ALEXEY SHOR (b. 1970): Images from the Great Siege - An Orchestral Cycle, Verdiana.

Description: One of the pivotal and bloodiest battles of 16th-century Europe, the four-month siege of Malta by an Ottoman armada of some 200 ships, from which the local population led by the Knights of Malta emerged victorious, was an extraordinary episode of heroism overcoming overwhelming odds. The Ukrainian composer’s 38-minute orchestral cycle allows his signature lyrical expressiveness and unabashed Romanticism free rein in a suite of 13 impressions – from an atmospheric “Premonition of the Ottoman Invasion”, to the daring and climactic “The Big Bluff” and final jubilant “Victory Celebration”. Verdiana is a virtuosic showpiece that celebrates and transforms Verdi’s music into samba, bossa nova and tango styles. London Symphony Orchestra; Sergey Smbatyan.