They created such a stir following their London dèbut at Wigmore Hall, they were asked to open the BBC’s International Chamber Music Broadcast Series in January 2006. Later that summer, they took the Bantry House audience by storm and created an army of fans following acclaimed performances at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival. In June 2007, they premiered Optical Identity, a collaborative production with Theatre Cryptic (Scotland) commissioned by the Singapore Arts Festival. The European premiere took place at the Edinburgh International Festival in August, and the production then travelled to the Alicante International Contemporary Music Festival in Spain before touring Scotland in October and November. The T’ang Quartet is now Quartet-in-Residence at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore. ‘T’ang’ symbolizes the golden age of the arts in Asia - the Tang Dynasty, and is also an acronym of the players’ surnames. Members of T’ANG QUARTET play instruments on generous loan from the Rin Collection and Mr. Jiri Heger.

The quartet has enjoyed collaborations with such artists as the Vanbrugh, Vogler and Belcea String Quartets, double-bassist Edgar Meyer, pianist Barry Douglas, the Paris-Bastille Wind Octet and jazz guitarist John Abercrombie. Awarded a Special Prize at the 2002 Paulo Bociani String Quartet Competition for their performance of Haydn, they have just released a recording of Ian Wilson’s works for string quartet on commercial release by Riverrun records. The Callino Quartet has commissioned and premiered new works by Ian Wilson, Raymond Deane and Finnish composer Kimmo Hakola and worked with Edgar Meyer, Peteris Vasks and Franghiz Ali-Zadeh on their works for string quartet. For the past two years, the Callino Quartet have held their own annual Festival at Easter in Bantry House.

The prelude to the festival is Good Friday’s Meditation, the Callino Quartet’s performance of Haydn’s Seven Last Words of our Saviour on the Cross at St Mary’s Church, Pope’s Quay. The musical action moves to the Cork School of Music for the remainder of the weekend when audience members will be treated to a programme of works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Ali-Zadeh, Dohnányi, Schnittke, Debussy, Dvořák and Górecki.

The horn player Conor Palliser joins members of the Callino and T’ang Quartets for Mozart’s Horn Quintet before the eighteen year old winner of BBC 2’s Classical Star, pianist Sophie Cashell performs Beethoven’s Tempest and Liszt’s Ballade No 2 in B flat. The evening performance on Saturday finds both T’ang and Callino Quartets taking to the stage for a programme which includes Shostakovich’s highly-charged youthful Octet and Mozart’s G minor Quintet. The T’ang Quartet’s then head to Azerbaijan and the unique voice of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, before the Callino Quartet performs Schumann’s A minor Quartet.

The first of the two evening concerts taking place on Sunday brings the audience Haydn’s Fifths Quartet, played by the Callino Quartet. This will be followed by one of the most popular works in the chamber music repertoire, Dvořák’s American Quartet, performed by the T’ang Quartet who are then joined by Finghin Collins for Dohnányi’s Piano Quintet No 1. The Singapore quartet then return for the late night recital with Górecki’s Quartet No 2 ‘Quasi una Fantasia’.

The final day welcomes the Cashell Piano Trio back on stage for the noon coffee concert, playing Debussy’s Piano Trio in G major and Brahms’ Piano Trio in B major, while the closing concert finds both featured quartets performing works by Haydn and Schnittke, before joining together for Svendsen’s youthful Octet in A major.

A packed programme then certainly worth investigating whether you are a classic music buff or a novice. For more information visit www.westcorkmusic.ie.

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