Score set for Wesport’s chamber music festival

The popular Westport Festival of Chamber Music, which this year runs from September 7 to 10, has announced an exciting and dynamic programme to celebrate its tenth anniversary. In a sign of its ever-growing significance in the classical music calendar, the festival’s launch took place in the National Concert Hall and was attended by Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton as well as Maureen Kennelly, director of the Arts Council.
Founded in 2013 by violinist Catherine Leonard, pianist Hugh Tinney and its then manager Madeleine Flanagan, this boutique festival continues to welcomes the finest of musicians from Ireland and around the world to Westport for a weekend of concerts, workshops, lectures and special events.
This year’s festival will include artists from Ireland, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK and feature some of the best-loved works in the history of chamber music, as well as lesser known gems. The performances will take in a variety of locations across Westport, including the festival’s founding home, Westport House, as well as Matt Molloy’s, Holy Trinity Church and Westport Town Hall Theatre.
Speaking at the launch of the 2023 festival, Catherine Leonard, artistic director, explained why the event is so dear to her. “The festival is a very personal endeavour for me, each year,” she said, “bringing together the highly accomplished friends with whom I have performed all over the world. It is a unique chance for many of them to re-engage, musically, but also socially, over the week they spend rehearsing and performing in Westport, and we, the audience, get to enjoy the fruits of their labours.”
Highlights to look forward to this year include the opening concert featuring music by Chausson, Massenet, Schubert and Beethoven on September 8 in Westport House. The next day will see a performance of Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time by Chen Halevi (clarinet), Julius Drake (piano), Sophia Jaffé (violin) and Adrian Brendel (cello). This evocative piece was written in a prisoner of war camp during World War II, and its performance will be preceded by a reading by poet Charlotte Leport.
Other events to watch out for include a vocal recital by ‘silvery toned’ Irish soprano Anna Devin, an exploration of the common ground between traditional Irish and classical music in Matt Molloy’s, performances by Irish pianist Hugh Tinney, and a concert by 15-year-old violinist Peter Ryan, who will be joined by his brother Liam on piano, two young Irish stars from the Yehudi Menuhin School. In addition to its main events, the festival hosts a number of free concerts, workshops, lectures, pre-concert talks and a year-round schools programme.
“Since its inception in 2013, Westport Festival of Chamber Music has grown into a cultural event that is a unique and valued addition to the Westport cultural scene and calendar,” Minister Naughton said at the launch. “As is the case with all successful festivals, the Westport Festival of Chamber Music is run by a dedicated team, ably assisted by an army of volunteers and generously supported by the local community, businesses, sponsors and donors. This festival is a model of what can be done with expertise, passion, drive, hard work and community support. It is something of which Westport, and indeed the whole of Ireland, can be enormously proud of.”
Festival manager Chris O’Malley also stressed how teamwork and passion form the backbone of the festival. “From its foundation in 2013, when the Westport Festival of Chamber Music welcomed seven musicians to perform at the inaugural event, it has grown into a highly anticipated cultural event that fits seamlessly into the Westport autumn,” he said. “Collaboration is at the heart of our work with musicians, audience members, venues, organisers and local supporters sharing their passion for music in the heart of one of Ireland’s most picturesque and welcoming towns.”

•    For more information on the Westport Festival of Chamber Music and the full festival programme, visit www.westportchambermusic.ie. For tickets, contact the Westport Town Hall Theatre box office 098 28459 or visit the venue’s website, www.westporttheatre.com.