National Success

While familiarity doesn't necessarily breed contempt, I think it's fair to say that we tend to take our National Symphony Orchestra for granted. It's been around a long, long time, for God's sake, and it's Irish, so it can't really be up to much compared with foreign orchestras, right?

Well, no, not right, not anymore, anyway. When the old RTE Symphony Orchestra became the National Symphony Orchestra eight years ago, something seemed to happen to it. Along with its new name, it appeared to take on a new identity, and from being an ensemble that actually wasn't too bad, it became one that was really very good, capable of holding its own with . . . well, maybe not the Berlin or Vienna or New York Philharmonics, but with any other estimable and admired orchestras in modestly-sized cities.

And thanks to the excellent budget-priced label, Naxos, the quality of the NSO is no longer just a local secret - its contract with the label means that its strengths are now evident to record buyers around the world. Indeed, three recent Editor's Choices in the prestigious Gramophone magazine have been of NSO Naxos recordings.

One of these is a Brahms/Schumann pairing: the former's Double Concerto for Violin and Cello and the latter's Cello Concerto. It's not only the soloists (Maria Kliegel and Ilya Kaler) who stand out here; the orchestral accompaniment under conductor Andrew Constantine is notable both for its power and refinement and for its empathy with the soloists.

But the orchestra comes into its own on a thrilling Rachmaninov CD that's just been released. The main work here is the Symphony No.3 in A minor, written in 1936 and one of this composer's most challenging and restlessly volatile compositions. This is a test of any orchestra and the NSO, under its principal conductor Alexander Anissimov, rise magnificently to its difficulties: richly lyrical in the cantabile passages and ferociously dynamic in its heated moments.

This is one of the finest versions of the symphony at any price, and the little-known Melodie and Polichinelle make very pleasing fillers.

Just as recommendable is the NSO's contribution (under conductor Gerhard Markson) to a CD of Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme, Bruch's Kol Nidrei and Bloch's Schelomo. These are three of the most famous cello works in the repertoire, and Maria Kliegel captures the panache of the Tchaikovsky with splendid virtuosity, while being deeply moving in the haunting pieces by Bruch and Bloch.

Other distinguished Naxos CDs featuring the NSO include performances of Malcolm Arnold's Symphonies 1 and 2 and of Bruckner's Symphony No.2, while the RTE Sinfonietta under Proinnsias Ó Duinn support Hugh Tinney and Benjamin Frith in a release of Mendelssohn's exuberant Concertos for Two Pianos.

Naxos's full-price specialist label, Marco Polo, is also providing a spotlight for Irish musicians in its Irish Composer series. The two to come my way feature John Kinsella and Gerald Barry.

Barry, a 46-year-old native of Clare, creates music that's never less than arresting but that seldom makes for comfortable listening. Kevin Volans, in his interesting booklet-note, says of one of the pieces: "It grasps you by the throat and stares you in the eye." This is not music for the faint-hearted. Listen to it as loud as you dare, and then some.

I'm not sure if I want to be grabbed by the throat and stared in the eye, but there's no denying the passion of Barry's extraordinary musicscape, and if you want to be confronted by contemporary music that offers difficult challenges, this is your man. The NSO under Robert Houlihan seem to understand what he's at and play with intense conviction.

66-year-old Dubliner John Kinsella is more to my liking. In other words, I know what's going on in his music, and I like what I hear. His Symphonies 3 and 4, which are inviting rather than offputting, are well worth investigating, especially when played as persuasively as they are here by the NSO under Proinnsias Ó Duinn.

Finally, a record of guitar music by the young Irish player-composer Mark Anthony McGrath. Entitled Farewell Jacques Brel, it includes two Brel numbers, three by Carolan and five by the guitarist himself. These are full of interesting ideas but tend to meander a bit at times. However, his versions of the Brel and O'Carolan are winners, and winningly played, too.

Brahms/Schumann: Double Concerto and Cello Concerto. Maria Kliegel (cello), Ilya Kaler (violin), NSO conducted by Andrew Constantine. Naxos (8.550938), 59 minutes, budget price.

Rachmaninov: Symphony No.3/Melodie/Polichinelle. NSO conducted by Alexander Anissimov. Naxos (8.550808), 52 minutes, budget price.

Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme, Bruch's Kol Nidrei and Bloch's Schelomo. Maria Kliegel (cello), NSO conducted by Gerhard Markson. Naxos (8.550519), 63 minutes, budget price.

Mendelssohn: Concertos for Two Pianos. Hugh Tinney and Benjamin Frith (pianos), RTE Sinfonietta conducted by Proinnsias Ó Duinn. Naxos (8.553416), 74 minutes, budget price.

Arnold: Symphonies 1 and 2. NSO conducted by Andrew Penny. Naxos (8.553406), 56 minutes, budget price.

Bruckner: Symphony No.2. NSO conducted by Georg Tintner. Naxos (8.554006), budget price.

Barry: Orchestral works. NSO conducted by Robert Houlihan. Marco Polo (8.225006), 59 minutes, full price.

Kinsella: Symphonies 3 and 4. NSO conducted by Proinnsias Ó Duinn. Marco Polo (8.223766), 77 minutes, full price.

McGrath: Farewell Jacques Brel. Mark Anthony McGrath (guitar). Spartacus Music, 57 minutes, full price.