In response to the letter of June 18 from Christopher Muscat regarding the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra concert at St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Valletta on June 10, we, the soloists of this concert, would like to clarify the situation.

For the last few years, following the generous donation of a harpsichord to the MPO by the Bank of Valletta, Baroque concerts by small groups of musicians from the MPO have been organised. These concerts have been among the best received concerts the MPO presents and the concert of June 10 at St Paul’s was an outstanding example of this.

The entire MPO, inclusive of the MPO soloists involved, offered its services free of charge for the event, and the success of the concert will hopefully encourage more evenings in which we can share our joy of playing Baroque music with audiences across the islands.

Orchestral musicians are not obliged to play solo concerti with the orchestra and when such musicians are invited to play as soloists, they are normally remunerated accordingly. Nonetheless, as soloists of the concert we are keen to continue this initiative gratis et amore under the direction of Michael Laus, the keystone for the musical direction of the ensemble.