Malta International Organ Festival 25

Opening Concert – Stabat Mater 20 November • 7:30 PM • St Paul's Shipwreck Parish, Valletta The Malta International Organ Festival launches with an emotionally resonant sacred work presenting Domenico Abos's complete Stabat Mater alongside key sections from Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's composition. Both composers trained under Francesco Durante at the Naples conservatory, representing a distinctive moment in Baroque sacred music. This exceptional combination of Maltese and Italian voices from the Neapolitan tradition comes alive through performances by the Kiev Baroque Consort from Ukraine, collaborating with the Malta International Organ Festival String Ensemble and organist Ramona Zammit Formosa, conducted by Italian maestro Nancy Milesis Romano. The venue's architectural significance enhances this refined musical experience. Shostakovich, Predecessors & Contemporaries – Solo Organ Concert 28 November • 8:00 PM • St Augustine Parish, Valletta Russian organist Svetlana Berezhnaya marks Shostakovich's anniversary with an impassioned solo recital that examines the broader musical context surrounding the influential Soviet composer's work. The recital interweaves compositions by Shostakovich with pieces by earlier composers and his contemporaries, providing unique insight into the artistic complexity and emotional resonance of Russian music in the twentieth century. Playing on one of Valletta's most characterful organs, Berezhnaya guides listeners through a compelling exploration of modernist expression, wit, and creative perseverance. Pipes and Reeds: Organ & Saxophone Concert 5 December • 7:00 PM • Onorati Oratory – Jesuits' Church, Valletta German organist Ralf Borghoff and Italian saxophonist Cesare Travagin engage in captivating musical exchanges, blending Renaissance sensibilities with contemporary free-form expression. The performance combines newly written pieces, jazz-tinged selections, and unscripted musical moments, featuring Jean-Michel Michał's tender Adagio dolcissimo from Back to Bach and dramatic sections from Pierre Genin's Variations and Bolero with Spanish influences. The programme incorporates contemplative organ passages, singing saxophone lines, and fully improvised interactions between the two performers, offering an unconventional exploration of timbre, pulse, and sonority. Discover organ and saxophone in fresh combination: engaging as creative partners in an exchange that feels timeless yet distinctly contemporary. Grand Finale – Organ & Orchestra 7 December • 7:00 PM • Basilica of St Dominic & Our Lady of Porto Salvo, Valletta The festival concludes with sweeping orchestral grandeur featuring German conductor Johannes Skudlik and distinguished organist Winfried Lichtscheidel, presenting repertoire spanning from early Baroque through present-day compositions. The programme begins with Handel's celebratory Ouverture from Music for the Royal Fireworks adapted for organ, moving into the expressive Romantic idiom of Rheinberger's Organ Concerto No. 1 in F major, Op. 137 for organ and orchestra. Vivaldi's celebrated Winter movement from The Four Seasons appears in an imaginative organ version, succeeded by Duruflé's virtuosic Toccata, Op. 5, a commanding mid-twentieth-century organ showpiece. The closing work is the dynamic Organ Concerto No. 3 by contemporary composer Naji Hakim, bringing together colour, technical brilliance, and modern Mediterranean sensibility for an exhilarating conclusion.