As part of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of ANZAC Day, the programme for the initial part of this concert features a close tie with Australia through the work by Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe which is a homage to the effect of war on the Australian communities, and the Australian pianist Stefan Cassomenos, featured soloist in Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto. The evening concludes with Dvorak’s eternally optimistic Symphony no 9 From the New World.
There is a direct role that Malta and the Maltese people played in the ANZAC tradition and the events around the Gallipoli campaign during WW1. More than 55,000 troops, and 2,500 officers from the Gallipoli campaign were brought to Malta for treatment, and 800 Maltese volunteers went to Gallipoli to help build the trenches. There are also around 300 ANZACs buried in Malta.
This concert recalls, commemorates but also celebrates the composers of all nationalities who wrote music while on active service during World War I
Programme
Peter Sculthorpe
Small Town
Sergei Rachmaninov
Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor Op 18
soloist Stefan Cassomenos
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No 9 in E minor Op 95 ‘From the New World’
MALTA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
guest leader Carmine Lauri
conductor BRIAN SCHEMBRI
