ONCE HUNGARY and Austria were among the most powerful countries in Europe - the days of the Viennese court, the Hapsburg family and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
It all came to an end with WWI but the Austro-Hungarian cultural legacy lives on through the magnificent music that was produced in Budapest and Vienna during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.
Galway will be able to relive that era when Music for Galway presents Budapest - Vienna in the Aula Maxima, NUI Galway, on Tuesday October 27 at 8pm.
On the night The Auer Quartet from Hungary will perform Hungarian composers Zoltan Kodaly (String Quartet No 2, Op 10 ) and Bela Bartok (String Quartet No 4 ), both composers were fascinated and influenced by the folk music of their native land.
The quartet will also perform Beethoven’s String Quartet, Op 59 no 3 ‘Razumovsky’ - this is regarded as a work in which Beethoven pushes back barriers and which anticipates the monumental works of his late period.
Formed in 1990, The Auer Quartet chose their name in honour of a world-famous Hungarian violinist, Leopold Auer. Hilary Finch of The London Times has described the quartet as having a “fusion of authority and daring”.
Tickets are €20/16/6 and are available from Music for Galway (091 - 705962 ), Opus II, The Cornstore, or from the Town Hall through www.tht.ie
