Stanford, a committed Unionist, was aware of the Irish political turbulence surrounding Home Rule before World War I, a situation that brought Ireland to the brink of civil war.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Stanford's music was deeply influenced by Irish traditional folksongs, which appeared in his symphonic, chamber, and operatic works either as original tunes or in synthetic form.
Performer Biography
Sharon Carty, an Irish mezzo-soprano, is an Artistic Partner with Irish National Opera and the 2023-24 Artist in Residence with the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
Composer Biography
Charles Villiers Stanford, born in Dublin, maintained strong emotional ties to Ireland, particularly its traditional folksong repertoire.
Compositional Technique
In 'Daddy-Long-Legs', Stanford quotes Brünnhilde's 'sleep' motive transformed into Loge's 'Magic Fire' music from Wagner's Die Walküre, an opera Stanford often conducted.
Composition History
The Blarney Ballads, with words by Charles Larcom Graves, were parodies aimed at William Ewart Gladstone for his failure to pass the Irish Home Rule Bill.
Performer Biography
Finghin Collins, born in Dublin in 1977, won First Prize at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Switzerland in 1999.
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The Recitals
Shostakovich: Suite on Poems by Michelangelo Buonarroti, Op. 145 - Liszt: 3 Sonetti di Petrarca, S. 270a
