MÁV Symphony Orchestra

The MÁV Symphony Orchestra concert is worth as much as a trip round the world. At the time of writing, the name of the piano soloist was unknown because he/she will be invited by the orchestra on the basis of the outstanding performance given at a major international competition. Conductor Conrad van Alphen was born in the Republic of South Africa. He finished his studies in the Netherlands. Composer Alexey Shor was born in Kiev, from where he moved to Israel and then the United States; he maintains close contacts with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and the orchestras of Armenia. His music is tonal, recalling the world of harmony and Romanticism. The solo piano deserves special attention, the virtuoso part of which is reminiscent of Grieg and Rachmaninov. His piano concerto Travel Notebook talks – in a diverse way – about his memories, impressions, emotions collected in six different cities in the language of music. Richard Strauss’s ‘prankster’s story’ Till Eulenspiegel is set in the Low Countries; Zarathustra recalls Nietzsche, the great German philosopher, while the prophet and founder of the religion lived in ancient Persian, in the eastern part of what is today Iran.