Horn Quintet in E flat K407 - Mozart
Strings in the Earth and Air - Eric Sweeney
String Trio in B flat D581 - Schubert
Friday's lunchtime concert in the National Concert Hall's John Field Room was given by the Irish String Trio - Sheila O'Grady (violin), Elizabeth Csibi (viola) and Moya O'Grady (cello). They were joined by Fergus O'Carroll (horn) and Carla Vedres (viola) for the first piece in the concert, Mozart's Horn Quintet in E flat, K 407.
This beautiful and infrequently heard piece had a persuasiveness which went beyond any other playing I have heard from the Irish String Trio. The performance's greatest strength lay in Fergus O'Carroll's secure tone and agility. Most of the string playing was not of that quality; but O'Carroll's command of his prominent part seemed to draw the best out of everyone, in shaping and responsiveness. The result was far better than in Schubert's String Trio in B flat, D 581, which ended the concert.
The other piece on the programme was Eric Sweeney's Strings in the Earth and Air, for violin and viola. Written in 1988 for the Dublin Millennium celebrations and premiered by Concorde that November, this short, one-movement work is based on lines from Joyce's Chamber Music. The instruments take turns to represent earth and air via two distinctive ideas, and these are combined in free rhythm. I found the mix of fantasy and directness engaging, yet suspected that a more fluid performance was desirable. Nevertheless, the piece came across well, especially thanks to some nicely coloured viola playing.