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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 FEBRUARY 2022 5 CULTURE Malta Philharmonic Orchestra off to Dubai on next leg of international tour THE MPO will perform in the Symphonic Middle East Festi- val's Grand Opening, and sub- sequently in four other con- certs, as the orchestra returns to Dubai to pursue its Interna- tional Touring. Grammy-award winning vio- linist Gil Shaham, considered to be one of the foremost violinists of our time, will feature in the stunning opening concert, led by MPO Principal Conductor Sergey Smbatyan, which inau- gurates the second edition of the prestigious festival. This will be a fitting start to a week of per- formances by the MPO, show- casing world-class musicians and exquisite repertoire. Sony artist Jasmine Choi, de- fined as "the goddess of the flute" and Grammy-award win- ning, acclaimed pianist Mikhail Pletnev will also feature with the orchestra. One of the most important works in the violin repertoire, Mendelssohn's Concerto, will be interpreted by the MPO and "Diapason d'Or" Winner Andrey Baranov, while Tchaik- ovsky's classical-inspired Roco- co Variations performed by cel- list Victor Julien-Laferrière, also a winner of the "Diapason d'Or". In a brilliant programme of eminent composers, the MPO performs Beethoven's Sympho- ny No. 5, Stravinsky's Firebird and Elgar's Enigma Variations in the concerts held at the as- tounding Dubai Opera together with oeuvres by Maltese com- posers Joseph Vella, Euchar Gravina, Kristian Schembri and Kris Spiteri. Apart from ensur- ing the orchestra's role as a cul- tural ambassador for Malta, per- forming local works also runs in parallel with the Symphonic Middle East's vision of "develop- ing the proliferation of classical music to all parts of the world", with the export of Maltese tal- ent to international audiences. The Symphonic Middle East Festival 2022 is presented by CMDI Group in partnership with SAMIT Event Group, and supported by the European Foundation for Support of Cul- ture.