On April 11, the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO) will present a vernal programme titled Stories of Mediterranean Sounds. The listeners will be able to embark on a colourful and spirited journey through the sounds of the Mediterranean, piloted by Greek-born conductor Kornilios Viktor Michailidis, winner of the prestigious 2024 Tokyo International Conducting Competition. Pianist Magdalene Ho, who is rapidly climbing the global career ladder, will perform as a soloist with the orchestra.

Both guests are linked not only by their accolades from prestigious international competitions, but also by the piano, as conductor Michailidis is also a concert pianist. Thus, their joint performance with the LNSO promises a particularly sensitive musical dialogue. Incidentally, the conductor, Michailidis, winner of the 2024 Tokyo International Conducting Competition, will be seen by the Lithuanian audience on the National Philharmonic stage for the first time, while pianist M. Ho is already familiar to us – in 2021, she won the 9th International Balys Dvarionas Competition for Young Pianists and Violinists.

The journey through the sounds of the Mediterranean, navigated by the guests and the LNSO, will feature four prominent French composers from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries: Emmanuel Chabrier, Camille Saint-Saëns, Albert Roussel, and Maurice Ravel. Although their creative paths differ, they are all united by a special focus on orchestral colour, rhythmic tension, and vivid musical dramaturgy.

The concert will open with Chabrier’s Rhapsody for orchestra, España (Spain), the composer’s most famous work, written after a trip to Spain, where he explored local folklore, mythology, and dance. Upon returning to Paris, he had planned to write a fantasy based on his travel experiences to entertain the audience. The piano duet he had initially conceived gradually evolved into a rhapsody for orchestra, which brought the composer fame in a single evening.

Pianist Ho will perform Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 5 with the LNSO. The composer wrote it while visiting Luxor, the city of temples in Egypt. The work turned to be quite exotic: it was enriched with musical motifs from Java, Spain, and the Middle East, and was therefore nicknamed Egyptian. 

After interval the concert Stories of Mediterranean Sounds will offer suites that will transport the audience to the colourful world of ancient Greek mythology. The programme will feature Roussel’s Suite No.1 from the ballet Bacchus et Ariane (Bacchus and Ariadne) and Ravel’s Suite No. 2 from the ballet Daphnis et Chloé (Daphnis and Chloe).

Orchestral music concert Stories of Mediterranean Sounds. LNSO, Magdalene Ho, Kornilios Viktor Michailidis will take place on Saturday, April 11 at 19.00 in the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Concert Hall. The concert is organized in cooperation with Japanese Min-On Concert Association and the Tokyo International Conducting Competition. For the full program of the LNPhS 85th season please visit www.nationalphilharmonic.lt  LNPhS 85th concert season is sponsored by NORFA.

LNPhS inf.