PROGRAMME

N. Paganini Violin Concerto no. 1 op. 6

J. Sibelius Symphony no. 2 in D Major op. 43

‘Carmine Lauri’s name and fame are enough to fill up the concert halls…At the end of Henryk Wieniawski’s 1^st Concerto in F# minor, the Manoel Theatre exploded in a well-deserved roar of applause and would not be mollified before Mr Lauri chose to concede an encore with a caprice also by Wieniawski…’- Albert G. Storace, Sunday Times.

‘Whenever Lauri performs, whether as chamber performer or as soloist with orchestra, he fills the house…. The combination of affable charm which tempers his intense concentration, highly accomplished mix of expressive and robust musicianship plus solid rapport with orchestra and audience, make a heady combination which can only lead to success. It is a fully deserved reputation because Mr Lauri is not only a very accomplished musician and technical wizard but is also very matter of fact and establishes a full, warm rapport with both orchestra and audience.’

‘Carmine is the ideal concertmaster, leads with a positive attitude, has a great sound and is a world-class violinist. Any orchestra would benefit from Carmine’s leadership, as he will reach the hearts of music lovers around the world…’ Yannick Nezet Seguin

Carmine Lauri is Concertmaster of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and co-leader/leader of the London Symphony Orchestra. Born in 1971, he started playing the violin at the age of four. In 1988, he was awarded the Associated Board scholarship to continue his studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Maurice Hasson and Zakhar Bron.

It is not the first time that Carmine was called at rather short notice to replace an indisposed soloist, and he debuted in March 2024 under similar circumstances performing Paganini’s fiendish Violin Concerto no. 1 for first time in the Berlin Philharmonie with the Berliner Symphoniker.

As a regular soloist with the Oxford Philharmonic, he was the first to perform the two Wieniawski Concertos, the Korngold and Glazunov concertos with conductors including Sir Antonio Pappano and the Music Director and founder of the OPO, Dr Marios Papadopolous, whose charisma and musical vision has been an inspiration to this unique institution of uncompromising standards. Carmine has also performed other concertos ranging from Bach, Vivaldi, Bottesini and Piazzola with the orchestra and has appeared in numerous chamber music concerts with principal members of the OPO. He was also invited to join Maxim Vengerov in duo performances as soloist accompanied by the orchestra both in Oxford and at the Barbican Hall in London. Carmine enjoys a very close and respectful collaboration as Leader of the Orchestra, earning him respect from visiting conductors, including  Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov and Vladimir Ashkenazy, over a span of 14 years as member.

As soloist with other world class orchestras, Carmine has performed numerous concertos, particularly from the romantic repertoire which are closest to his heart. He appeared as soloist with orchestras including the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic and Brno Czech State Philharmonic, the Orquesta Municipal de Caracas, the Malta Philharmonic, The Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, the Guanajuato Symphony, Mexico, and others. His passion remains to perform repertoire that displays both technical virtuosity and romanticism, particularly the music of Paganini, Wieniawski, Sarasate and their contemporaries. He is particularly known for his rendition of salon pieces for violin and piano, always prioritising spontaneity of expression and flair, with the aim of bringing back the magic of the incomparable ‘old school of violin playing’, honouring the old violin masters, particularly Jascha Heifetz, Ivry Gitlis, Maurice Hasson, and Nathan Milstein, to name a few, all of whom remain Carmine’s lifetime inspiration and aspiration. His 2 CDs Bravura and Violin Extravaganza stand witness to his talent, and he performs such technically demanding repertoire with masterful virtuosity and natural musical panache.

Carmine is particularly very fond of transcriptions by the great Jascha Heifetz and has personally researched Heifetz’ collection in America for transcriptions and alterations that so far have never been published.

As a long-time member of the LSO, Carmine led the orchestra for the past 24 years under distinguished conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir John Eliott Gardiner, Sir Antonio Pappano and Gianandrea Noseda, just to name a few, and had the privilege to have led the orchestra in concert for both Sir Colin Davis and Bernard Haitink for their last appearance with the orchestra before their sad demise. He also premiered 2 violin concertos accompanied by the LSO both at the Barbican and the Royal Albert Hall and has earned worldwide recognition also having led the orchestra in countless soundtracks for movies including Harry Potter, Star Wars and the latest movie Maestro. Through his characterful playing , charisma and experience he has brought to the orchestra clients from all over the world who requested him to be at the helm of the leader’s seat for their projects, including composers John Williams and Alexandre Desplat.

Lauri performs regularly on a range of prestigious Stradivari instruments, from early to Golden Period to late examples, kindly loaned to him over the years by various institutions and private collectors. He has collaborated with many international soloists who had requested that he joins them to execute a surprise encore at the end of their concerto appearance, either in concerts as leader with the Oxford Philharmonic or the London Symphony Orchestra, including amongst others Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Victoria Mullova, Nikolai Znaider, pianists Cedric Tiberghien and Simon Trypceski and the gypsy violinist Roby Lakatos.

Carmine is one of the unique musical ambassadors of his native country Malta, which, as a result of making a name for his country as a world class violinist and soloist, bestowed upon him the Honour of Member of the Order of Merit (M.O.M). He was elected as both an Associate and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, London, for his achievements in his career.

Philip Walsh was born in Southampton, England, where he studied piano and organ and went on to read music as organ scholar at Queens’ College, Cambridge University, studying with the renowned Bach specialist Peter Hurford. After graduating he spent several years in New Zealand, where he was Director of Music at Wellington Cathedral and conductor of the symphonic chorus the Orpheus Choir. 

On his return to Europe, he has worked for L’Opéra de Metz, l’Opéra de Bordeaux, English Touring Opera, Almeida Opera, London, and the Aldeburgh Festival. He made his Spanish debut conducting Don Giovanni for Opera en Vigo.  Orchestras he has conducted include the London Sinfonietta, the City Chamber Orchestra, Hong Kong, Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale, Bologna, l’Orchestre National de Lorraine, RTS Symphony Orchestra, Belgrade, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. 

His credits include his debut at La Fenice, Venice, conducting Pier Luigi Pizzi’s production of Thomas Ades’s Powder her Face, also appearing at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and the Lugo Opera Festival. He also worked with the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, having appeared with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet in concerts in Parma, Modena, and Ferrara, and with jazz legend Dee Dee Bridgewater in the Verona Jazz Festival.

He was the artistic director of the French opera festival Lyrique-en-mer for whom he conducted over 200 performances, including Bluebeard’s Castle, Rigoletto, Tosca, Falstaff, La Cenerentola, Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, Lucia di Lammermoor, Die Zauberflöte, Otello, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Don Pasquale, La Traviata, I Pagliacci and Gianni Schicchi as well as Bach Johannes-Passion, Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, and Haydn’s Die Schöpfung. 

A frequent performer in Malta, he has conducted Teatru Manoel’s productions of L’Elisir d’amore and Orphée et Euridice, and the Mozart/Da Ponte trilogy of Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte. He has been conducting the opening and closing concerts of the Victoria International Arts Festival as its resident conductor since 2018.

The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra is Malta’s foremost musical institution. It was founded in April 1968, when musicians from the recently disbanded ‘Commander-in-Chief’ (C-in-C) orchestra of the Malta-based British Mediterranean Fleet regrouped as the Manoel Theatre Orchestra. It continued to serve as the theatre’s resident orchestra until September 1997, when it became an independent orchestra, taking up the name National Orchestra of Malta. The orchestra became the MPO in 2008 when it expanded into a full-size symphony orchestra, bringing together musicians from Malta, Europe and beyond.

Joseph Sammut, who was the C-in-C’s last conductor and the Manoel Theatre Orchestra’s first, was succeeded by Joseph Vella, John Galea, Michael Laus, Brian Schembri and Sergey Smbatyan. The MPO’s current resident conductor is Michael Laus. The orchestra also works with local artists including Joseph Calleja, Simon Schembri, Carmine Lauri and Miriam Gauci, as well as international guest artists including Ray Chen, Diana Damrau, José Cura, Mikhail Pletnev, Camille Thomas, Gautier Capuçon, Daniel Lozakovich and Enrico Dindo.

As Malta’s leading musical institution, the MPO averages more than one performance a week, including symphonic concerts, opera productions in Malta and Gozo, community outreach and educational initiatives, as well as various concerts of a lighter nature. During the past seasons, the MPO embarked on a Digital Transformation reaching audiences worldwide through its Online Programme.

The orchestra has performed in leading venues across the globe, including in the United States, Russia, Dubai, Germany, Austria, China, Italy, Spain and Belgium. The MPO is a keen exponent of Maltese composers, regularly performing their works in Malta and overseas, as well as frequently premiering and commissioning new compositions. It is also responsible for the training and professional development of the next generation of Maltese musicians.