Existing in its present form since Malta’s 2004 entry into the eurozone, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra benefited from the selection of the capital city of La Valette as a European Capital of Culture in 2018. As part of a European tour the same year, the orchestra performed in five of the continent’s most prestigious concert halls: Munich’s Gasteig, Stuttgart’s Liederhalle, Wiesbaden’s Kurhaus, Berlin’s Philharmonie, and Vienna’s Musikverein.
Conductor Sergey Smbatyan, pianist Ingolf Wunder, and other musicians of the orchestra share with us their surprise as they discover these historical landmarks and adapt their music-making to the varying acoustics of these contrasting concert halls. “The energy of every city is different” explains Wunder. Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony and works by Maltese composers Albert Garzia and Alexey Shor provide the musical backdrop for the orchestra’s exciting journey.
