You finding them uninspired doesn't mean that they are, though, of course
The recent Ireland talk stemmed from me, I'm afraid, an avid fan of his music. It's a small output, it's limted in range, there are similar moods and motives recurring very often. All that only deepens its appeal, to me. He is a composer of the strongest individuality - as I said on the WAYLT thread, he has one of the most immediately recognisable and personal styles of any composer I know, and that is something that I've always valued highly. For that reason I will always rate him extremely highly as a composer. When one factors in his utterly superb technique (he was as refined and fastidious a composer as Ravel, and in many ways is the closest British equivalent, I think, technically as well as in approach) and his often deeply inspired muse, the best of Ireland is as fine a thing as I can imagine. I listed the pieces I thought finest a day or two ago - they are mostly in the piano music and the chamber music; among the orchestral pieces the two concertante piano works stand head and shoulders above the rest.
But enough for now...
