On the occasion of Mother’s Day, a concert was held at St Anthony of Padua church, Għajnsielem, last Sunday. The concert, Serenade for Strings, was directed by Pierre Louis Attard.

The string orchestra, which presented a diverse selection of music, opened with Mozart’s beloved Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, K. 525), cast in four beautifully contrasting movements, followed by Dvořák’s enchanting Songs My Mother Taught Me, Op. 55 No. 4 and Pierné’s short and quite rhythmic Sérénade, Op.7.

Attard then doubled as violin soloist and conductor in two very charming, rather unknown, works by Piazzolla, namely Ave Maria (also known as Tanti Anni Prima), and Finale – probably their premier performance in Malta. This was followed by Attard conducting his own Adagio Espressivo, which, as the title alludes, is very expressive and emotional.

The concert ended with a lesser known, yet delightful, Serenade for String Orchestra by Leyden, a work in four short movements featuring some baroque traits as well as romantic and 20th century ones. The quick and bouncy concluding movement (Cakewalk) was encored following the warm applause by the audience that filled the beautifully-decorated church.

Serenade for Strings, courtesy of Fr Guardian Marcello Ghirlando, formed part of the Springtime in Gozo programme and was supported by the Gozo Cultural Heritage Directorate within the Gozo Ministry as well as the Għajnsielem local council.