The Asunción Symphony Orchestra (OSCA) will offer a free concert on Thursday, 5 November 2026, at 20:00 at the city’s historic Teatro Municipal. The programme will feature the first performance by the orchestra of Alexander Scriabin’s Concerto for piano and orchestra and a presentation of Franz Schubert’s Symphony in C major, “The Great,” commemorating the 200th anniversary of its creation.
Maestro Luis Szaran will lead the orchestra, with Paraguayan pianist Orlando Riveros joining as a special guest. Together, they will interpret these two significant works from the symphonic repertoire. The event is open to the public with no admission charge.
Landmark romantic compositions
The concert will open with the technically demanding Piano Concerto by Alexander Scriabin. The Russian composer, who lived from 1872 to 1915, wrote the piece in 1896. It premiered the following year in Odessa with Scriabin himself performing as the soloist. This was his only concerto and his first composition for a full orchestra. The work features virtuosic passages and a musical language that blends late Romanticism with new expressive explorations.
Following this, the orchestra will perform Franz Schubert’s Symphony in C major, “The Great.” Composed in 1825, it is considered one of the masterpieces of the Romantic symphonic era. The Austrian composer, who died at the young age of 31, never heard the symphony performed during his lifetime. The work was discovered years after his death by fellow composer Robert Schumann and finally premiered in 1839 under the direction of Felix Mendelssohn.
Featured Paraguayan artists
The concert’s conductor, Luis Szaran, has been the principal director of the Asunción Symphony Orchestra since 1990. Szaran is an internationally recognised composer and musicologist. He has conducted orchestras across the Americas and Europe. He has also received numerous awards for his cultural contributions. He is also the founder of the social integration project Sonidos de la Tierra (Sounds of the Earth).
The evening’s soloist, Orlando Javier Riveros Figueredo, is a distinguished Paraguayan pianist. He received his musical training in both Paraguay and the United States, earning a bachelor’s degree in Musical Performance in Arkansas and a master’s degree in Illinois. Riveros has previously performed with OSCA, including the national premiere of Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, also under the direction of Szaran. He currently serves as a piano professor and the academic director of the Musicarte Conservatory of Music.
Schubert and Scriabin: A cultural opportunity
The event is presented by the Itaú Foundation and Petrobras, and organised by the Asunción Philharmonic Society and the General Directorate of Culture and Tourism of the Municipality of Asunción. These organisations frequently collaborate to bring musical and cultural events to the public.
The performance at the Teatro Municipal Ignacio A. Pane, Asunción’s oldest theatre, offers the public a chance to experience two fundamental works of the classical and romantic repertoire free of charge. The venue stands in the city’s historic centre. It has been a cornerstone of Paraguayan culture since its inauguration in the 19th century.
