On Friday the 11^th of December, at 19:00, the Odessa Philarmonic Orchestra will perform its next live stream concert, conducted by the Maestro Hobart Earle.

It will be the world premiere of Oleg Bezborodko's "Carpe Diem" written in 2020. Also, some of the works of Bach and Handel will be performed by the world-famous countertenor Yuriy Minenko.

Oleg Bezborodko was the orchestra’s official “Composer in Residence” for the 2019-2020 concert season. His composition “Carpe Diem”, written for Hobart and the Odessa Philarmonic Orchestra, was supposed to be given its world premiere in April 2020, with Hobart conducting. The composition has the official subtitle: “As if Beethoven lived in Odessa”.

This subtitle is intentional, since “Carpe Diem” was written, during the height of the pandemic, to be premiered in Odessa for the Beethoven year (the 250^th anniversary of his birth is going to be celebrated in 10 days’ time).

During the Orchestra's first-ever webcast, the 31^st of May 2020, Hobart said a few words of introduction about this composition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWWGyd83Nic (timecode 42:50 - 46:25)

According to Bezborodko himself, he took the opening theme of Beethoven’s 5th symphony and transformed it, musically speaking, it into a “klezmer-like tune of a little man, who can seize the day (“Carpe Diem” in Latin) and overcome anything on Earth, through his music, and through his humour.”

A very symbolic image during this challenging year.