The Drogheda Classical Music series returned to St Peter’s Church of Ireland on Sunday 24 September with a stunning concert from the award-winning French pianist and rising star Lise de la Salle and the Hermès Quartet.
This was the first outing for Dr Gavan Ring as Curator and Artistic Administrator of the series. Following in the footsteps of Pauline Ashwood, who founded the series and built it up to be a favourite with musicians and audiences alike, must have been a daunting task for Gavan but he carried it out with considerable aplomb.
Before the concert began, he treated patrons to an insightful and entertaining pre-concert chat with Lise de la Salle during which they discussed Lise’s career, the great female composer Clara Schumann and the technical aspects for a pianist in preparing the evening’s concert programme.
Gavan was delighted to reveal that these informative pre-concert talks will become a staple of the new season!
Once Reverend Joyce had given everyone the low-down on fire exits and switching off their phones, Gavan once again took to the stage to introduce the evening’s concert. He also took the opportunity to introduce himself as Drogheda Classical Music’s new supremo and to pay tribute to the various local groups – such as Drogheda Classical Music’s local artistic partners Droichead Arts Centre who help maintain the excellence of the series and especially to his predecessor Pauline Ashwood for founding what Gavan described as ‘a bastion of the democratisation of classical music in Ireland’.
Before a note was played this was already music to the ears of the many music buffs in the audience. There was an almost audible sigh of relief in the pews as people nodded their approval. Their beloved series is in good hands!
Lise de la Salle, who has played with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, then took to the stage to open the concert with bravura selections from Cinq pièces dans le style ancien by the lesser known French composer Alexis de Castillon.
Afterwards she was joined by the world-renowned Hermès Qaurtet to play another of de Castillon’s compositions – his Piano Quintet in E flat major, opus one. The Hermès Quartet who featured violinists Omer Buchez and Elise Liu on violin, Lou Yung-Hsin Chang on viola and Yan Levionnois on cello, guest regularly at the most prestigious venues in the United States such as the Kennedy Centre in Washington and Carnegie Hall in New York.
After a wonderful wine reception at the interval, the audience at St Peter’s where treated to Three Romances for the piano by Clara Schumann and the famous Piano Quintet in E flat major Op. 44 by her husband Robert Schumann.
In his introduction to the second half, Dr Gavan Ring described this quintet as ‘a triumph’ and it certainly lived up to this expectation. Played with vigour, gusto and passion, Lise de la Salle and the Hermès quartet gave a quintessentially-nuanced performance of Robert Schumann’s seminal chamber work. At the end of the concert the audience were on their feet showing their appreciation with a standing ovation!
The perfect start to the new series at Drogheda Classical Music? Absolutely! And luckily for fans and supporters of Drogheda Classical Music, the series continues on 12 October with a performance from the celebrated Irish pianist Michael McHale who returns to the northeast with a very special 40th birthday programme.
Michael will be combining more beloved works by some of the Romantic era’s greatest pianist-composers; with stories of romance and heartbreak, from Romeo and Juliet to the Greek myth of Hero and Leander, from love song arrangements by Clara and Robert Schumann to more contemporary takes on love and loss.
Tickets for Michael McHale are €20 (€18 conc.) and are available to purchase over the phone by calling 041 9833946 or in person at the Droichead Arts Centre or by visiting www.droghedaclassicalmusic.com. There is also an under-18s ticket rate of €5 which can be purchased at St Peters Church of Ireland on the evening of performances, subject to availability.
