, or chatting with us on Facebook or following us on Twitter, then you may well have missed the above video.
I had the chance to sit down with strand curator Susan Proud to get more of an insight into her programming of the strand and see what's hot and what's not to be missed. Admittedly I'm not the world's biggest classical fan but in talking with Susan in St. Canice's Cathedral, I've been sold on a number of shows.
The Cardinall's Musick Tallis & Byrd performance in The Black Abbey on the opening weekend should be a real treat given its vocal nature; literature lovers too should take a look at To An Isle In The Water taking place in Set on the Tuesday night with Ellen Mandel performing with the words of WB Yeats and Seamus Heaney (who was fantastic at last year's festival - a real "Bob Dylan" performance, to quote fellow blogger John Morton), sung by baritone Robert Gildon. Maarten Koningsberger & Finghin Collins has been tipped as one show to get to while one of the biggest performances will be the Kilkenny Arts Festival Choir & Orchestra concert taking place on the 14th.
Under the watchful eye of conductor Fergus Sheil, we should be seeing 200 singers take to the stage in St. Canice's Cathedral performing pieces from Beethoven and Rossini. They will have been drawn from far and wide as amateur choral singers paired with some of the finest international professional singers. It's a first for the festival and should be a real feat when the whole thing comes together.
One other group that Susan tipped, and has been tipped to me by other sources, is Meta4. Schumann and Hayden are on the cards (listen to me like a real pro) but on a whole, they're a string quartet on the rise. If there's one thing to be said for the festival, it's a great opportunity to see both established and emerging acts, right on your doorstep. Plus, it gives you the chance to experience something new, classical music definitely being one of the new experiences for me coming out of last year's festival.
Take a gander at the video above, check out the schedule, and (to quote Tom Creed on this one), just "dive in". At least I hope that's the right quote!
- Ken
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