Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1489031
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 DECEMBER 2022 4 ALMANAC My essentials MARIA-ELENA FARRUGIA 30, Teacher and Freelance Musician A graduate of both the Royal Northern College of Music and the UOM, my life revolves around music; I teach at the Malta School of Music, I play and perform both as a soloist and as part of ensembles and I accompany singers and other musicians. The other loves of my life are cats, comedy, coffee and good food. 1 4 5 1. Book 2. Film 3. Internet/TV 4. Music 5. Place THE 'interweb' is a bottom- less pit of anything from highbrow documentaries to dumb TikTok challenges. I consider myself to be more of a middle-ground kind of person. I enjoy watching live comedy shows (especially Ricky Gervais, Joe Lycett and Hannah Gadsby), British sit- coms (Only Fools and Hors- es, Fawlty Towers, Black- adder) and the occasional documentary, usually about history or animals. I am also an advocate of making good use of websites that help with one's work or studies. In my case, these would in- clude: Meludia, musictheory. net and other websites from where one can download a plethora of music scores. BEING a musician, I am open to all kinds of music. I cannot say I have a favourite composer or genre, though I have a nat- ural affinity to classical music. I enjoy performing music by a multitude of composers and, as a pianist, when I want to listen to an inspirational interpretation of anything from Baroque to 20th century music, my go-to pia- nist is Martha Argerich. When it comes to listening to and/or playing more contemporary gen- res, I think my choice is influ- enced more by my current mood rather than preference. What I do enjoy is a good riff and solid bassline – Muse, Jamiroquai, Arctic Monkeys and Queen. I find jamming and performing with like-minded musicians is a satisfying experience that is good for my soul, which is why I regu- larly have such sessions and per- formances with one of the best Maltese bands, The Tailors. I am of the persuasion that 'wherever I lay my hat is home'. If given the time and financ- es, I would be a globetrotter. I enjoy travelling and seeing the world, experiencing new places and exploring cities as well as places that are off the beaten path. I don't have a par- ticular place or spot where I feel happier or more comforta- ble. I do however crave nature and open spaces. This does not mean that I am incapable of appreciating more dense- ly-built places; I adore Valletta and I did spend two wonderful years in Manchester, but the unimaginative architecture of modern buildings leaves me uninspired to say the least. 'THE Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck' by Mark Manson. This book encapsulates my views on life. It's about how life sucks sometimes and how that is ac- tually okay. It's like an invert- ed self-help book where the idea is not to 'find your bliss', but rather a soul-searching ex- ercise to identify what you re- ally care about and accept the reality of juxtaposing the good and the bad in order to have a fuller experience of life. It is the antithesis of posting about an impossibly 'perfect' (and therefore unattainable) life on social media and actually liv- ing in the real world. After all, this is the only chance we get. WHEN it comes to movies, I enjoy anything with an intel- ligent plot, a solid cast, pref- erably of British actors (with the exception of Meryl Streep, who is a goddess), and a killer soundtrack. The Harry Potter film series springs to mind. To me, this franchise encap- sulates my childhood/ado- lescence while ticking all the aforementioned boxes. Apart from this, I am, like most peo- ple of my generation, a sucker for a good Pixar or Disney ani- mation movie, with my favour- ite being Disney's 'The Emper- or's New Groove' which, to my mind, is grossly underrated. 3 2