Wayne Marshall conducts MPO’s first Gozo production

The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra reunites with British conductor Wayne Marshall on 25 November for a Gozo concert which represents a historic first for the orchestra. The MPO frequently makes excursions to Gozo. It is involved in every opera production that takes place there: presently three operas are produced each year. It also routinely performs in the opening and closing concerts of the Victoria International Arts Festival. But so far, the orchestra’s visits to Gozo have been as a guest of external organisers. This month’s concert, which will be held at the Teatru Astra, is the first Gozo concert which is being organised by the orchestra itself. For this occasion, the orchestra will be reunited with the renowned British conductor Wayne Marshall. The orchestra will also be joined by Armenian cello virtuoso Narek Hakhnazaryan, who won the gold medal for cello performance at the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011. Together with the MPO, he will be performing Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, a work for cello and orchestra which is a clear showcase of the Russian composer’s fondness for the classical music which preceded him, particularly that of Mozart. The concert will also feature works by two other Russian composers, opening with Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, a work which the composer wrote in just three days to commemorate the 37th anniversary of the October Revolution. The orchestra will also be performing Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony, which the composer had written while he was living in Dresden, Germany. The composer had gone through a deep depression after his First Symphony, faced a disastrous premiere, largely the fault of an under-rehearsed orchestra and an unprepared conductor. Therapy got him back on track, but it was the successful Second Symphony which helped him regain confidence as a symphonist. The concert starts at 8pm and tickets may be purchased through showshappening.com