The Phil Presents the Bram Stoker Club in association with DU Music: “Shostakovich: Composer, Supporter or Dissident”, a paper by Helen McCormack
Hilary Hogan | Contributing Writer
He is known in Russia for his operatic work, chamber music, jazz suites, and above all, his symphonies. A controversial figure in the Soviet Union, he had a tumultuous relationship with the government. Despite allegedly weaving anti establishment messages throughout his work, his music continued to receive acclaim throughout the USSR, and he was honoured frequently during his lifetime by the Soviets.
Ultimately, despite a number of political controversies, (include a scathing review of his work in the Pravda¸ rumoured to have been penned by Stalin himself) his work came to symbolise an era in Soviet Russia; so much so that his was the first piece of music to be played when the Soviets succeeded in sending a satellite to space, and his music came to symbolise the patriotic efforts of the Russian people during World War II.
The cosy, casual atmosphere of the Bram is the perfect place to curl up and enjoy listening to a talk on a fascinating figure. Although the paper itself argues that Shosatovich was a dissident underneath a façade of loyalty to the Soviet government, his life is such a mystifying mix of seemingly contradictory events that it is impossible to definitively decide. Ultimately, this is one mystery that will never be satisfactorily solved, so the audience is left with a tantalising brain teaser to ponder.
The event does suffer somewhat from a lack of focused exposure to the topic in question – our interest is piqued in Shostakovich, but poor acoustics make it difficult for the audience to hear a recording of his music. Normally, this is precisely what sets the Bram apart from any other talk or lecture – it does not conform to the rigid formality that we have come to expect from other college events. However, given that Shosatokovich’s music is the focal point of the presentation, an accompanying soundtrack would have pulled everything together, given that the event was in conjuncture with DU Music Society. That aside, the detailed analysis of Shostakovich’s intriguing life was nothing if not impressive, and it bodes well for the year ahead. Up next, a cyborg.
Anne Enright visits DU Players (01/10/14)
Sheila Naughton | Contributing Writer
As the apparently unassuming Anne Enright entered the DU Players’ Theatre on Tuesday the 30th September 2014, the immediate atmosphere was one of familiarity and comfort. Her blue converse, and the placing of her feet onto her chair indicated she was at home, and of course she was. As a past student of Trinity College and a Players member, she spent a lot of time in that room.
The interview, by Chris Morash, Professor of English in Trinity, began with a brief discussion on Enright’s schooling days. Speaking about her career in RTE, Enright was open and honest about the difficulties she encountered. Having completed a Masters in Creative Writing she produced a show called ‘Nighthawks’. Although many of the audience were too young to have ever seen ‘Nighthawks’, it was amusing to hear of RTE’s frustration at its lack of control over the production. However, for Enright the 1990’s brought about unwanted change in the industry and, in her own words, she ‘fell apart’, and left RTE.
Following this breakdown, her first novel was published in 1995 – ‘The Wig My Father Wore’.
Enright revealed that she feels some of her best writing is done when coming out of or going into a state of depression. When asked if it became easier to write as you became more experienced, Enright remarked the technicalities become more familiar and that she developed the ability to cut something that was not right for the story even if it hurt. Enright was complimentary of the new writers that have emerged since the recession, commenting that it was a good thing for Irish writing because more people had less to do, so they wrote. She does not believe that awards mean you are a good writer; they don’t make the next book any easier or automatically brilliant and she still has to think, ’Fuck, what do I do now?’
The interview was relaxed and enjoyable and she spoke with honesty, warmth and humour. She is an inspiring woman, especially to us Arts students, giving hope that there are jobs out there. One quote that will stick with me as a Drama student is, she decided to study English because ‘I wanted to be useless in the most specific way.’ So, I think I will adopt this as my new mantra.
The Zoo Soc Bat Walk (02/10/14)
Amy Corkery | Contributing Writer
We entered the park through Castleknock Gate and the committee lead us to a large patch of trees near Farmleigh House to begin searching for bats! We gathered into small groups with a member of Committee each having a bat detector. They taught us how to use the dectectors – we had to set it to specific frequencies to detect different breeds of bat. There were 3 breeds that we had to look out for: Leisler, Daubenton and Pipstrelle.
We then started to use the bat detectors; when the bats came close, the bat detectors started beeping so we knew they were near. Sooner than anyone anticipated, there were bats flying around us! There were a few swooping close to our heads and everyone was very excited, with a buzz of delight coming from the whole group. We then changed the frequency to see if we could pick up the sound of any Pipstrelles, as we were told that they did live in the park but it was very rare to see them. It turned out we were very lucky, as soon after we switched the frequency setting, it started to beep!
We stayed by the trees for some time, watching the bats flying around us and chatting. It was very dark by this stage and we could only see the bats when they were silhouetted against the night sky, which was a really beautiful sight. The bats were much smaller than I had expected them to be, but that just made them even cuter!
While we were watching the bats, we noticed a herd of deer running through the park beyond the trees. Unfortunately it was too dark to get a good photo, but it was magnificent and a lovely surprise.
Suddenly, it was time to head home. We had been there for much longer than it seemed. You know the saying: Time flies when you’re having fun! Thanks to Zoo Soc for all their work, and making it a great excursion to the park.
Paul Behan | Societies Editor
Next week The Bram Stoker Club have cyborg artist Neil Harbisson popping in on Tuesday at half two, DU Music are hosting an open Open Mic Night on Wednesday at eight, Players have an Auditions Workshop with Nicholas Johnson (the drama school’s resident dashing dreamboat) on Friday at ten and I’m sure Zoo Soc will have something wild in the works.
Tune in next week as we slowly get more comfortable in leveling arbitrary / unconstructive criticism on the hard work of others.
P
xxx
Photo by Claire Bushell for DU Zoological Society
