ConTempo to hit right note in Ballinasloe

Galway Ensemble in Residence, the ConTempo Quartet, will conclude its Ballinasloe Lunchtime Series next Thursday, June 14, at 1pm in the town’s Church Gallery Library.

The series was organised by the Galway Music Residency as part of its commitment to providing classical music performances to towns in County Galway. The series also celebrates the ongoing partnership between Ballinasloe Library and Galway Music Residency.

The Ballinasloe series, which has run over several weeks, showcases the best of Beethoven as well as presenting intriguing new music.

For next week’s final concert, audiences will hear Beethoven’s String Quartet Op 127, the first of his late quartets which was completed in 1825. It was also the first of three quartets commissioned by Prince Nikolai Galitzine, an important patron of the arts in Vienna at the time. When the prince said he would pay Beethoven “whatever amount you would deem adequate”, the composer charged 50 ducats per quartet, the approximate equivalent of €4,700 today.

In addition to this masterpiece, ConTempo will perform Irish composer Deirdre McKay’s Mr Shah Stares to the Heavens, which was commissioned by Sligo’s Con Brio Music Series, and premiered in 2013. This piece ponders the universe and the stars, the vast solitude of space.

Admission is free, open to all and early arrival is recommended. For further information, visit thegalwaymusicresidency.ie.