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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 MARCH 2024 4 ALMANAC My essentials RICHARD SALIBA Artist I commenced my training in drawing and painting in 1960 at the age of 18 when I started attending the Government School of Art in Valletta. We had some great teachers then amongst whom I recall Vincent Apap, George Borg, Carmelo Mangion and Esprit Barthet. 4 5 1. Book 2. Film 3. Internet / TV 4. Music 5. Place A recent phenomenon on the local scene are the pod- casts of Jon Mallia which I find greatly irreverent and subversive but also high- ly entertaining, something that we needed in our insu- lar and politicised country. PIANO concerto no. 2 by Russian composer Ser- gei Rahmaninov and The Gymnopedies by the French composer and pianist Eric Satie. These compositions inspire me greatly in finding the right mood when I am painting and searching for that poetry that I try to in- fuse in my work. MY favourite places in Mal- ta are those around Buskett, Mtahleb, Bahrija which in- spire me greatly in my paint- ings. They are, moreover, amongst the few places that are still unspoilt, where one can breathe the pure air of the Maltese countryside. My fa- vourite place still remains the city of Rome, the city I first visited when I was a teenager. The amazing remains of an- tiquity and the marvels of the baroque age with its palaces, architecture and museums are a never-ending inspiration and a joy to all lovers of art and good taste. ONE of the books that I really enjoyed reading was entitled: Gabriele D'Annunzio, Poet, Seducer, and Preacher of War by Lucy Hughes Hallet. D'An- nunzio is recognised as one of Italy's foremost poets of the last century. This was not his only achievement; he was a widely respected politician who had a great following. He used his fame to sell his work, seduce women, and promote his extreme nationalism. In 1915 D'Annunzio's incendiary oratory helped drive Italy to enter the First World War, in which he achieved heroic sta- tus as an aviator. A film that I greatly enjoyed seeing was Giuseppe Torna- tore's film Malena. This film about a beautiful woman's ordeal in war time Sicily, dur- ing which her husband was on the battlefield, is truly an ode to one of Italy's iconic film stars, Monica Bellucci, who contributes little in dia- logue but compensates in no small way with her haunting beauty. The music by Ennio Morricone contributes in no small manner in making the film a poetic experience that one will not easily forget. Compiled by Laura Calleja suggestions by email lcalleja@mediatoday.com 1 This page is supported by Arts Council Malta 2 3