Richard Thomas and Sharon Carty: This week’s best classical concerts

Sunday, April 28th

Sharon Carty, Siobhán Armstrong
Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin
hughlane.ie
Mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty is one of those Irish singers who straddles the worlds of mainstream opera and period performance style. She made her Wexford Festival Opera debut last year in the European premiere of William Bolcom's Dinner at Eight, and also starred in Irish National Opera's recent tour of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice with the Irish Baroque Orchestra. The free Sundays at Noon concert in on April 28th the Hugh Lane Gallery finds her partnered on baroque harp by Siobhán Armstrong for a programme that will include works by Henry Purcell, Barbara Strozzi and John Dowland, as well as traditional Irish songs.

Thursday, May 2nd

Richard Thomas, Gary Beecher
NCH Kevin Barry Recital Room
nch.ie
The National Concert Hall is running a Young Musician Series at the Kevin Barry Recital Room in association with Young European Strings. The second recital, with a 7.30pm starting time, features violinist Richard Thomas, Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year 2017, and pianist Gary Beecher, Irish Freemasons Young Musician o the Year 2014. The programme includes Schubert's Violin Sonata in A, D574, Schnittke's Violin Sonata No 1, and the Brahms's Scherzo in C minor, part of a collaborative work Brahms wrote with Schumann and Dietrich in honour of the violinist Joseph Joachim. Bach's great Chaconne in D minor also features, as well as showpieces by Wieniawski, Kreisler and Ponce.

Friday, May 3rd

Sligo International Chamber Music Festival
St Columba's Church, Drumcliffe, and The Model, Sligo, until Monday 6th
sligochambermusic.ie
The Sligo International Chamber Music Festival sees the resident ensemble, the Vogler String Quartet, team up with guests from around the world. This year there's the Grieg Trio, pianists Eugene Mursky and Michael McHale, accordionist Dermot Dunne, clarinettist David Orlowsky, cellist Vashti Hunter, horn player Bruno Schneider, bassoonist Henrik Rabien, double bassist Malachy Robinson, and saxophonist/composer Nick Roth, who provides the festival's only new work, his Second Quintet for accordion and string quartet. Highlights include Beethoven, Brahms, Arvo Pärt, Schubert, Strauss from Sharon Carty, Brahms's Horn Trio, and Arensky's string quartet for the unusual combination of violin, viola and two cellos.