Limina

Limina brings together premiere recordings of two concertos by Donnacha Dennehy: the piano concerto Limina, with soloist Eliza McCarthy, and the Violin Concerto, with soloist Stephen Waarts. Both works are performed by National Symphony Orchestra Ireland under conductor Ryan McAdams. The album was recorded at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, on January 6–8, 2026, and is released by Nonesuch Records on August 28, 2026.

Each concerto is in three movements. Limina — Head, Chest, Nervous System — places its cadenzas at the ends of movements; the Violin Concerto, Dennehy’s first multi-movement concerto, was written for violinist Augustin Hadelich. The liner notes include an interview with the composer by pianist and composer Timo Andres. Limina is Dennehy’s fourth album on Nonesuch, following Grá agus Bás (2011), The Hunger (2019), and The Land of Winter (2024), which received the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.

Entered for the GRAMMY® Awards:

• Best Classical Compendium
• Best Classical Instrumental Solo — Stephen Waarts: Violin Concerto
• Best Contemporary Classical Composition — Dennehy: Violin Concerto

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• Nonesuch Records
• Bandcamp

joyously unfettered music is a thrill in motion

• National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, orchestra
• Donnacha Dennehy, composer
• Ryan McAdams, conductor
• Eliza McCarthy, piano (Limina)
• Stephen Waarts, violin (Violin Concerto)
• Produced by René Möller
• Balance engineered by Wolfgang Schiefermair
• Edited by Jakob Böttcher and René Möller
• Mixed and mastered by René Möller at Teldex Studio, Berlin
• Recorded at National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland, January 6–8, 2026
• Cover image: Grain — Chiral Fret Sublimation, © Tauba Auerbach, courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
• Cover photo: Steven Probert Studio
• Portrait by Hugh O'Conor
• Design by Ben Tousley