The Vanbrugh, often styled The Vanbrugh and Friends and previously the RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet, is an Irish classical musical group. The resident string quartet to
Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's national broadcasting service, until 2013, and collectively artists-in-residence to
University College Cork
University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork.
The university was founded in 1845 as one ...
, the Quartet members were also founders of the
West Cork Chamber Music Festival.
Organisation and history
The group comprises Keith Pascoe on violins, Simon Aspell on viola and Christopher Marwood with cello, and they add 1-2 members for each performance. The quartet was co-founded with Gregory Ellis and was is part of
RTÉ Performing Groups
RTÉ Performing Groups was a group, operating over many years, of five classical ensembles, part of the Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). All but the string quartet (originally the Vanbrugh Quartet, the ConTempo Quartet from ...
.
The Vanbrugh Quartet also broadcasts frequently for
BBC Radio 3 and performs regularly at London's
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...
and
South Bank.
Past appearances include concerts in Berlin (Konzerthaus), Amsterdam (
Concertgebouw
The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls in ...
), Hungary (Liszt Academy), Poland (Lancut Festival), Spain (Galicia Festival), Flanders Festival, Menuhin Festival, Gstaad plus numerous visits to Scandinavia where recordings were made of the complete Beethoven quartets. The quartet tours the USA on a regular basis with performances in
Carnegie Hall, New York and the
Kennedy Center
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
in Washington.
Recordings
Hyperion released two Vanbrugh Quartet CDs of chamber music by
Charles Villiers Stanford
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was educated at the ...
. The Quartet's recent recording of three of
Boccherini
Ridolfo Luigi Boccherini (, also , ; 19 February 1743 – 28 May 1805) was an Italian composer and cellist of the Classical era whose music retained a courtly and ''galante'' style even while he matured somewhat apart from the major European ...
’s cello quintets on Hyperion was featured as Editor's Choice in Gramophone Magazine.
Other recent CDs include Metronome's second CD devoted to the music of Belfast composer Piers Hellawell, a Black Box release of Ian Wilson's three quartets and a recording for Hyperion of works for quartet and soprano by
John Tavener
Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious works. Among his best known works are '' The Lamb'' (1982), ''The Protecting Veil'' (1988), and '' Song ...
. These recordings join a discography of twenty-one releases which includes the complete Beethoven Quartets and works by Haydn, Schubert, Dvořák, Janáček, Dohnányi,
E.J. Moeran,
Robert Simpson, John Tavener, John McCabe, John Kinsella,
Raymond Deane
Raymond Deane (born 27 January 1953) is an Irish composer and co-founder of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Biography
Deane was born in Tuam, County Galway and brought up on Achill Island, County Mayo. From 1963 he lived in Dublin, ...
,
Brian Boydell and Walter Beckett.
See also
*
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO; previously known as RTÉ Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra) is the largest professional orchestra in Ireland. Housed at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, since January 2022, it used ...
*
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is one of the two full-time professional radio orchestras in Ireland that are part of RTÉ, the national broadcasting station. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestr ...
*
RTÉ Philharmonic Choir
The RTÉ Philharmonic Choir is an Irish choir, part of Irish public broadcaster RTÉ.
Organisation
The choir is part of RTÉ Performing Groups, and the chorus master is Mark Hindley.
The choir members, all of whom commit their services entirely ...
*
RTÉ Cór na nÓg
References
External links
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rte Vanbrugh Quartet
Classical music in Ireland
Vanbrugh Quartet
The Vanbrugh, often styled The Vanbrugh and Friends and previously the RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet, is an Irish classical musical group. The resident string quartet to Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's national broadcasting service, until 2013, ...
Musical groups from Cork (city)
String quartets