The string quartet is no stranger to Galway audiences, in no small part thanks to the tireless work of the ConTempo Quartet. With this festival, we seek to celebrate the versatility of the string quartet and to ‘extend it’ by pairing it up with a variety of different musicians to perform quartets, quintets, sextets and even an octet to finish! Mostly a celebration of the great musicians Ireland has to offer, we have invited a clarinettist, a soprano, a pianist, an uilleann piper and a second string quartet. We also invite our young Cellissimo Ambassador, Spanish cellist Margarita Guerrero Martinez to join in for one of the concerts.

The Midwinter Festival is presented in partnership with the University of Galway
Contempo Quartet is presented by MusicConnects

ConTempo Quartet | Gealán Quartet | Macdara Ó Seireadáin, clarinet | Aisling Kenny, soprano | Aileen Cahill, piano | Padhraic Keane, uilleann pipes | Margarita Guerrero Martinez, cello

Shostakovich String Quartet No. 8 Op. 110
Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence Op. 70 for string sextet

The second short Saturday concert juxtaposes two Russian masterpieces. Shostakovich’s eighth string quartet – to be performed by the Gealán Quartet – is dedicated to victims of fascism and war and is a forceful repudiation of totalitarianism. Tchaikovsky’s sunny and uplifting string sextet in D minor “Souvenir de Florence” – for which the ConTempo quartet will be joined by Cellissimo Ambassador Margarita Guerrero alongside the Gealán’s violist Fiachra de hOra – could hardly be more contrasting.

Both Saturday concerts can be purchased at discount price of €30.00

Festival Ticket (includes all 4 concerts): Standard €75 | Concession €67.50
The festival ticket price is automatically applied once the 4 tickets are in the customers basket. The 4 tickets must be all standard tickets or all concession tickets, to avail of the individual discounts. This does not include solidarity tickets.

*Solidarity tickets are available to full time students, asylum seekers, people in receipt of job seeker allowance and disability allowance. Solidarity refers to ticket price only and does not denote a relaxed performance.

For more details: https://musicforgalway.ie/event/mwf-the-quartet-extends/