Fans of classical music living at the Costa del Sol or those currently staying their Marbella holiday homes to escape the cold Northern European climes can look forward to a thrilling series of concerts and events performed by the Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra (OFM), held as part of the orchestra's 25th anniversary this year.
Uncertain Future
Not all is rosy though. The OFM must attract larger audiences and rustle up more sponsors for the future, as well as improve its relationship with the Cervantes Theatre, where most of the OFM's concerts will be staged. 2016 will be a decisive year for the orchestra, which must breathe new life into its dwindling finances to survive. Official funding has been cut drastically. Six years ago the orchestra received six million euros of public funding. Now the OFM gets just 4,767,000 euros from Malaga Council and the Junta de Andalucía.
Illustrious Musical Pedigree
Rather surprisingly, the history of the OFM began in Moscow at temperatures of ten degrees below zero, not in the Costa del Sol's sunny climes. In the midst of Gorbachov's "perestroika" and unrest over the dismissal of one of his government's strongmen, a delegation from Malaga had begun a search for musicians.
Auditions took place at a school, where long queues of hopefuls had formed - not because they had the least notion about the Costa del Sol or Spain. None of them spoke Spanish, most didn't know where to locate Malaga on a map and the majority only recognised the name of the city because it had been displayed on bottles that contained Catherine the Great's preferred Spanish wine, according to percussionist Yuri Churguyev.
All of them knew, however, that the Costa del Sol had a warm climate, which was simply too tempting for words for young Muscovites shivering in the Russian capital's winter. Sunshine, combined with a salary of approximately 200,000 pesetas per month, an impossible amount of money by Russian standards at the time, were the deal clinchers. Knowing their worth musically, the young musicians had no illusions how desirable their collaboration would be for the delegation from Malaga. Even the worst musician studying at the Moscow conservatory would be a vast improvement on what Malaga's philharmonic orchestra had to offer at that time.
Soon after auditions in Moscow and Bratislava came to an end, almost 50 musicians backed their suitcases and flew off to Andalucía to become what was initially known as the City of Malaga Orchestra but was later renamed the Philharmonic Orchestra of Malaga. Their first performance took place on Valentine's Day 1991.
Today the OFM is no longer a babel of foreign languages, where the only language they have in common is music and the conductor's baton. They have survived various crisis periods, have gained vastly in reputation and are regular highlights in Malaga's cultural calendar. However, conductor Octav Calleya and the motley crew of musicians are very aware that they must appeal to larger audiences and attract betters sponsorship, if the OFM is survive for another 25 years.
OFM's Crowd-pleasers for 2016
To please audiences, the OFM has arranged a seasonal concert on the actual date of its anniversary with conductor Hernández Silva, which will take place in Malaga Cathedral in May, as well as two summer performances organised by a special "25th Anniversary" committee in charge of the year-long events.
The programme includes music recitals for works by Rachmaninov in February and Mozart in March, followed by Debussy, Chausson and Ravel in May and works by Haydn, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Borodin and Debussy in June. Ticket prices start at 9.00 euros.
The 25th OFM anniversary concert with conductor Manuel Hernandez Silva will feature a trumpet concerto in E flat major by Neruda and Mestizo, a concerto for trumpet and orchestra by Efrain Oscher, with Pacho Flores on trumpet. The former was written in a pre-classical style for strings and harpsichord by Czech composer J B Neruda. The event will also feature Huapango, a work by the Mexican José Pablo Moncayo that is so ingrained in Mexican culture, it is considered to be the country's second national anthem.
The highlight of the evening for many Costa del Sol music fans, however, will be the Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, by Rachmaninov. Representing a summary of what it is like to live under the constant shadow of death, the dances showcase the composer's deep insight and musical wisdom at its best.
The Cervantes Theatre is located at Calle Ramos Marín, S/N, 29012 Málaga and advance tickets can be purchased by telephoning +34 952 22 41 09.