Classical

With up to eight events a day (if you include master classes) the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, now in its fifth year, is not just the best but also the biggest music festival of the year. Bach is a major focus of this year's programme, with Alfia Bekova playing two of the solo cello suites, pianist Joanna MacGregor in the complete first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier, harpsichordist Malcolm Proud in the Goldberg Variations, and the Limoges Baroque Ensemble offering a programme of works by other members of the Bach family, CPE, WF, JCF and JC, as well as Johann Sebastian. The RTE Vanbrugh String Quartet is in residence, as ever, and visiting performers include percussionist Hans-Kristian Sorensen, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, the Panocha String Quartet, pianist Aleksandar Madzar, and string players Viviane Hagner (violin), Tatjana Masurenko (viola) and Quirine Viersen (cello).