Classics under the stars with the Malta Philharmonic

On Tuesday 27 July the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra will bring its 2009-2010 season to an end in style with an open air concert at the gardens of the Girgenti Palace in Siggiewi.

The concert yet another in a series of concerts launched by the Malta Philharmonic in its quest to take the orchestra to the community apart from willing audiences to attend concerts in established venues.

This strategy has already seen the orchestra taking part in a week-long programme intended for school children held last April and three concerts of sacred music at Qawra, Senglea and Birkirkara parishes last month. 

This concert is primarily a family-oriented activity in which children and adults alike will have a unique educational and recreational experience. The choice of music for this concert reflects this philosophy and includes some of the all-time favourites from the classical repertoire.

The orchestra, under the direction of Michael Laus, will be enthralling its audiences with the galloping rhythms of Suppé’s Light Cavalry (Overture), Brahms’s gypsy-flavoured Hungarian Dances, the ever-popular themes from Bizet’s most famous opera Carmen and Rossini’s witty overture to La Gazza Ladra. During this concert the MPO will be teaming up with the band of the Armed Forces of Malta (Bandmaster: Captain John Ivan Borg) in Shostakovitch’s exuberant Festival Overture, Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No 1 and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture with its famous gran finale of echoing cannon shots and pealing church bells. 

“Classics under the Stars” starts at 20:30h and is open to the general public free of charge. Tickets for this concert may be obtained from the OPM Auberge de Castille in Valletta (entrance from St. Paul’s Street) as from Thursday 22nd July. Dress code is casual.  The venue provides ample parking space along the main street leading up to the Girgenti Palace; a mini-bus shuttle service will facilitate transfers up to the Palace’s main gate.