Classical Music Stars in Malta features several pieces by Maltese composer Alexey Shor, composer in residence at the Malta International Music Festival. His works have been performed around the world. While his Farewell Nocturne and Addio may be wistful and reflective, King Matt the First combines these feelings with lighthearted sections. About this piece the composer writes, “King Matt the First is the title of a book by Janusz Korczak. When I visited Warsaw I recalled that I liked that book a lot as a child, and that what struck me even back then was that the book, while being playful and fun—like most children’s books—was at the same time unusually sad and tragic, in a way that no other children’s book is. I hoped to capture some of that mood in my music.” Coming of Age is Shore’s arrangement of his solo piano piece from the suite called Childhood Memories, published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 2016.
Live Malta Festival Performances of these Works:
Classical Music Stars in Malta
Live from the Malta International Music Festival
The multicultural melting pot of Malta is home to the Malta International Music Festival, a major cultural event hosted annually by this Mediterranean island nation. One of the Festival’s most memorable concerts—the one recorded here—took place in 2017: a Trio Gala program for which the well-known Khachaturian Trio as well as five other brilliant musicians—formed into trios (and one duo)—performed a dazzling array of varied and highly appealing music.
The program includes both well-known and novel music by Maltese composers Joseph Vella and Alexey Shore; also Uzbekistan native Ilya Dimov. Highlights include a brilliant rendition of Khachaturian’s world-famous Sabre Dance in a version for piano trio, the sublime Andante from Arno Babadjanian’s Piano Trio, and a breathtaking performance of the much-loved Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia for violin and cello.
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