The music from what is arguably the world’s most popular ballet – Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker – will be the highlight of a concert organised by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra on 15 December.

The concert will be held in a marquee that will be set up in St George’s Square, Valletta.

Despite its present popularity, the original production of the ballet – premiered a week before Christmas in St Petersburg in 1892 – was not a success, receiving mixed reviews at best. But the music itself was well-received, and a 20-minute concert suite Tchaikovsky derived out of it became instantly popular, ultimately helping to rekindle interest in the ballet itself. Both the suite and the ballet became Christmas staples, and consequently, the ballet is possibly the world’s most-performed ballet.

In its concert, which will be directed by young Armenian conductor Sergey Smbatyan, the orchestra will be performing an extensive selection of music from the ballet, including, but not limited to, the music featured in the suite that helped make it iconic.

The first half of the concert will feature two works by another great Romantic-era composer, Felix Mendelssohn, starting with the Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream which he wrote when he was just 17 years old.

This will be followed up by Mendelssohn’s only Violin Concerto, his last work for a large orchestra and one of the most celebrated examples of the genre. The solo violin role will be taken up by the highly-acclaimed young Korean-American violinist Esther Yoo on the 1704 “Prince Obolensky” Stradivarius violin, which has been generously lent to her by a private collector.

Tickets for the concert can be purchased through ticketline.com.mt.