The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra are back with their seasonal chamber music concert
Don’t miss the chance to witness some fantastic live, classical music.
Gillian & Friends / Facebook
The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) are organising their first chamber music concert of the season in November - a night of vocal chamber music with Maltese soprano Gillian Zammit at the beautiful Robert Samut Hall in Valletta.
But what is chamber music, you ask? Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments – traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or large room. Considering its intimate nature, it has notably been described as “the music of friends,” and for more than 100 years, it was played primarily by amateur musicians in their homes.
Gillian Zammit is a highly regarded recital singer and soprano, having had roles in various operas which gained her glowing reviews from OPERA magazine. Every year, she conducts the Children's Choir for the annual Joseph Calleja concert. She also sang with globally renowned artists, including Andrea Bocelli.
Gillian Zammit will be joined by an MPO piano trio: pianist Gisèle Grima, violinist Agnieszka Kuźma, and cellist Ákos Kertész. The concert will begin with Alban Berg’s Sieben Frühe Lieder (Seven Early Songs), which are musical settings of poems by a number of German-language poets, written between 1905 and 1908.
The piano trio will provide an instrumental interlude through Schumann’s Phantasiestücke, Op. 88, before Gillian returns to the stage for Shostakovich’s Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok. Shostakovich started out writing a song for the internationally-renowned cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and his wife, soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. In a rush of creativity, he composed another two songs in three days, one for piano and soprano, and the other for violin and soprano. He later went on to write four more songs combining cello and piano, another violin and piano, and another still for violin and cello, making up the seven songs for the cycle. Now that’s impressive!
The Gillian & Friends concert will be held on Friday 9th November at 8pm at the Robert Samut Hall in Valletta. Tickets & more info here. This show is truly an unmissable event!