Charity with charisma and charm - review

An overwhelming sense of solidarity hallmarked the performance at the Mediterranean Conference Centre held under the distinguished patronage of President Eddie Fenech Adami on Saturday in a particularly fine orchestral concert conducted by Christopher Muscat. The event was held to help raise funds for the victims of the Naxxar fireworks blast which caused havoc and destruction in the area. All the musicians generously performed without remuneration.

The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra took centrestage, with Caroline Calleja assuming the role of soloist in Schumann's endearing Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A. Minor Opus 54, and the combined participation of the bands of the Armed Forces of Malta and the Malta Police in a magnificent performance of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture Solennelle Opus 49.

The choice of programme clearly reflected a carefully thought out process on the part of Mro Muscat, who selected pieces which reflected the solemnity of the occasion without delving into the depths of morbidity.

His own deeply moving Elegy and Samuel Barber's lyrical Adagio for Strings bore testimony to this, while Schumann's sensitively lyrical Piano Concerto and Paolino Vassallo's Intermezzo to Act 3 from his opera Frazir painted a more optimistic picture and Tchaikovsky's 1812 reverberated with the triumph of hope over devastation.

Robert Schumann filled his compositions for piano and the piano part of his concerto with a profusion of lyrical ideas, with one enchanting melodic thought after another in sequences of ravishing beauty in the true Romantic tradition. They found an admirable channel of expression in Caroline Calleja, whose affinity with the concerto, arguably the finest of romantic piano concertos, epitomised feminine grace and charm, associating her subconsciously with my image of Clara Schumann who gave the first performance of the work in December 1845 with resounding success. In the first movement the piano sang and dominated, while the orchestra accepted its comparative subordination in the exposition of a gracious world of exquisite melody. The original deeply thought out cadenza preceded the intermezzo in which Ms Calleja dialogued charmingly with the orchestra, until it resolved into the joyous allegro vivace final movement which required much intricately deft work on the piano and precise timing with the orchestra.

It was in fact very rewarding to watch the threesome - conductor, soloist and orchestra so well coordinated until they ended on a final note of triumph with a jubilant upsurge in a grand finale. Ms Calleja's playing was characterised by finesse, employing strength and momentum when required.

The lyrically emotional opening theme on the violins in Samuel Barber's famous Adagio for Strings heralded the second part of the programme. A stirring climax was reached after the other groups of strings took up the theme which after a brief pause concluded the work on the note of serenity with which it had begun, and gradually faded effectively into nothing.

A grand performance of Tchaikovsky's 1812 brought the concert to a triumphant end. This piece always makes for exciting listening and when performed live is also visually impressive because of the inclusion of the special effects and the extra musicians. Thus grandly augmented even further, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra sounded very impressive; Christopher Muscat was considerably moved and totally absorbed in his task of successfully keeping all elements together.

Hearty applause elicited a repeat of the most exciting section of the 1812, naturally the one reflecting the jubilant sound of joy associated with victory on the peeling "bells" and booming "cannon".

This was a splendid evening for an excellent cause.