Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1127413
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 JUNE 2019 7 CULTURE CONTEMPORARY composer and visual artist Pawlu Grech will be show- casing a selection of paintings and piano works – some of which are be- ing shown and heard for the first time ever during an evening themed 'Depar- tures'. The event on Friday 14 June in the Concert Hall of Palazzo de la Salle – the seat of the Malta Society of Arts in Valletta – will celebrate Grech's artistic career, starting off with a piano recital by Ramona Zammit Formosa, followed by a talk on the composer's life, a small exhibition and a reception. Dissatisfied with the classical tradi- tion and its reliance on rules, Grech is one of the few Maltese artists to have taken up the rallying cry of composers like Stravinsky, Stockhausen and Sch- oenberg in the 20th century rebellion against the musical mainstream. Grech's visual art follows the same pattern and his paintings, rather than attempting to figure the world as it is seen, seek to understand the subtle di- mension of things. His works attempt to interrogate the patterns and rules that underlie the everyday world by departing from them, presenting their absence and thereby lifting them into the sphere of attention. "This event hopes to be a catalyst for reflection on those first principles that make us – before race, sex and politics – human beings," the artist says. Grech's first set of compositions are collectively titled 'Fantasia', as they are, in his own words, "a departure into my own fantasies". A number of these yet-unpublished and never publicly performed works will be premiered by Zammit Formosa, one of Grech's former students, in the first half of the concert. A few of his early paint- ings will also be hung in the Palazzo's courtyard. Grech's later works mark a clear break with conventional musical form, often being atonal and centred around the repetition and development of a basic theme. He departs into his own unique world of musical exploration and develops to the full the alterna- tive routes of musical aesthetic sighted down in his early years. Some visual works from the artist's mature period will accompany his early paintings. Silvio John Camilleri will be addressing 'Pawlu Grech – A Life in Perspective', a lecture that will revolve around the link between the visual and aural dimensions of the artist's oeuvre. Gabriel Zammit, the co-producer of the event writes that "Pawlu Grech is a surgeon of the real. By parsing apart musical form and exploring the inner mechanisms of artistic language, Pawlu sheds light on our place in the world. One can opine that musical rules are re- flective of the more general logic we use to understand the reality we function in. By breaking these rules and expanding them, pushing boundaries and explor- ing unexplored possibilities, Pawlu en- courages us to reflect on the manner in which we see things in the first place." 'Departures', will be held on 14 June at 8pm at Palazzo de la Salle, Valletta, and is a project supported by the Arts Council Malta – Malta Arts Fund. For more information, visit www. artsmalta.org or www.facebook.com/ events/2408632792514295 . Tickets, at €10, are available at https://tinyurl. com/PawluGrech. Pawlu Grech: A life in perspective Concert, talk and exhibition at Palazzo de la Salle to trace the Maltese composer's rich artistic career Tyrant AN 11-year-old ballerina has become the youngest Maltese dancer to land a part in two live performances at Lon- don's famous Sadler's Wells Theatre and The Crescent in Birmingham in September. Julia Gauci, who dedicates three hours dancing every day after school to achieve her dream, was chosen fol- lowing tough auditions with a UK ballet company earlier this year. "I'm really excited and happy about this opportuni- ty — I have a lot of support and did my best to get here," the young girl said. Thanks to financial sup- port from Bupa Malta and the BOV Joseph Calleja Foundation, Julia will be joining the UK's National Youth Ballet for intense rehearsals in August to prepare for the live perfor- mances in September. "The opportunity to travel abroad has helped me ex- press my emotions and ex- posed me to different types of dance and cultures. "I know that if I work hard enough and I push myself I will keep improving… thanks to this financial sup- port I can now pursue my dream to become a profes- sional ballerina," she said, admitting that although she enjoyed school, ballet was her first love. Bupa Malta executive di- rector Adriana Zarb Adami said: "Julia is a young Mal- tese top-class ballerina with immense potential and Bu- pa Malta is always very will- ing to support ex-ceptional talent." Julia, who has been under the guidance of the Acad- emy of Dance Arts in Mosta for the past seven years, was born with a natural talent for classical ballet and un- der her parents' watchful eyes she nurtures this talent with great passion and de- termination. This combination of abil- ity and hard work has opened a world of opportu- nities for Julia, and she has already been chosen from among hundreds of interna- tional students to undergo intensive ballet classes with various renowned schools, such as The Opera de Par- is, The Royal Ballet School, The English National Bal- let School, and the Rambert School of Ballet and Con- temporary Dance. Ballerina, 11, youngest Maltese to perform at London's top theatre