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Ailbhe McDonagh
Background information
Born (1982-11-29) 29 November 1982 (age 41)
Dublin, Ireland
GenresClassical
InstrumentCello
LabelsSteinway, Boosey & Hawkes
Websitewww.ailbhemcdonagh.com

Ailbhe McDonagh (born 29 November 1982) is an Irish concert cellist and composer. She performs internationally as a soloist, chamber musician and recording artist with several studio albums to her name. McDonagh has composed works for orchestra, chamber music ensembles and pedagocial purposes. Collections of her compositions have been published by Boosey & Hawkes and are featured regularly in the ABRSM, Royal Irish Academy of Music and other exam syllabi. McDonagh is a professor of cello at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, Ireland.[1]

Career

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Born in Dublin, Ailbhe McDonagh is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York, USA, where she studied under Steven Doane, and the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM), Dublin, Ireland. She currently teaches cello performance at the RIAM.[2]

She performs internationally and has appeared as a concerto soloist numerous times in Ireland and abroad, with performances at Carnegie Hall, the Yale Norfolk Festival, Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, Great Irish Houses Festival, for the Irish President at Áras an Uachtaráin and on Irish national television and radio.[3][4][5]

As a chamber musician, McDonagh performs with pianist John O'Conor and also in a duo, The McDonagh Sisters, with her sister and pianist Orla McDonagh. She is a member of the chamber music group Ficino Ensemble and the crossover group Trio Elatha where she plays traditional Irish music on the cello.[6][7][8]

McDonagh joined the cello faculty of the RIAM in 2010 and has been invited to give masterclasses worldwide.[9] Her debut solo album It’s a Cello Thing was named CD of the Week on Ireland's national classical music station RTÉ Lyric FM.[10] Her second studio album Skellig was released in 2020 with pianist Orla McDonagh.[11]

In 2021, McDonagh released the complete Beethoven cello and piano sonatas with John O'Conor on the Steinway & Sons label.[12] The recording was positively reviewed with Classical Music Sentinel stating "McDonagh and O'Conor coalesce perfectly, as if propelled by the music's undertow, and echo each other's expressive mien with dynamic balance", awarding it as one of their "Essential Recordings". Classical Explorer remarked that the duo "take the opening of Op. 102/1 to whispered heights, and again later there is a most appealing sense of two-as-one. They find buoyant, almost dancing, rhythms". AllMusic gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars.[13][14][15]

McDonagh released her album Bach: Complete Solo Cello Suites in 2024 on the Steinway & Sons label. It was the first such recording of these works by an Irish cellist. Reviewer Simon Corely from Concerto Net writing about the recording says that "McDonagh convinces with her clear articulation, her drive and vigour, and her very meticulous phrasing. In a very clear recording, she progresses in a firm and resolute manner to the truth and solidity of the discourse, without the interpreter's, or the composer's, ego becoming excessively prominent."[16][17]

McDonagh performs on a Postacchini cello.

Composer career

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In addition to her performing career, McDonagh is also an established composer with numerous compositions and commissions to her name. London-based publishers Boosey & Hawkes have released two books of her piano music entitled It's a Piano Thing.[18][19] In 2021, McDonagh published further collections of compositions titled It's a Cello Thing, a collection of two books of pedagogical pieces for cello. Her compositions have featured regularly in the syllabi of ABRSM, RCM, RIAM, and other music institutions. She collaborates with many composers and other artists worldwide and has recorded several works of contemporary music.[20]

Her debut orchestral work, the Irish Isles Suite, was released in 2023. Each movement of the composition is based around a specific island off the west coast of Ireland. A recording of this three-movement piece for orchestra was made by RTÉ Concert Orchestra and conductor David Brophy in the same year. McDonagh composed and released her String Quartet No.2 'Lore Quartet' in December 2023 which was premiered by the Ficino Ensemble and featured in The Strad magazine's 'Premiere of the Month'.[21][22][23]

The recording of McDonagh's violin concerto The Irish Four Seasons was released by Irish violinist Lynda O'Connor on the AVIE Records label in August 2024. This new work in four movements, each representing a season of the year, was inspired by Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, which McDonagh intertwined with Irish influences. IntoClassical commenting on the new composition noted "McDonagh’s work is the real interest here: taking each season in one movement, the composer weaves together Irish melodies and Glass-like repetition to stirring effect."[24][25]

Recordings

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Albums

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Year Title Notes
2012 It's a Cello Thing With Orla McDonagh, debut album [26]
2015 Trasnán With Trio Elatha [27]
2017 It's a Piano Thing, Books 1 & 2 Composer, released by Boosey & Hawkes [28]
2019 Winter With Ficino Ensemble, released by Ergodos
2020 Skellig With Orla McDonagh [29]
2021 Complete Beethoven Cello & Piano Sonatas With John O'Conor, released by Steinway & Sons [30]
2021 It's a Cello Thing, Books 1 & 2 Composer, released by Boosey & Hawkes[31]
2023 Irish Isles Suite Composer, with RTÉ Concert Orchestra and conductor David Brophy[32]
2024 Bach: Complete Solo Cello Suites Released by Steinway & Sons [33]
2024 The Irish Seasons Composer, released by Avie Records [34]

Publications

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Books

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Year Title Publisher
2017 It's a Piano Thing Book 1 Boosey & Hawkes[35]
2017 It's a Piano Thing Book 2 Boosey & Hawkes[36]
2021 It's a Cello Thing Book 1 Boosey & Hawkes[37]
2021 It's a Cello Thing Book 2 Boosey & Hawkes[38]
2024 It's a Ukulele Thing Boosey & Hawkes[39]

References

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  1. ^ "Ailbhe McDonagh". RIAM. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Ailbhe McDonagh". RIAM. 4 August 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Dublin Musical Saunter". Journal of Music. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  4. ^ "President leads European Music Day tributes to Ireland's essential workers". President of Ireland. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  5. ^ "The Hamilton Scores". RTE Lyric FM. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Sister Act: Talented Siblings Join Forces". Irish Independent. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Ficino Ensemble". Music for Galway.
  8. ^ "Trio Elatha Trasnan CD Laucnh". Journal of Music. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  9. ^ "July Masterclass Series". National Concert Hall. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Lorcan Murray's Weekend Drive". RTE Lyric FM. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  11. ^ "How was 2020 for you? Irish Examiner classical music writer Cathy Desmond picks her highlights". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  12. ^ "Beethoven Cello Sonatas - Ailbhe McDonagh - John O'Conor - Steinway & Sons".
  13. ^ Duperron, Jean-Yves. "Ludwig van Beethoven - Complete Cello Sonatas - Ailbhe McDonagh (Cello) - John O'Conor (Piano)". Classical Music Sentinel. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  14. ^ Clarke, Colin (23 June 2021). "Hope amid Tears: Beethoven Cellos Sonatas from cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Ailbhe McDonagh". Classical Explorer. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  15. ^ Manheim, James. "Beethoven: Complete Cello Sonatas 1-5 Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Bach Complete Solo Cello Suites by Ailbhe McDonagh". Steinway & Sons. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  17. ^ Corely, Simon. "Bach : Suites pour violoncelle seul". ConcertoNet.com. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  18. ^ "It's A Piano Thing, Book 1". Boosey & Hawkes.
  19. ^ "It's A Piano Thing, Book 2". Boosey & Hawkes.
  20. ^ "Music Here & Now (2017)". Alibris.
  21. ^ Paul, Lee. "Weekly Singles Reviews". Outside Left Magazine. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  22. ^ "New Releases (29 June)". The Journal of Music. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  23. ^ Fernandes, Rita. "Premiere of the month: Ailbhe McDonagh on her new string quartet". The Strad. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  24. ^ White, Harry. "Session Report: composer Ailbhe McDonagh and violinist Lynda O'Connor on The Irish Four Seasons". The Strad. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  25. ^ "New Recordings of Note: "The Irish Seasons," Weill, and Prokofiev". IntoClassical. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  26. ^ "Sister act: talented siblings join forces". Irish Independent. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  27. ^ "Trio Elatha 'Trasnán' CD Launch". Journal of Music. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  28. ^ "It's a Piano Thing". Boosey & Hawkes. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  29. ^ "How was 2020 for you? Irish Examiner classical music writer Cathy Desmond picks her highlights". 17 December 2020.
  30. ^ "Beethoven: Complete Cello Sonatas 1-5". AllMusic. 7 May 2021.
  31. ^ "It's a Cello Thing". Boosey & Hawkes. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  32. ^ "Irish Isles Suite". Ailbhe McDonagh. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  33. ^ "Bach: Complete Solo Cello Suites by Ailbhe McDonagh". Steinway & Sons. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  34. ^ "The Irish Seasons: Ailbhe McDonagh, Antonio Vivaldi". Avie Records. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  35. ^ "McDonagh, Ailbhe - It's a Piano Thing - Book 1 (Grades 1-3)".
  36. ^ "Ailbhe McDonagh - It's a Piano Thing - Book 2 (Grades 3-5)".
  37. ^ "Ailbhe McDonagh - It's a Cello Thing - Book 1 (Grades 1-3)".
  38. ^ "Ailbhe McDonagh - It's a Cello Thing - Book 2 (Grades 4-8)".
  39. ^ "Ailbhe McDonagh - It's a Ukulele Thing".
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