Malta will be presenting another resplendent weekend between Wednesday 30th October and Sunday, 3rd November with classical music recitals and arts in beautiful palatial surroundings.
Collectively entitled “The Three Palaces”, all will provide access to the public who will experience intimate performances in the grandeur of some of Malta’s finest palaces and indulge in forms of artistic expression that reflect the identity of the nation and beyond. Emerging Maltese artists will musically perform alongside the finest established artists in Malta as well as international performers.
The basis of the events is on the composition works of Antonio Vivaldi and his musical work “The Four Seasons”. These were written between 1718 and 1720 and first published in Amsterdam and based on the themes of harmony and invention, detailing the four seasons of the year.
Unusual for the period, Vivaldi published the concerti with his own written sonnets which much, much later became regarded as “Programme Music”, that is, music with words of a narrative element.
The first event is curious and intriguing and will be held in the splendidly palatial surroundings of the Grandmasters’ Palace in Valletta. Malta is rife with splendid palaces but this palace has naturally been the most extravagant and most embellished because it was the home of the Grandmaster of the Day and his luxury was paramount and had to impress all visiting international royals and representatives.
On the 30th of October at 7.30pm this first event will be held on this palace, entitled “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires – with works by Piazzolla and Tchaikovsky”.
“The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires”
This entirely puzzled me. What relativity does “The Four Seasons” have to do with Buenos Aires and who is Piazzolla and connected with Tchaikovsky?
This obviously needed further research and this yielded the following:
Astor Pantaleon Piazzolla was an Argentinean musician and composer born in Buenos Aires in 1921 and passed away in 1992. He became famous as an Argentinean-style tango composer as well as a bandoneon instrument player and adapted much classical music to tango enhancement.
The bandoneon is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay and an instrument utilised in most tango ensembles.
I certainly look forward to this event to analyse the result. I love classical music and I love tango but have never thought of the two being combined together!
Christine Zerafa will be the pianist, Jacob Portelli will play the cello and Sarah Spiteri will play the violin.
Excerpts by Tchaikovsky will also be themed in.
“Come and Sing”
This will be staged on the next day, Thursday 31st October, starting at 7.30pm in the Music Chamber of Valletta’s St John’s Co-Cathedral and will involve two choirs, a brass quartet and two organists.
Singing to the Island Brass Quartet will be the Amadeus Chamber Choir and the St Paul’s Choral Society choir and will be tuned by organists Elisabeth Conrad and Natalia Rakhmatulina.
The Four Seasons Recomposed
This is a song and dance event with Luke Bugeja Gauci as the dancer in a composition by Max Richter entitled “The Four Seasons Recomposed” and will be held on 1st November at 8pm in Valletta’s National Museum of Archaeology with an orchestra of violin, viola, double bass, harpsichord and harp. It will be melodious and highly entertaining.
A further and final session of Antonio Vivaldi “The Four Seasons” will be staged 2nd November at 8pm in Siggiewi’s Verdala Palace and will feature the Valletta Baroque Ensemble.
Traditional mask-making with Lawrence (Lorry) Coleiro
This will be held in two sessions at 10am and 2pm on 2nd November at the Malta Society for Arts in Valletta and based on making your own mask and taking it away with you.
Lorry Coleiro is famed for his building of resplendent carnival floats and is also a highly-respected film and stage set constructor and will provide an alternative from a purely musical set of themes.
Roses, Carnevale and Angels Unmasked
This intriguing presentation on 3rd November at 6pm in Naxxar’s astoundingly beautiful and private Palazzo Parisio in Naxxar, rounds off the whole programme designed by Festivals Malta.
With a rose carnival masks basis it involves oriental visions of opulence and exotic mystery and is largely based on harp music (Alex Rider will play the harp) and starts with Khachaturian’s Danse Orientale amidst the rose gardens and perfumes of Central Asia, passing through the now shamefully destroyed statues of Buddha in a composition by Philippe Hersant, through a Fantasie composed by Camille Saint-Saens and then onto Venice and ending with the Barcarolle.
A world premier will be given to a composition by Lauren Scott titled “Flight of the Angel” (Behind the Mask).
Not to be missed – a five-day spectacle of music, dance, singing and artistic designs. Entrance prices most modest averaging 20 euros.
For further details contact:
By ALBERT FENECH
