John Field Room, National Concert Hall, Dublin

String Quartet No 16 In F, Op 135 - Beethoven

Four, For Tango - Piazzolla

String Quintet In G, Op 77 - Dvorβk

The John Field Room is not kind to performers, robbing the music of some of its bloom. The addition of a double bass to the Vanbrugh Quartet goes some way towards alleviating the dryness of the acoustic, however, and the consequent enrichment of the sound made Dvorβk's Quintet In G - an early work despite its late opus number - the most satisfactory item on Sunday's programme.

Chi-chi Nwanoku, born of Nigerian and Irish parents and currently teaching at Trinity College of Music, in London, played the double bass with power and sensitivity, illuminating the work from below, as it were, whether in the effervescence of the scherzo or the lyrical poco andante.

The composer originally removed the second movement, andante religioso, on the grounds that the quintet did not require two slow movements, so it was interesting to hear the work complete. With all the instruments muted, the second movement sounded more creepy than religious, and I think Dvorβk made the work stronger by removing it.

It was a pity that Piazzolla did not write a Five, For Tango; the addition of a double bass would have added greatly to the Latin atmosphere. Four, For Tango it was, however, and the Vanbrugh showed itself remarkably adept in playing an exotic type of music that one does not immediately associate with them.

Beethoven's last quartet may be the shortest and lightest of the five late quartets, but it is no less profound - one must disregard the anecdote about the last movement and the composer's laundry bill - and the Vanbrugh played with respectful attention, revealing the stillness that motivates the slow movement and the energy that bursts out in the vivace.

Programme repeated tonight in Birr, tomorrow in Tinahely and on Thursday in Cork