Benyounes Quartet to perform in Castleconnell Concert series

CONNOLLY, Ireland - Oct. 22, 2013 - PRLog -- The Benyounes Quartet, one of the UK’s rising stars of the classical music scene will perform compositions from Schubert, Benjamin Britten and Mozart in Limerick next week as part of the Castleconnell series of concerts

Under the leadership of Zara Benyounes, the Quartet will perform at the All Saints’ Church in Castleconnell, on Tuesday 29th October at 8.00 pm.

The Quartet made their debut at the world-famous Wigmore Hall in London earlier this year, and are winners of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious Julius Isserlis Scholarship and the Prix d'Exellence from the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève. Originally an all-girl quartet, there has been a recent change of personnel in the group and the brilliant young Canadian violist, Tetsuumi Nagata, replacing Sarah Roberts.

The Benyounes Quartet’s programme features Benjamin Britten, a central figure of 20th-century British classical music, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, alongside Mozart’s D minor quartet and Schubert’s 14th quartet (Death and the Maiden), also in D minor.

Commenting on the Quartet’s choice of programme, cellist Kim Vaughan stated: “Britten loved Schubert, and I feel these two composers work very well together. We've programmed Britten’s 3rd quartet, (his final composition written just before he died) alongside Schubert’s 'Death and the Maiden'. The Britten is such a fantastic work, and I think very accessible for audiences - humorous, exciting, but mostly poignant and very moving. Both (Schubert and Britten) works touch on ideas of mortality and fate. In this sense Mozart’s D Minor quartet, which I feel must have inspired Schubert’s ‘Death and the Maiden’, could work perfectly alongside them.”

The Castleconnell Concert series is an initiative of Limerick County Council Arts Office with assistance from The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon. The series is coordinated by Tony Rogers.

The admission price for next Tuesday’s concert is €15. Tickets will be available on the door. Further details are available from The Arts Office, City Hall, Merchant's Quay, Limerick. Email: artsoffice@limerickcity.ie / Phone: 061 407421