Yet another distinctive collaboration between the MIA and the Manoel Theatre will this time materialise in a concert of chamber music to be held at the Sala Isouard on Wednesday at 7.30pm

This time round, the Viennese connection will be evident in the members of the String Quartet, all of whom are connected with the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts, while the Maltese link will be pianist Cynthia Turner who will be joining forces with her Austrian counterparts in the second half of the programme.

In the first part of the programme Sayaka Iwanbuchi (violin), Marianna Oczkowska (violin), Wolfgang Klos (viola) and Endre Kertesz (violoncello) will be alternating in their interpretation of a Gigue by J.S. Bach from his "Partita II in D Minor BWV 1004", a "Polish Caprice" by Bacewics, "La Cadenza" from Wieniawski's "Ecole Moderne op. 10 nr. 7" and Dvorak's "Terzetto op. 74 for two violins and viola in C Major".

No doubt, Professor Wolfgang Klos will be at the helm of the members of the quartet. At present Vice Rector of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, and full professor for viola there, Wolfgang Klos numerous artistic activities center round the area of chamber music. As member of the Vienna String Trio since 1981, he established an international reputation as a performer in a large number of concerts as well as TV production and recordings. Among these stands out his participation in the recording of string trio compositions of an almost encyclopaedic scope, which won him international acclaim. As a soloist, he performs in Europe, overseas and the Far East as a prominent representative of the Viennese interpretational style, which he is intent on promoting on the podiums of the musical centers of the world. He plays a viola built by Giovanni Battista Ceruti in 1780.

The highlight of the programme will consist of Schumann's greatest chamber music work, the quintet in E Flat Major for Piano and Strings, composed in Schumann's "Chamber music year" of 1842. Besides being of aesthetic interest, the work is of historical importance because it was the first important work in musical history composed for the combination of piano and conventional string quartet.

The quintet is hallmarked by melodic contrasts and varying tempos which resolve in a powerful finale which is characterized by extended polyphonic writing which reaches a heightened climax in a giant double fugue.

Reservations for the Chamber Music Recital may be made from the Manoel Theatre Booking Office, tel. 21 246389, e-mail [email protected]