English pianist, organist and conductor Wayne Marshall will be taking on the demanding role of both conductor and soloist in the first of a series of three piano concertos by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra next week.

The two works to feature in this concert are George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F and Alexander Borodin’s Symphony No. 2.

The former is a 20th-century composition in the typical classical form with three movements, containing a mélange of bombastic timpani sounds, piano and orchestral lyricism, Charleston and blues. The 19th-century, Russian, Borodin piece comprises four movements, having a declamatory opening on the tutti and melodic resemblances to his two operas, Prince Igor and Mlada.

Marshall performs worldwide, but keeps Malta as his base. He is known for his virtuosic interpretation of works by Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Duke Ellington and other 20th-century American composers. Having acted as both conductor and soloist on a number of occasions, particularly in the performance of Gershwin pieces, Marshall is very accustomed to this kind of set-up.

The concert is being held at the Manoel Theatre on Friday at 8pm. Tickets from €10 to €30 may be obtained by sending an e-mail to: bookings@teatrumanoel.com.mt, online www.teatrumanoel.com.mt, or by calling 2124 6389.

For more information, visit www.maltaorchestra.com.

Audiences can look forward to another two piano concertos in this series: one will feature Michael Laus as conductor and soloist on May 6, and the other with conductor Kaspar Zehnder, and Natascha Chircop and Marco Rivoltini as soloists on May 27.