The evening, last Saturday, did not start well for me. I miscalculated and didn't realise it was so late, having returned from a luncheon invitation. So I dressed in a hurry and frantically called a taxi. But where was it? I called again.  The taxi was waiting for me at the far end of our one way street. I don't know why. GPS and all that.

The Malta Youth Orchestra's Classical Soirée at Piazza Teatru Rjal was starting at 8.30pm which was excellent seeing it is so hot. However, by the time the taxi found me it was already late. He dropped me at Castille and I walked from Castille down to the theatre.  I had already missed the first piece. I arrived at the bottom of the stairs of the theatre and an obliging young lady said she would scan my ticket and then accompany me to the lift... she came back to say the lift was not working. She called a colleague and they helped me up those old, treacherous stairs and to the first empty seat they found. Such kindness. The concert was in full swing and very well attended. A friend behind me immediately offered to help me down. AH, the power of  a crutch.

I had a copy of the programme on my phone and was here mostly to listen to the Camille Saint-Saëns and Khachaturian pieces. I had heard parts of Schubert's Overture from Rosamunde as I was slowly walking towards the theatre. Unmistakable. I recognised the lightness of spirit of the piece immediately.

One of the essential Saint Saëns pieces, Danse Macabre No 40 was on the programme. It has often been said that Saint-Saëns is France's answer to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The young Saint-Saëns could read, write and play tunes on the piano at the age of just two. By the time he was seven he was something of an expert on butterflies. He was a proudly nationalistic composer. Together with Fauré he established the Société Nationale de Musique, which existed solely to promote French music.

One could feel the young energy coming from that stage, the conductor, José García Gutiérrez immersed in it, too. This piece is so different from the composer's  Rondo Capriccioso (violin and piano) which we all love. The Danse Macabre lives up to its name for it is about demons and skeletons in a graveyard. I cannot understand why it is so popular. Specially those around my age really do not need to be reminded of graveyards, seeing that one foot is in there already. However, I love this piece of music. The conductor managed to draw a well-disciplined and exuberent response from all departments of the orchestra.

I was also here to listen to Aram Khachaturian's Adagio from the ballet Spartacus which was the Onedin Line theme of the long-running BBC television drama series of the 70s. This is such a rousing piece of music with its sweeping, romantic melody.

There were another three short and pleasant pieces of music, too. I must single out Jacob Patrick Abela's Waltz, his very own composition. A pleasant piece of music and received a well-deserved standing ovation. Asked for a comment on this the conductor said that it was a lovely experience and "it was the first time we premiered a composition by somebody so young and on top of that a member of MYO, whom we have seen grow up with us in the orchestra."

José García Gutiérrez also responded to my request for a general comment: "What I strive for in every concert with the Malta Youth Orchestra is not only to teach them, but to motivate and encourage them, which in turn brings out their incredible youthful energy and enthusiasm. Every project is special and these talented youngsters have gone from strength to strength over the years, with some of them already playing alongside the MPO. That is ultimately part of our goal, to create the professional Maltese musicians of tomorrow. But we also aim to train amateur musicians so that their standard is always higher, as this is important in a country with so many musical activities. I am very proud of them all and I hope the memories they have from MYO will stay with them for life." 

The Maestro is currently in Spain "where it is also extremely hot but we are getting by as best we can." His wife is the Maltese violinist, Maria Conrad, who has worked for several years both with MPO, MYO and abroad.

This concert was worth the effort of getting there and safely up and down those stairs. But it was not my lucky day with taxis. On the way back at the traffic lights in Rue D'Argens, being a dreadful backseat driver, I noticed that the driver had no intention of stopping at the red lights, his eyes were closed... I gave a shout which woke him up and I kept him engaged in conversation until we got home. He was on duty until 6am. God help him and his passengers.

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Photos: Darren Agius