Aloys Fleischmann: His Contributions to Music in Ireland

Aloys Fleischmann played an influential role in the development of Irish Music in the twentieth century. With the position of the chair of the Music Department in UCC, he had the ability to give those less fortunate than others the opportunity to receive an education in music. He took up the role as Chair of the Music Department in 1936 at the early age of twenty four. He had completed his degree in UCC and a Postgraduate degree in Munich, which made him the perfect fit for the position. He made many achievements during his time in UCC which are never to be forgotten. In 1934, he founded the University Orchestra, which gave great opportunities to students to perform. As well as this in 1938, he established the Cork Orchestral Society, which held concerts in the city often. As he had a flare and a love for teaching, he set up the Music Teachers Association in 1935. This did many wonders for education, through raising the standard of teaching which in turn, improved the results of students. He had a close involvement with the Cork and Irish Ballet Group, which gave dancers, musicians and composers the opportunity to perform to large audiences. A very prominent achievement of his is the establishment of the Cork International Choral Festival in 1954. (De Barra, 2011, pg.2) Through his love of music and a massive ability to understand the needs of others, Fleischmann made the musical scene in Cork a much more vibrant and exciting one. Through the use of performance and education, he made music something that was very enjoyable and relaxing for others. He lived a simplistic life which made him approachable to all sorts of people. The following will discuss further, the methods in which Fleischmann used in order to make Irish music ...

... middle of paper ...

...onal Music Archive & The Irish Traditional Music Society, 2011)

Fischer, J; Holfter, G, Creative Influences – Selected Irish-German Biographies, (WVT

Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2009)

Fleischmann, A 'Composition and the Folk Idiom', Ireland To-Day, 1, 6, (1936)

Fleischmann, A, Music in Ireland: A Symposium, (Cork University Press,1952)

Fleischmann, 'Ars Nova: Irish Music in the Shaping', Ireland To-Day, 1, 2, (1936)

Fleischmann interview: 'See Tomás Ó Canainn, Aloys Fleischmann in Conversation with Tomás Ó Canainn. In: Tomás Ó Canainn (ED.), The Cork Review. Cork: Triskel Arts Centre, 1992 p. 15.

Fleischmann, R, Aloys Fleischmann (1910-1992): A Life for Music in Ireland Remembered by Contemporaries, (Mercier Press, 2000).

O' Connor, John P., 1990, The Choral Music of Aloys Fleischmann, Thesis (M.A.), NUI, at Department of Music, UCC, Cork.