Press Coverage
Press pack with high resolution images for media at the end of the page.
Performance reviews
"Out of several performances of the Beethoven A major sonata heard over 30 years, McDonagh’s was the most musically complete and satisfying.” |
"McDonagh plays with flawless technique, faultless intonation, and a strong yet meltingly sweet tone." |
Album reviews
"The coordination between the two musicians sets this recording apart, and each sonata is individually conceived. There is a lot to absorb here, and it's the kind of recording to which one will return repeatedly." "McDonagh, who as a child studied piano with O’Conor, is a great partner and clearly on the same level here, the duo being as one with every nuance in dynamics and tempi in outstanding performances." "Cellist Ailbhe McDonagh and pianist John O'Conor coalesce perfectly, as if propelled by the music's undertow, and echo each other's expressive mien with dynamic balance, as if holding a cordial conversation. [...] As is the norm these days, two young musicians out to impress would play everything fast for the sake of velocity, and two veterans would make everything sound overly pedantic. But this ... this is music making that blends head and heart seamlessly." Beethoven Complete Cello Sonatas was Lorcan Murray's Classic Drive "CD of the Week" May 10th, 2021. |
Skellig was "Top Album Picks of 2020" "McDonagh and O'Conor 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." "McDonagh and O’Conor seem highly attuned (so to speak) both to the music and to each other: their balance is flawless, and their pacing has a natural quality that makes it sound as if these works could not possibly be played at any other tempo." "These two fine musicians work together with clarity and love for the music, recorded in clear and balanced sound." It's a Cello Thing "a stunning debut album" It's a Cello Thing was "CD of the Week" |
Press pack
Click on the images to access high resolution copies.
Download: 450 word biography // 250 word composer biography
Download: 450 word biography // 250 word composer biography
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