The National Concert Hall in Dublin played host to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra yesterday.

By Andrew Druckenbrod
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette DUBLIN, Ireland -- In the midst of the striking shades of green that adorn the Emerald Isle's National Concert Hall, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra brought the red, white and blue.

Listen in: The PG's Andrew Druckenbrod talks with PSO violinist Peter Snitkovsky over a leisurely breakfast at Bewley's on Grafton St. in Dublin, before he heads off to rehearsal in the National Concert Hall. Druckenbrod visits the packed Auld Dubliner pub in the Temple Bar section of Dublin, where ardent Gaelic football fans root on their team in the semifinal match versus Mayo. The Auld Dubliner pub crowd breaks into a chant. Interactive map See the PSO's 2006 European Tour | View the tour in a popup window Previous coverage Classical music in the land of the classics (8/26/06) PSO touches down in Greece to kick off tour (8/25/06) European tour connects PSO to new audiences (8/20/06) Music Preview: Slatkin saves the day / Conductor is once again there when the PSO needs him (8/17/06)

In the first of two concerts here, the orchestra performed an all-American program of Ives, Gershwin and Bernstein last night.

Built in 1865 as an exhibition space and then used as a university exam hall, the refurbished auditorium opened in 1981. It is splendid, with stout columns, wrap-around seating and a magnificent organ. But it does have a noticeable acoustic flaw. It is quite bright -- add about an "f" to every manner of forte that is played. At its loudest, especially in the treble registers, it was piercing to the point of distortion.

In rehearsal, conductor Leonard Slatkin had told the PSO it will make the best case for Ives' Second Symphony yet. His point is well taken, for this is a composition on the borderline of being worthy to be a canonical work, and performances by a top-notch orchestra make its best argument. Alluding to and quoting from hymns, folk songs and even Wagner, the symphony can be tacky, with snippets of "Camptown Races," as well as profound, such as Ives' exquisite reshaping of "Old Black Joe" in the finale. Flutists Jennifer Conner and Randy Bowman and cellist Anne Martindale Williams rendered the latter with wonderful tenderness.

But Slatkin failed to mention the effect he can have on legitimizing a work, and his interpretations and transitions crafted what can be an assemblage of parts into a compelling sum. Not all Ives music deserves the veneration it gets, but this symphony clearly has merit.

Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" began with promise, as clarinetist Thomas Thompson ushered it in with a feisty glissando. However, in this former exam hall, Irish pianist Barry Douglas did not make the grade. He is an admirable pianist in the Romantic repertoire but was lost in this work. His performance lacked swing -- he played the part straighter than two parallel lines. At times, his passage work sounded more like Beethoven or Haydn, not jazzy or bluesy, as it should. Ultimately this hindered the work, because the pianist must establish the work's central dialectic between blues/jazz and Tin Pan Alley/classical music. He wasn't helped by Slatkin's fast tempo, but it was a valid speed, authentic to the original concept.

The concert ended with Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story," well done when it wasn't boxing your ears.

Before the music

Yesterday morning found a number of musicians out early, before the first rehearsal. Cellist Charlotta Klein Ross and violinist Linda Fischer attended services at St. Anne's, then joined others at a breakfast hot spot, Bewley's, on busy Grafton Street. At the lavish restaurant with a skylight in the center, violinist Peter Snitkovsky, violists Cynthia Busch and Penny Anderson Brill and others had porridge, lox, potato farl, pudding, eggs, whole-meal bread and, of course, excellent tea and coffee.

After the morning rehearsal, most musicians did a mixture of practicing in their rooms and hitting the city before the concert. PSO cellist Adam Liu, WQED-FM announcer Jim Cunningham and staff member Carol Bradac had a late lunch of traditional Irish fare at Bruxelles.

"I just wanted to eat something that I knew I would never get to eat ever again," said Bradac, who tried an authentic fisherman's pie.

And, if you think Pittsburgh Steelers fans are rabid, you haven't yet heard the passionate fans of Gaelic football, a sport that is perhaps best described as a cross between soccer, rugby and Australian-rules football. Yesterday was a big day for the locals, as their team was in the semifinals of the Sam Maguire Cup, the Super Bowl of the sport. The last time the "Dubs" won it was 1997, so the supporters crammed into pubs around town were desperate for a win. It looked good for a while, but the Dubs were nipped at the end, losing by a point.

One fan admitted he was "crushed" by the loss but that there's "hope for next year."