The X Factor
Why music is the winner, by Stephen Graham

A Few Days in the Sun?
The rise and fall of the Irish new-music scene, by Toner Quinn

The End of the Critic?
Is the era of the critic coming to an end? The digital age seems to suggest it is, writes Michael Quinn

The Princes of Serendip
Memory works in strange ways, finds Ciaran Carson in his latest article on traditional music.

Why the Arts are Funded
The challenges facing the funding of the arts go beyond the current economic situation. In the absence of clear guiding language from policy documents, and an ambition to try and do everything, arts councils thrash about during a crisis, wreaking bigger change than the numbers alone would justify. All artists can do is read the tea-leaves after the cup of funding is drained, writes John McLachlan

Beyond Murder
A new book on the composer Gesualdo shows that the composer was centuries ahead of his time, writes Raymond Deane

Like Smoke
The Orchestra of St Cecilia’s ten-year series of Johann Sebastian Bach’s church cantatas culminated this year. Benedict Schlepper-Connolly reflects on their allure.

That's All There Is
Garrett Sholdice discovers an opera that finally feels like the best cinema.

From Memory
Morton Feldman was closely associated with a number of visual artists, particularly those of the New York School. This aspect of his work will be the subject of a new exhibition at the Irish Museum for Modern Art in April–June 2010. A collection of essays will also be published, including this memoir by composer Kevin Volans

Wagner, Inc.
In a masterful self-promotional effort that began in his twenties and lasted for the remainder of his career, Richard Wagner managed to develop himself into a ‘brand’ – a name, look, ideology and product that continues today. Nicholas Vazsonyi examines the innovative ways in which the composer achieved this, using every means available.

Mo Chluais Oscailte
Breandán Ó hEaghra tells how he discovers new sounds