Fortnight Publications Ltd.

Solo Piano by John O'ConnorReview by: Michael QuinnFortnight, No. 343 (Oct., 1995), p. 41Published by: Fortnight Publications Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25558615 .

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ea6 cally controversial and musically problematic a piece now as it did some 35 years ago at its premiere. Like most modern operas it re lies, perhaps too readily, on its theatrical context to communi cate and this makes for obvious difficulties with even a live record ing such as this. Even so, this is a remarkable if not always fully ar ticulated event that grates in ex actly the right way. If the production seems a touch irasci ble and the performances bloom and blur in the wrong way from time to time, it's only to be ex pected in this, the most caustic opera in the contemporary reper toire.

Michael Quinn

Bloomin' Lumen

Micheal O'Suilleabhain

Between Worlds Venture CD VE 926

Before Bill Whelan there was Micheal 0 Suilleabhain, the ac knowledged begetter of much that is good and, more crucially, listenable to in modern Irish mu sic. A pity, then, that this greatest hits collection doesn't do full jus tice to the breadth of the man's

inventivenqss or the innovation of much of his music. Kicking off with the 'diddley-aye'-ish Oiche Nollagperhaps wasn't a good idea, nor was trumpeting the inclusion of the damp squib of last year's overblown Eurovision interval filler, Lumen. There are good things here, not least the solo pi ano contribution of 0 Suilleabhain himself threading its way through the disc like a strong, supportive spine and the creative compound of traditional rhythms, dancing piano and classical shapes that punctuate the albuim, but the unrelenting jauntiness- Brian Boru is more reminiscent of Barry

Fitzgerald than the legendary High King - begins to pale very quickly and the restilt is some thing that only dedicated aficio nados will find tolerable.

Michael Quinn

Comedy co.

Comedy preview

Dublin Theatre Festival

Tihree comedy acts - none of them Irish - appear at this year's

Dublin Theatre Festival. Julian Clary plays the Olympia

from Monday, October 2nd to Saturday 7th (8 p.m.). Julian still encourages nerves-induced deri sion from older lad types, but he has won popularity far beyond the Channel 4-watching public

which first fell for him. He has caused something of a revolution over the years by making overtly 'queer' comedy acceptable to a

wide audience. In his tour show My Boyfriend's Back, Julian will be peddling the same formula that brought him initial success (camp gags, double entendres etc.), but if he has lost some of his original ity and cutting-edge appeal, he still manages to woo audiences

with two basic ingredients of com edy - charm and wit.

For those of you who were too busy growing up to have noticed the embarrassments of the Seven ties - and I'm not talking about

Watergate or Vietnam - Austral ian comic Bob Downe provides an education of sorts as he sings his way through the decade, clad in flares, polyester and sequins. If

Australia wants to shake off the image of a beer-drinking, croco dile-wrestling, non-T-shirt-chang ing, pommy-bashing nation, its

export of kitsch comedy (viz. Dame Edna, Bjorn Again and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) is doing no harm. Bob Downe plays the Olympia on Thtursday, Octo ber5th and Friday 6th ( 1 1.30p.m.).

Eddie Izzard is more the tradi tional stanid-tip (though he is not averse to dressing uip and paint ing his fingern-ails), cuilling mate rial from the banalities of modern life. The difference is that he dloes it better than nearly anyR other tradtitional standl-tip aroulnd. On his last v isit to Dulblin, Iz.Xardl broulght the houlse down1, with his brilliant, hilariouls anld off-the-wall brandt of comledly. cEddie liz.ardl plays the G;aiety on Fridlay Octo ber, 6th ande Satulrday 7th (8p.m.) .

Conor Goodman

Solo Piano

John O'Connor

Autumn Songs: Popular works

for solo piano

Telarc CD - 80391

DublinerJohn O'Connor's new recital of popular - i.e. tuneful - solo works for piano isn't going to light the fires of any revolution,

but it will certainly provide some warmthduringthecomingmonths for those who prefer their music to be as mellow as the season's poeticmists. O'Connor's relation ship with the American label Telarc has long been a fruitful one and this eloquent and unas suming compendium of core rep ertoire pieces is further expression of his nimble technique, idiomatic intelligence and often sublimely understated musicality. Through out this beautifully recorded al bum, O'Connor plays with a gossamer delicacy, particularly noticeable on Debussy's captivat ing miniature La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin which is worth the asking price of the disc alone.

Michael Quinn The video still below is taken from CLEANING THE MIRROR, part

of a multi-media exhibition by Marina Abramovic showing at

The Irish Museum of Modern Art until December 1.

Is'M

Ak ss

OCTOBER 1995 FO R T N I G H T 41

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