Be the first to comment!Gozitan artists represent Malta at Europa Season in Romania
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Gozitan conductor Colin Attard and up-and-coming violinist Pierre Louis Attard have recently represented Malta at the Oltenia Philharmonic's 2015-2016 Europa Season in Craiova, Romania.
The season envisaged a week of musical-related events dedicated to every EU country. Co-ordinated by the Oltenia Philharmonic's artistic director Vlad Dragulescu, the Malta events were liaised by the Maltese Ambassador to Romania and Bulgaria, H.E. Prof. Lino Bianco.
The Malta events opened with Mro Attard delivering a public talk about Malta's and Gozo's past and current musical scenario. This was very well-received with the members of the public thoroughly involving themselves during question time.
On another evening the maestro and Pierre Louis Attard were involved in a public "Open Dialogue" session during which the Oltenia Philharmonic's PRO Claudia Gorun – and the members of the public – fielded a series of questions exploring the Attards' artistic development and their very personal ways of going about their artistic life. Both events were held at the Philharmonic's conference room.
The climax of the week was of course the concluding symphonic concert held at the Oltenia Philharmonic's auditorium in the centre of Craiova. Mro Attard conducted the Oltenia Philharmonic in a concert devoted to Maltese and Eastern European music.
The opening excerpt was Carmelo Pace's Bernardette, a post-romantic symphonic poem inspired by the apparitions at Lourdes. Violinist Pierre Louis Attard then entered the fray. Retaining the same (semi-religious) vein, Colin Attard's own Lejn Hajja Ahjar, a scene (for violin and strings) from the video-film Lehen mill-Kwadru which narrates the Ta' Pinu story, was then performed.
Pierre Louis then interpreted Bela Bartok highly-taxing Rhapsody No.1 for violin and orchestra, a work based on Transylvanian fiddle melodies. Attard acknowledged the very warm applause with a rendition of an excerpt from Paul Patterson's Ludlowice Variations for unaccompanied violin.
The second part of the concert was devoted to Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E minor 'From the New World'. The concert was transmitted live by the TVR Craiova and included presentations by two important Romanian musicologists, namely the head of the Radio Romania Muzical based in Bucharest, Cristina Comandasu, and Constantin Secara from Bucharest's Institute of Ethnography and Folklore "Constantin Brailoiu."
As a corollary to the principal events, Mro Attard was also entrusted by the organisers to invite a Maltese student to take part in the "Music Colloquium Series," a discussion-recital intended to explore the educational perspective of music in Malta.
The maestro opted to select a participant in the Miriam Gauci Vocal Master Class recently held in Gozo as part of Gaulitana: A Festival of Music. Mezzo-soprano Graziella Debattista Briffa – currently reading for her Masters degree at London's Royal Academy of Music – was chosen for the event held at Craiova's Art Museum. This was chaired by the Oltenia Philharmonic's PRO Claudia Gorun, with Corina Stanescu accompanying on the piano.
Photos: Mro Attard and the OP acknowledging the applause at the end of the concert – Pierre Louis Attard giving an encore, and – After the concert: Mro Attard (centre) and Pierre Louis Attard (far right) with (from left) Constantin Secara, Claudia Gorun and Cristina Comandasu.
