Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1339768
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 FEBRUARY 2021 6 CULTURE 'Serenading Strings' presented by the Gaulitanus Choir GOZO'S Gaulitanus Choir has been on the go once more, or- ganising yet another public fully Covid-complaint event. Entitled 'Serenading Strings' and specif- ically conceived for Valentine's, this classical music concert was supported by the Cultural Heritage Directorate within the Ministry for Gozo, and held at the Kempinski Hotel San Law- renz on Sunday, 7th February. The Gaulitanus String Or- chestra, this time led by Reggie Clews, and conducted by Gau- litanus's founder/director Col- in Attard, who also artistically directed, presented a varied, at times atypical repertoire, which was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. As the title sug- gests quite a few serenades for strings were performed, with some rather unknown ones by Vasily Kalinnikov, Gabri- el Pierné (both of which were apparently being premiered in Malta) flanking Edward El- gar's very famous and highly romantic one, which also con- cluded the concert. Two other Elgar favourites, 'Chansons de matin' and 'Chansons de nuit' had actually opened the con- cert, with Joseph Vella's 'Ro- manza', featuring Reggie Clews and Frank Camilleri as solo violinist and violoncellist re- spectively, giving a local touch to the repertoire. Two Latin numbers, Manuel Maria Ponce Mexican Love Song 'Estrellita' and Joaquím Malats's 'Serenata Española' from his Impresiones de España (the latter suppos- edly another Malta premiere) completed the programme. In between the musical num- bers, two poems, Wystan Hugh Auden's 'O tell me the truth about love' and Elizabeth Bar- rett Browning's 'How do I love thee?' were recited by Gauli- tanus Choir member Joanna Pullicino. The very warm au- dience was granted an encore, Robert Schumann's haunting 'Traϋmerei'. The Gaulitanus Choir now looks forward to return to the performing platform within a few weeks with another edition of Gaulitana: A Festival of Mu- sic. The Gaulitanus String Orchestra was led by Reggie Clews, and conducted by Gaulitanus's founder/director Colin Attard (Photo by Terry Camilleri) Book review L-Appuntament mad-Destin u stejjer oħra Vincent Piccinino Horizons, 2020 IT goes without saying that Vincent Piccinino has a way of narrating a story. This book is a proof of this, with his 21 new stories. 21 stories to pass our time. There is a story for every day for three whole weeks. 21 stories, the majority of which end with an unex- pected twist. 21 stories with various themes, varying from those narrations termed as fa- miliar (sometimes even semi-autobiographic) to those about various well- known characters, from Valletta or other parts of Malta. 21 stories that venture from the profane to the sacred; from being ridicu- lous to being sublime; from mockery to the metaphys- ical; from the mundane to the divine. 21 stories which are proof that the author can be at times serious and at others sarcastic; he knows how to make you laugh and at the same time knows how to make you cry. But above all, 21 sto- ries that in them, inde- pendently from the theme, the author is always capa- ble of eliciting that touch of humor, characteristic of his own style.