The multicultural melting pot of Malta is home to the Malta International Music Festival, a major cultural event hosted annually by this Mediterranean island nation. One of the Festival’s most memorable concerts- the one recorded here- took place in 2017: a Trio Gala program for which the well-known Khachaturian Trio as well as five other brilliant musicians- formed into trios (and one duo)- performed a dazzling array of varied and highly appealing music. The program includes both well-known and novel music by Maltese composers Joseph Vella and Alexey Shore; also Uzbekistan native Ilya Dimov. Highlights include a brilliant rendition of Khachaturian’s world-famous Sabre ance in a version for piano trio, the sublime Andante from Arno Babadjanian’s Piano Trio, and a breathtaking performance of the much-loved Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia for violin and cello. In addition to the Khachaturian Trio, the distinguished performers include a number of well-known artists, predominatnly from Armenia and Russia.