The 9^th edition of the International Spring Orchestra Festival will be taking place between the 7^th and 11^th April. The Festival is being organised by Festival Artistic Director Karl Fiorini, whose music will also feature in two concerts in Brussels and Mons, the Belgian European Capital of Culture for the year 2015. The opening concert of the International Spring Orchestra Festival comprises two musical pieces for wind instruments and piano at the Teatru Manoel performed by the Reigate Wind Quintet and Erik Azzopardi.

On the 8^th April, pianists Gisèle Grima and Erika Gialanzè will be captivating audiences at Palazzo Pereria where they will be performing a four hand recital which features works by Debussy, Satie, Stravinsky and Albert Pace.

On the 9^th, Soprano Brigitte Peyré will be performing 20^th century Viennese masterpieces such as Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire at the Teatru Manoel. She will be accompanied by French conductor Raoul Lay and the Ensemble Télémaque. The highly-skilled conductor will also deliver impressive renditions of Gustav Mahler’s Songs of a wayfarer and Ferruccio Busoni’s Nocturne.

On Friday 10^th April, French pianists Roland Conil and Véronique Muzy will join forces for a two-piano recital. The pair will perform Poulenc’s and Monzart’s two-piano sonatas and also Debussy’s En blanc et noir. The festival will come to a dramatic close on Saturday 11^th April with a performance by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Roberto Beltrán Zavala. The orchestra will be performing Karl Fiorini’s first symphony and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade suite.

Free concerts featuring young up-and-coming local musicians will also be held at Palazzo Pereira everyday at 12:30pm. Free master classes for intermediate to advanced pianists will also be delivered by Roland Conil and Véronique Muzy.

For more information, please send an email to [email protected] or [email protected] or visit the International Spring Orchestra Festival official website.