Pirosmani Quartet

Cork violinist Mairead Hickey leads a star-studded lineup of international musicians. Beethoven’s Op.18 No.3 was by some accounts his first string quartet and from its lyrical opening to its fleet-footed finale it carries the hallmarks of the master’s genius. We lost many of Brahms’ quartets through his obsessive self censorship, but this magnificent A minor quartet is one of the three masterpieces that escaped his fireplace. Sean Doherty’s fine ‘Night Piece’ was written for Mairead Hickey’s Ortus Festival in Cork in February 2020.