Irish Chamber Orchestra
Sharon Carty Mezzo Soprano

Shostakovich Chamber Symphony in C minor, Opus 110a (arranged by Rudolph Barshai from the String Quartet No. 8)
Deirdre Gribbin The Stones of Life

The 8th Quartet or Chamber Symphony is the most personal of Shostakovich’s great works, dedicated ‘to the memory of myself’. A gripping portrayal of the brutality of conflict, its jagged, dynamic rhythms contrast with elegiac outer movements that never fail to move the listener.

The composer Deirdre Gribbin has composed a song cycle based on the words of her son, Ethan Stein a young poet with Down Syndrome. Using Ethan’s powerful and striking imagery, Gribbin weaves together a musical journey through the reflection of this remarkable boy who has directly and indirectly, inspired much of her work.