|
Deirdre Cadogan
Clarinet Irish/Dutch Age: 23 Carl Maria von Weber Béla Kovács |
Deirdre Cadogan is a fourth-year BMus student at MTU Cork School of Music (CSM), studying clarinet with Pat O’Keeffe and double bass with David Whitla.
Deirdre has performed with various ensembles, including the IYWE, NYOI, CSM Project Orchestras, Cork Concert Orchestra, and participated in side-by-side projects with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra. Since 2019, she has been the principal clarinetist of the CSM Symphony Orchestra, and recently performed Stravinsky’s Firebird at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. Deirdre started playing clarinet at age six with Eamonn Cahill in Kilkenny, and has since won numerous awards, including the Senior Clarinet Competition twice at the Kilkenny Music Festival. She has also competed in the CSM Advanced Concerto and Advanced Recital Competitions. In 2019, she received an Arts Award for Music from the LOETB. As a chamber musician, Deirdre has performed in clarinet trios, baroque ensembles, and recently played part of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet at the Ortús Chamber Music Festival. She also plays clarinet and tenor saxophone with the CSM Jazz Big Band, performing at events like the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival and in Woolwich Works in London, where the band received a masterclass from Callum Au. |
| Programme Notes
Carl Maria von Weber, a pioneering German Romantic composer, is renowned for his operas and significant contributions to the clarinet repertoire. His Grand Duo Concertant (1815-16), was his final clarinet work. Unlike his other compositions, this piece is equally virtuosic for both clarinet and piano – a “double concerto without orchestra.” The second movement, Andante con moto, is expressive and dark, while the final Rondo is lively and energetic, featuring virtuosic passages for both instruments. This was one of the first clarinet pieces she ever heard, and in been in love with it ever since. Hungarian composer and clarinettist Béla Kovács composed Hommage à Manuel De Falla (1994) in the style of a traditional Spanish flamenco dance, drawing on Manuel de Falla’s folkloric themes. Deirdre chose to play this piece as she has vivid memories of a flamenco guitar concert in Amsterdam with her aunt. It was the first non-traditionally classical concert that really inspired her. The unaccompanied clarinet mimics various instruments, from trumpet fanfares to the sound of Spanish guitar strumming. In just four short minutes, a diverse range of moods and colours are explored. |
|
