RTÉ NSO/John Finucane, Pieter Wispelwey (cello)

NCH, Dublin Tonight 8pm 10-35 01-4170000

Amongst Friends. Town Hall Theatre, Galway Tonight-Sun 091-569777

Lara St John (violin), UO/Gábor Takács-Nagy. Ulster Hall, Belfast Tonight 7.45pm £8-£20 048-90239955

Friday is another night of doubling up at the National Concert Hall. First of all, there are two concerts. Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey, the evening’s soloist with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, offers a late-night performance of a solo cello suite by Bach after the main programme.

In that main programme he plays both of Haydn’s cello concertos, in conductorless performances in which he will double up as director. And, since he hasn’t actually taken up the career of conductor, the evening’s other work, Dvorák’s Wind Serenade, will be in the hands of the orchestra’s principal clarinettist, John Finucane.

Friday also sees the start of Music for Galway’s annual January festival, this year called Amongst Friends, a title chosen to reflect “the intimate setting for which chamber music was and is written and performed, as well as the friendships made amongst musicians as they come together to play, and last but not least the bond created through the communal experience of listening to music”.

Hmmm. Couldn’t that be applied to any chamber music concert? Never mind. The music is first-rate (including quintets by Schubert, Brahms and Dvorák) and the ConTempo String Quartet (above) are being joined cby ellist Eugen Mantu and pianist Barry Douglas.

An old friend of Irish music lovers, Gábor Takács-Nagy (a regular visitor when he led the Takács String Quartet) is back in Ireland in his new role as conductor. He's appearing with the Ulster Orchestra on Friday, conducting Bartók's Divertimento for strings, Beethoven's First Symphony, and Piazzolla's Four Seasons of Buenos Aireswith Lara St John as the violin soloist.