Music Preview: Pianist Fiachra Garvey on founding and growing the West Wicklow Chamber Music Festival, which runs from 12th – 14th November.
For many years I aspired to establish a chamber music festival in my beautiful home locality of West Wicklow. In 2017 I was beyond excited to realise that dream in delivering the inaugural West Wicklow Chamber Music Festival. As with any new venture, one has to take the proverbial "dive into the deep end". Setting up a festival charity was a very new experience which made me delve into my toolbox to find skills I never knew I had (beyond keyboard associated skills!). I was very fortunate to have a number of incredibly supportive people who backed my idea and who I knew would support me through thick and thin.
Thankfully the festival thrived from day one and has gone from strength to strength ever since. The last two years have been quite difficult (for obvious reasons), but as with many festivals we adapted and delivered some wonderful online content. Of course, nothing beats having a live audience in the room and no amount of cameras will ever replicate that special atmosphere.
(Pic: Cyril Byrne / The Irish Times)
While our flagship festival runs in May each year, this year we're presenting an additional mini-festival at Russborough from 12th – 14th November. The idea behind this "Winter Weekend" of music was twofold. Firstly, various patrons had proclaimed that it was a shame to have to wait 12 months between each May festival. And secondly, the long-awaited desire to have live audiences back in our musical home at Russborough. We are delivering three fabulous concerts in November and I’m so excited to see some old (and hopefully some new) friendly faces in the audience!
For the opening concert on Friday 12th November, I’ll team up with Paris based Irish violinist Mairéad Hickey. I first met Mairéad ten years ago at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival and despite knowing each other since then, this will be our first duo performance together. We will present a programme of some of the greatest sonatas ever composed for violin and piano by Brahms, Debussy and Strauss as well as a beautiful work by Irish composer Deirdre McKay. Hopefully this will be the first of many duo performances together.
On Saturday 13th we welcome the incredible violin/cello duo, sisters Kristīne and Margarita Balanas from Latvia. I have known these amazing artists since our student days at the Royal Academy of Music, London and it’s an honour to host their first-ever duo performance in Ireland. The festival has commissioned prolific Irish composer Anne-Marie O’Farrell to compose a new work for this special occasion entitled A Russborough Diversion which will feature in the programme alongside works by J.S.Bach, Ravel, Handel, Vasks and Vivaldi.
Watch: The Balanas Sisters perform Castillo Interior by Pēteris Vasks
The third and final concert of the Winter Weekend takes place on Sunday 14th November and features two of Ireland’s leading artists, mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty and pianist Gary Beecher. The Irish piano world is very small indeed, so Gary and I have known each other for many years and both of us studied with the renowned pianist Jacques Rouvier in Paris at different stages. Sharon and I have bonded over the years, not only through our love of music but of furry animals too! Sharon’s main excitement when I invited her to perform at the festival was to meet Luas and Bláithín - my gorgeous rough collies! They are very musical animals but they love to howl along to any singing so unfortunately they don’t make the best of respectful audience members. Sharon and Gary will present a beautiful programme of much-loved songs by Schubert, Grieg, Debussy, Hamilton Harty, Joan Trimble, Jack Heggie and William Bolcom.
Come to West Wicklow on the 12th-14th November, and experience wonderful music in the most inspiring of surroundings.
The West Wicklow Chamber Music Festival "Winter Weekend" takes place from 12th – 14th November at Russborough, Co. Wicklow - find out more here.
