Patrick Moriarty
Junior Fellow - Chamber Music
BMus, MMus
Email: [email protected]
Described by The Strad as having a “velvet tone” and by Thuner Tagblatt as “mastering his instrument with such apparent ease,” cellist Patrick Moriarty is one of Ireland’s foremost musicians, widely sought after as a soloist and chamber musician.
He has appeared at major venues including Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, King’s Place, Concertgebouw, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Jordan Hall, and Victoria Hall. He has also appeared at festivals such as the BBC Proms, IMS Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music, Kuhmo, Grafenegg, West Cork, Trame Sonore, Schiermonnikoog, Janine Jansen’s Internationaal Kamermuziek Festival Utrecht, and the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Mexico. He has also performed at Áras an Uachtaráin, the official residence of the President of Ireland, and at the 2011 presidential inauguration of Michael D. Higgins at Dublin Castle.
He is a founding member of the Paddington Trio, one of the most exciting ensembles of its generation, who have won first prize and special prizes in several prestigious international competitions, including the Parkhouse Award at Wigmore Hall, the 70th Royal Over-Seas League Competition, and the Schumann-Kammermusikpreis Frankfurt, and were named “Ensemble of the Year” by Le Dimore del Quartetto. The trio are artists of the City Music Foundation, Kirckman Concert Society, and Britten Pears Arts, and are in residence at ProQuartet in Paris. Their recent and upcoming seasons include extensive touring across Europe, North and South America, and Asia, and their debut album, Freakshow, will be released in 2027 on PENTATONE.
His recording and broadcast work includes collaborations with Abbey Road Studios Institute and recordings with Orchid Classics, alongside performances for BBC Radio 3, RTÉ Lyric FM, VPRO and NPO Radio 4 in the Netherlands, Klara in Belgium, SRF 2 Kultur in Switzerland, and YLE in Finland. A committed advocate for contemporary music, he has worked closely with composers including Thomas Adès, Sam Perkin, Anders Hillborg, and Lotta Wennäkoski.
Alongside his performing career, Patrick teaches at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal College of Music Junior Department. He is also co-Artistic Director of the Classical Sessions festival in Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland, which brings together leading international artists for chamber music.
He began his studies in Dublin with Martin Johnson before moving to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he was awarded scholarships. He has also undertaken further studies with the European Chamber Music Academy, Netherlands String Quartet Academy, Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, and the Accademia Stauffer in Cremona, working closely with musicians including Alfred Brendel, Steven Isserlis, Eberhard Feltz, and Günter Pichler, as well as members of the Ébène, Takács, Danel, Ysaÿe, Cleveland, Alban Berg, and Emerson Quartets.
He performs on an exceptionally fine cello by Joseph Hill (1772) and a bow by John Dodd (c.1820).
Reviews
“Music can take you anywhere, when played like this.” 5/5 stars — The Guardian
“Cellist Patrick Moriarty produced a gentle, velvet tone” — The Strad
“In places, there was true beauty but never as an end in itself; everything served a higher conception of the music” — Strings Attached
“The Irish cellist Patrick Moriarty was striking, mastering his instrument with such apparent ease” — Thuner Tagblatt
