In between, the orchestra’s principal cellist, Martin Johnson, gave the first performance of Frank Corcoran’s Cello
Concerto.
Corcoran long ago established a reputation as being something of a wild man, musically speaking, among Irish
composers. Rawness and roughness are his stock in trade. He prefers the jagged, the shrill, the disruptive to the
smooth, the sweet or the calming.
His note about the new concerto refers to the idea of the solo instrument singing in all registers. On a first
hearing it sounds as if his concern to allow the cello breathing space has created something of a Jekyll and Hyde
effect, with the orchestral ranting standing distinctly apart from the cello’s often more plaintive cries.
mdervan@irishtimes.com