A new concert series is about to be presented as part of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra’s spring agenda. Premiere 4 will tour Nicosia, Limassol and Paphos on March 19, 20 and 21, featuring a repertoire of musical brilliance with pieces by Mozart, Haydn and Rossini. In all three concerts, the orchestra’s soloists – concertmaster Wolfgang Schroeder and the superb violist Paul Cortese – will perform under the baton of the highly awarded conductor Gudni Emilsson.

Starring in the programme is Gioachino Rossini’s L’ Italiana in Algeri: Overture, a work that premiered in 1813 at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice when the composer was just 21 years old. The opera was written in reportedly in just 18 days, demonstrating Rossini’s legendary speed and efficiency. It belongs to the opera buffa (comic opera) tradition, blending humour, exoticism and virtuosic music in a story of a clever Italian woman outwitting a bumbling Algerian bey.

Next in the concert’s repertoire is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in E flat major, K. 364. Composed in 1779, it blends elements of both symphony and concerto genres and showcases the composer’s innovative approach to orchestration and melodic writing. It is believed that Mozart himself played the viola part, which he transposed up a semitone to enhance its sonority and brilliance.

Finally, is Joseph Haydn’s Symphony no. 97 in C major, Hob. I:97. Haydn’s celebrated London Symphonies were inspired by the composer’s highly successful visits to England between 1791 and 1795. These symphonies were composed for the impresario Johann Peter Salomon, who invited Haydn to London after the composer’s long tenure at the Austrian Esterházy court.

Symphony No. 97, the fifth of the series, was completed and premiered in early 1792 at the Hanover Square Rooms as a part of a series of concerts that introduced Haydn’s latest symphonic innovations to an eager London audience.

Now, it is audiences around Cyprus that will get to enjoy these compositions, at the hands of some of the island’s most talented musicians. The Premiere 4 concert wraps up the orchestra’s March events yet plenty more is coming to please the island’s classical music fans. In April, three concerts featuring exquisite sounds and musicians are planned so far, leading up to the Easter break.

Premiere 4

Cyprus Symphony Orchestra concert featuring Mozart, Haydn and Rossini. March 19. Pallas Theatre, Nicosia. March 20. Rialto Theatre, Limassol. March 21. Markideio Municipal Theatre, Paphos. 8.30pm. www.cyso.org.cy