1. Opening Concert

The multinational Chiaroscuro Quartet begin at the beginning with Beethoven’s first published quartet, dedicated to a musical friendship. Fanny Mendelssohn lived in the shadow of her more famous brother at a time when women composers were firmly relegated to the salon. Her only quartet is a startling work with an electrifying finale. Andrea Tarrodi, who will be present for this Irish premiere, is a powerful new voice from Sweden, whose music opens us to a new world of dazzling light. Vasks Fourth Quartet from 1999 takes us through the storms and horrors of the last century concluding with an optimistically peaceful close.

Programme