The repertoire chosen for the forthcoming Shostakovich Centenary Concert on 28 September will reflect the diversity of Shostakovich’s music, one of the greatest composers of the 20th century.
The programme will include jazzy pieces, symphonic masterpieces, film music and the exciting Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings, which will feature Maria Blanco as the solo pianist, partnered by Sigmund Mifsud on the trumpet.
The Shostakovich Centenary Concert is supported by the Ministry for Tourism and Culture in collaboration with Malta International Airport and is being held to celebrate the first centenary of the birth of Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich. The concert will feature the National Orchestra under the musical direction of Brian Schembri.
The first piece will be the Jazz Promenade after Tea (for two) Suite. This is a selection of pieces from various works in a light style often reminiscent of circus music, compiled especially for this concert by Brian Schembri. It includes pieces from films and stage works as well as a foxtrot in 1930’s Soviet jazz style, a surprising Tahiti Trot (nothing other but a brilliant orchestration by the young Shostakovich of the eternal Tea for Two) as well as the renowned waltz used by Stanley Kubrick in his 1999 masterpiece Eyes Wide Shut.
This will be followed by the Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings. With its mixture of frivolity, lyricism, nervous vitality and circus-like tumbling routines, this concerto, scored for string orchestra and trumpet, is one of the ‘classics’ of 20th century piano concertos.
Shostakovich himself gave the premiere of this concerto in 1933, and thereafter it became a staple of his repertoire. It is written in an extremely virtuoso style for all involved, and typically of Shostakovich, combines the serious with the grotesque, youthful vigour with a finale of frenzy and madness.
The third piece will be the King Lear Suite. Four movements chosen for this concert from the film score for Kozintsev’s film masterpiece King Lear. With sparse and bare material Shostakovich evokes the eerie, tense and catastrophic intensity of the great Shakespearean tragedy. This suite starts with the gathering of a storm, the feeling of impending catastrophe, a faraway glimpse at the King’s castle and the final explosion of the storm.
The concert will be concluded with Symphony No.9 in E-flat major. Under pressure from his Soviet lords and masters to mark the end of World War II with a grandiose work in praise of victory, Shostakovich, much to the anger of the cultural commissars, chose to offer in the Ninth a far more ambiguous celebration of this historical moment. This is one of his most neo-classical orchestral scores, sparkling with wit, mockery and hollow laughter, which from time to time, gives way to shocking moments of weirdly clownish grief. The overall effect is a deeply personal and poignant symphonic creation.
Booking for the Shostakovich Centenary Concert is now open. Many tickets have already been sold, and it is highly recommended to book now to avoid disappointment.
Tickets, priced at Lm6, Lm9, Lm12 and Lm16 can be bought from all Go Mobile outlets, and on ticket hotline 7936 8368. The Lm16 tickets include complimentary wine in the VIP lounge during the interval. Reduced prices for students and senior citizens are available.
The organisers are also offering the audience the opportunity to buy tickets for the Portomaso Car Park, at the discounted rate of Lm1. Those who require transport may book with John’s Garage on freephone 800 77 23 37.
For further details, visit: www.maltaorchestra.com