and so the 29th season has come to an end...

We are very grateful to our Friends, Sponsors, The Arts Council and Galway City and County Councils for their continued support.
Thanks also to all the artists who gave us truly memorable evenings.
And, last but not least, a BIG thank you to all who came to the concerts throughout the season. Until further notice, on this site you'll be able to look back on the great events we had over the past nine months.

Watch this space to see what we have prepared for our

30th Anniversary Season!
... and save this date:
Saturday 16 October 2010

Music for Galway launches 29th International Concert Season

Music for Galway announced details of the 29th international concert season at the Galway City Museum on Tuesday Sept. 8. Describing Music for Galway concerts as being vital to the cultural fabric of Galway, Prof. William Schabas, Director of the Irish Human Rights Centre at NUI Galway, cellist and music lover, pointed in particular to the fact that while in these days of ipod and radio, the enjoyment of this music has turned very much into a solitary experience, Music for Galway affords people from Galway and the West the chance to come together and experience this music in a collective way, to talk about it and come away at times uplifted, at times perhaps challenged, but certainly feeling enriched.

Artistic director Jane O’Leary described the programme as ‘entertaining, enriching and inspiring’, noting that musicians from over a dozen countries would be coming to Galway between September and May. Twenty concerts are on offer, ranging from solo pianist James Lisney, who will be resident in Galway during February, to the RTE National Symphony Orchestra, who will perform Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Violin Concerto in March.

A number of anniversaries occur and there will be celebrations to note the 250th anniversary of the death of Handel, the 200th anniversary of Haydn’s death, and 200th birthdays for Schumann and Chopin. Chopin’s music features in recitals by pianists Cédric Tiberghien in November and James Lisney who describes himself as a ‘great-grand-pupil’ of Chopin's. One of the season’s highlights will be the popular January Festival. FANTASIES AND FAIRYTALES opens the Schumann year and features the Irish debut of young Russian baritone Rodion Pogossov joined by Romanian pianist Eduard Stan, German clarinettist Johannes Peitz and the Galway Ensemble-in-Residence, ConTempo Quartet.

The Haydn Trio Eisenstadt perform music by Haydn and inspired by Haydn, while Händel is celebrated by young English Baroque duo Gandolpho and also with Opera Theatre Company’s Production of Alcina.

Irish clarinetist Paul Roe teams up with the Galway Ensemble-in-Residence, ConTempo for a special concert KLEZMER AND BEYOND - THE SOUL OF THE CLARINET which features the Irish premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s klezmer-inspired piece for clarinet and string quartet.

The season opens with PURELY PIANO - international piano star Andreas Haefliger from Switzerland performs piano sonatas by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms on Thursday 24 September in the Aula Maxima, NUI Galway at 8pm. Described as

‘a pianist to listen to’, Haefliger is featured at concert halls throughout the world and will be performing in Galway for the first time.

While ticket prices remain unchanged, the season this year comes in a variety of packages – great savings can be made by joining Music for Galway as a member and by purchasing either the full season ticket (30% reduction), or the Autumn Season or Spring Season (20% reduction). Music for Galway offers anyone who joins before October 12th the opportunity to bring a guest for free to one of the first two concerts in the season.

Music for Galway gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council.

Come along and experience how music performances can truly enrich our lives!

Tickets from Music for Galway 091 705962, Opus II, Cornstore or on-line www.tht.ie