Fan Stilian Noli’s “Byzantine Overture” is being revived by the cooperation of the RTSH and the Opera House Orchestras under the direction of the Polish conductor Aurélien Azan Zielinski, currently the artistic director of the RTSH Orchestra.

“Many people do not know Fan Noli as a composer. His Byzantine Overture has only been played once in Albania and I am very happy to reveal this work to the public. When I came to head the Albanian Radio Television Orchestra, I set it as a goal to perform Albanian music, because there are many good Albanian composers who deserve this,” Zielinski told RTSH.

Fan Stilian Noli’s “Byzantine Overture” was first performed as an absolute premiere in 1939 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra on the anniversary of the Orthodox Church in America and was also broadcast on American state radio.

In Albania it was broadcast for the first time in 1982. In addition to Noli’s Byzantine overture, Tchaikovsky’s Rococo variations will also be performed at the concert. His best-known masterpiece for cello and orchestra has also brought to Tirana the soloist of the year in France, the French cellist, Aurelien Pascal.

Speaking about the collaboration between the two orchestras, Zielinski said that “Berlioz’s fantastic work” is a monumental work that has a large contingent of harps, a lot of percussion. Each orchestra cannot play it alone. We were forced and I see that this collaboration is going very well. The musicians are very pleased! Me too,” said conductor Zielinski.