Ireland’s most distinguished string quartet, the Vanbrugh Quartet, will be the recipients of the National Concert Hall's Lifetime Achievement Award at a special gala concert, hosted by RTÉ's Áine Lawlor, at the National Concert Hall this November.
“The Vanbrugh Quartet has brought chamber music of the highest standard to all parts of Ireland over the last 30 years, particularly as long-time resident quartet for RTÉ," says Simon Taylor, CEO of The National Concert Hall. "Its contribution to the musical life of the country, and Cork in particular, has been immense. The Quartet has also encouraged and inspired a whole new generation of young Irish musicians and performed many new works by Irish composers, so creating an enduring legacy. The National Concert Hall is thrilled to be acknowledging the group’s enormous contribution to classical music in Ireland with the fifth Lifetime Achievement Award”.
Artists in Residence at the National Concert Hall and winners of the 1988 London International String Quartet Competition, the Vanbrugh Quartet has enjoyed a successful international career. Based in Cork since 1986, the Quartet has also dedicated itself to bringing string quartet music to audiences throughout Ireland, having given more than one thousand concerts in venues ranging from small country schools to major city halls.
In 1996 the Quartet founded the West Cork Chamber Music Festival and the group has overseen its emergence as one of Europe’s most vibrant music festivals. The Festival’s masterclass programme, supported by the National String Quartet Foundation, offers inspiration and support to Ireland’s younger generations of chamber musicians. They've consistently championed the work of Irish composers and has commissioned and performed numerous new works, both at home and abroad. The Quartet’s extensive and critically acclaimed discography includes the complete Beethoven Quartets.
The gala concert will celebrate the ensemble’s 30-year contribution to music in Ireland. The Quartet - comprising Gregory Ellis, violin, Keith Pascoe, violin, Simon Aspell, viola and Christopher Marwood, cello - will receive their award in the company of fellow musicians and friends, with performances on the night from clarinettist Michael Collins, pianists Barry Douglas and Hugh Tinney, principal double bass with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Chi-Chi Nwanoku and celebrated soprano Cara O’Sullivan.
The programme will feature extracts from Schubert’s much-loved Trout Quintet, Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, Brahms’s Piano Quintet, Mendelssohn’s Octet, as well as more chamber music favourites.
Previous recipients of the National Concert Hall Lifetime Achievement Award include Paddy Moloney and the Chieftains (who received the inaugural award in 2012), Sir James Galway (2013), Dr. Veronica Dunne (2014) and Irish singer/songwriter Paul Brady (2015).
The Vanbrugh Quartet Gala Concert takes place at The National Concert Hall, Dublin on November 20th.
