The opening concert of the Malta Philharmonic’s 2014/2015 season was held under the enthusiastic and energetic direction of French conductor Jean Marc Burfin. The works chosen for this performance represented music of the late 19th and early 20th century.

Bartok’s Hungarian Sketches are five skilful and imaginative orchestrations made in 1931 of earlier piano pieces. Each with its own distinct character, giving the impression of being an authentic folk song arrangement, although this is true only of the last of the five. These pieces portray various short and often comical scenes that might occur in a village, often through graphic representation.

Evening in Transylvania makes use of the fundamental type of Hungarian folk music and brings together the five contrasting sections in a simple but all the more arresting, the first two of which exhibit a dance-like tempo.

Bear Dance is based on one of the archetypal rhythms of East European folk music, the so-called ‘kolomyjka’.

The theme of Melody is first played unaccompanied on a solo violin as if it were heard from a distance, only to return with orchestra incorporating string tremolos, harp glissandos and wind flourishes.

In the fourth movement, Slightly Tipsy, evokes with jovial/parodistic intent the stagger and song of a drunken person together with his hiccups.

Rounding off the suite is the Swineherd’s Dance based on an authentic swineherd’s song which is gradually and dynamically enhanced by increasingly rich orchestration only to fade away in a quiet epilogue.

Small gems full of humour and wit, successfully brought out by the orchestra

The Hungarian Sketches are small gems full of humour and wit, successfully and effectively brought out by the orchestra, especially by the woodwind section and evoking a village life that probably, unfortunately, does not exist anywhere anymore.

The orchestra was then joined by the young, talented pianist Charlene Farrugia in a performance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the left hand.

Ravel establishes the climate in the opening seconds. Cellos and basses send up a dissonant thundercloud, against which the bassoon plays a solemn theme, followed by low horns with a melody that suggests the jazz elements that Ravel said he had included in this music.

This work was brilliantly performed by Charlene Farrugia playing with enthusiasm and the great technical skill that required of this piece. The performance was given an enthusiastically and well deserved acknowledgement by the packed audience in the theatre.

For the second half of the concert the orchestra gave a performance of Dvorak’s Eighth Symphony.

The symphony, as with the Bartok, evokes the style of the folk music and song. It is a work that has often been described as ‘sunny’ as well as ‘songful’, ‘warm’, and ‘optimistic’ and the orchestra, under the baton of the energetic Burfin, managed to bring out all of these elements marvellously in their performance.

Dvorak himself said that in this piece he wanted “to write a work different from my other symphonies, with individual ideas worked out in a new manner”.

The Eighth Symphony begins with a hint of the darkness to come, with a long, lyrical and melancholy melody played by the cellos, showing the composer’s clear understanding of that instrument.

The flute quickly answers these opening with a simple melody the first of many tunes in the symphony that will be notable for their childlike directness.

It could be a folk song or, more specifically, a children’s song. The first movement ends in raucous good spirits and blazing sunshine.

The Adagio is very much a piece of evoking night-time mood and is particularly vivid and evocative. The scherzo begins with a long, soulful melody which is built entirely of descending scales and intensifies the sense of darkness in the music.

The finale, which begins with a bracing fanfare in the trumpets, is made up of a series of variations on another children’s tune initially stated by the cellos.

After another raucous climax the original version of the theme returns one last time for another series of variations, again led by the cellos.

As with the Bartok, the woodwind section of the orchestra was the most prominent and effective force within the work ably supported by the cellos, violas and basses.

The work was performed maintaining a buoyant, joyous atmosphere, which was enthusiastically acknowledged by the audience. The orchestra, performing at a peak of perfection, provided an exhilaratong experience for all who attended.

This concert was greeted with enthusiastic and warm appreciation by the audience and can only promise wonderful things this season.