Three cello concertos in one concert. Music for Galway’s CELLISSIMO Concerto Gala, a legacy event from MfG’s Galway 2020 programme, is taking place on May 11 in Leisureland at 8.00pm and presents the RTÉ Concert Orchestra conducted by David Brophy in concert with three international cello soloists, performing three very different works.
“We could not be more excited about this concert,” says Finghin Collins, Artistic Director of CELLISSIMO. “Ever since witnessing the premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Wind in My Hair in October 2018, we have been eagerly awaiting this moment.
"What a treat to have Leisureland finally come alive to the sound of the cello and orchestra. We are preparing for CELLISSIMO 2024 and this will give Galway audiences the chance to hear the magic of this instrument in its full glory.”
Before all that, this extraordinary evening opens with Co Galway native and Florence resident Naomi Berrill’s performance of a further MfG CELLISSIMO commission, Bill Whelan’s Fragments for solo cello and voice.
The RTÉ Concert Orchestra will then perform with the three cello soloists for the three concerto bonanza. MfG has co-commissioned two new cello concertos with the Cello Biennale Amsterdam. The first, Julia Wolfe’s Wind in my Hair, received its premiere at the CBA 2018 and organisers are proud to present its second performance as part of CELLISSIMO.
Swedish star cellist Jakob Koranyi, an avid campaigner for the environment, is travelling green from Sweden to Galway in order to perform this piece. Gerald Barry’s Cello Concerto receives its world premiere at this concert featuring Galway’s own Adrian Mantu.
This work will have a second performance at the CBA in the future. BBC Young Musician Competition winner Laura van der Heijden finishes off this remarkable concert with the Elgar Cello Concerto, a favourite in the repertoire.
For those interested in the background of the two new works, Gerald Barry and Julia Wolfe will be in conversation in a pre-concert talk at 7.00pm in the hall.
“This evening is going to be a treat for anyone who enjoys cello and orchestral music. Though the iconic Elgar Cello Concerto is famously associated with Jaqueline du Pré, Laura has made this most beautiful and noble work her own in many performances in Europe and further afield, and it will be exciting to hear her take of this with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and David Brophy here in Galway” says Anna Lardi, Festival Director of CELLISSIMO.
Join the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, David Brophy and these four outstanding cellists for an unforgettable night next week. Tickets are €25/€22.50 and there is a special rate for full time students and school going children of €10. MfG Friends pay €21. To book visit musicforgalway.ie or leave a message on 091 705962. This concert is also made possible thanks to the generous support from KPMG.
CELLISSIMO is an eight-day International Cello Festival on the Edge of Europe that celebrates ‘this fabulously versatile instrument with its extensive range, noble sound and curvaceous body!’ - as artistic director Finghin Collins puts it - against the breath-taking backdrop of the region that is Galway City and County.
CELLISSIMO is a new international music festival that promotes outstanding Irish artists alongside celebrated international artists, and that serves local, national, and international audiences. The idea for CELLISSIMO was developed by Finghin Collins and festival director Anna Lardi as Music for Galway’s (MfG ) major signature event to contribute to Galway European Capital of Culture 2020, and to add to Ireland's national arts and festivals infrastructure.
Triennial event
Envisaged as a triennial event, CELLISSIMO is managed as a stand-alone project under the aegis of MfG which has more than 40 years' experience and expertise in music promotion, serving audiences, and in engaging with the top tier of Irish and international artists alongside emerging talent.
This new festival fills a gap in Ireland’s national festival infrastructure and is designed with a strong international dimension alongside a focus on celebrating and promoting excellent Irish artists. CELLISSIMO will augment and add weight to Galway’s international reputation as a festival city and destination.
The inaugural CELLISSIMO festival was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and MfG had to reconfigure the entire programme as an online event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c04vu7jrYZc Despite the profound disruption, MfG were able to present a scaled-down online version of the Festival, which helped to launch the brand as well as giving MfG useful learning and feedback on the role of virtual events in our programming strategy henceforth.
MfG’s goal is to restore the live, in-person festival experience in 2024, and establish CELLISSIMO as Ireland’s newest international music festival.
Audiences at CELLISSIMO 2024 will enjoy sumptuous orchestral galas, solo cello recitals in the most surprising of locations, intimate chamber music concerts, established repertoire and newly commissioned music, all performed by top musicians from around the world. As part of a Creative Europe Cooperation Project, a strong strand looking at themes of Sustainability, Displacement and Integration will run through the festival.
There is an international masterclass programme, a new play developed in partnership with Branar Téatar do Pháistí, devised with and for school children, and the Inishbofin Cello Trail Day, while the Galway Cello shall find its new ‘owner’, the CELLISSIMO Ambassador for the period 2024-2027.
