Pitting the cello, as lone climber, against the heavens-touching vastness of mountains, Belfast-based composer Anselm McDonnell’s new cello concerto premieres in Dublin

Anselm McDonnell

Belfast-based composer Anselm McDonnell appeared on these pages earlier this year with my review of his third album, Politics of the Imagination, featuring music where political commentary and sheer playfulness combine with a serious purpose. Now there is a chance to hear a major new work of his live, when his Cello Concerto No. 1 ‘Hostile Summits’ is premiered by cellist Martin Johnson with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (NSOI), conductor Ryan McAdams at National Concert Hall, Dublin, on 30 January 2026.

The concerto is a commission from the NSOI. Martin Johnson is a long-time collaborator of Anselm McDonnell’s, with Johnson appearing on McDonnell’s debut album Light of Shore in 2021 [see my review]. 

McDonnell is a keen hiker and for him the concerto ‘explores different aspects of our relationship with mountains, from their might and terrifying beauty to their symbolism as places of divine power’. The work pits the cello, as lone climber, against the ‘heavens-touching vastness of mountains, their forbidding majesty’, whilst the final movement references Christ’s Transfiguration, descending from the heights to heal a sick child.

McDonnell describes the work as having a huge amount of drama in it, along with some unusual uses of the orchestra.

Anselm McDonnell’s Cello Concerto No. 1 ‘Hostile Summits’  is premiered by Martin Johnson, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and Ryan McAdams along with music by Wagner and Tchaikovsky at National Concert Hall, Dublin, on 30 January 2026. Full details from the concert hall’s website.