Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/516462
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 MAY 2015 38 This Week THIS season's 'Wednesdays at the Manoel' series comes to an end with a recital by pianist Stefan Cassar on Wednesday May 27 at 20:00. With music by Brahms, Beethoven, Chopin, Ravel and Liszt this promises to be one of the highlights of this season's recitals. Based in France and a graduate of the Ecole Normale Superieure de Musique de Paris and the Mozarteum in Salzburg in Austria, Cassar plays regularly in France, Europe and Asia. He has been a prize-winner in the Sophia 2000 international pi- ano competition for the best in- terpretation of Liszt's 'Après une Lecture du Dante', a work which he has recorded on a CD includ- ing major works by Beethoven and Chopin. Cassar plays regularly in vari- ous chamber music ensembles with prestigious artists including the Ludwig string quartet, French violoncellist Dominique de Vil- lancourt, Russian violinist Vadim Tchijk, Swiss flautist Myriam Hildber Dickinson, soloists from the Orchestre National de France Orchestre National de Lyon and French violinist Thomas Gautier. He has also collaborated with Ital- ian ballet dancer Francesca Zivi- ani in John Cage's 'Ophelia' and 'Landscapes' and with French ac- tor Francois Marthouret in a se- ries of concert – lectures based on poems by Rilke and Proust. Stefan has been artistic director of various music festivals all over France including 'Les Nocturnes de Carpentras' in Provence and 'Un Piano a Collonges' close to Lyon. Besides his concert at the Ma- noel, Cassar's highlights this sea- son include concerts in Berlin, New York, two recitals in Paris at the Musee d Art et Histoire audi- torium and a tour in Switzerland. Another important appointment will be at the end of the season when Cassar will be perform- ing Beethoven's Emperor con- certo both in Bulgaria and on the French Riviera. The full programme of the May 27 concert includes Brahms's Kla- vierstücke op 76 no 1 and Kla- vierstücke op 76 no 2, Beethoven's Sonata in c minor op13 'pathet- ique', Chopin's Scherzo no2 op 31, Ravel's Une barque sur l'ocean (from 'Miroirs'), Liszt's Sonetto del Petrarca no104 (from 'années de pèlerinage') and Mephisto Valse no 1. Tickets are €20 with discounts for students and senior citizens and can be obtained from www. teatrumanoel.com.mt, book- ings@teatrumanoel.com.mt or 2124 6389 Pianist Stefan Cassar concludes Wednesdays at the Manoel As our green grasslands fade and turn brown, the Cardoon comes into its own. After months of growing its jungle of thistly leaves, it now blooms in an explosion of large electric-blue/violet flowerheads. These flowers look suspiciously like those of the cultivated artichoke, which also open up at this time. Well mystery solved, because the Cardoon (M: Qaqocc tax-Xewk) is its wild cousin – it's also called Wild Artichoke in fact. And it seems beauty doesn't stop at looks, since many insects find Cardoon flowers irresistible. Wasps, bees, beetles and bugs converge on them in droves, some even falling asleep on the flower like drunks in a pub. One avid fan is the Yellow-banded Scolid Wasp, a large and rather fearsome- looking creature which despite its looks is not really aggressive. Once the insects have been served, and in turn served the plant by pollinating the flowers, the flowerheads seed over summer then go the colour of faded gold – just in time for hungry Goldfinches to gobble the seeds in autumn. A blessing to nature is the Cardoon. 455. CARDOON GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 358: NATURE ALERT! – Help us protect nature by making your voice heard – visit http://www.foemalta.org/links/naturealert The Birds and Habitats Directives (often known as the Nature Directives) are laws that provide the foundation of nature protection across the EU. They ensure that the most important places for nature in Europe are identified and given legal protection (by being made Natura 2000 sites), and they set out requirements to restore and manage these vital wildlife habitats. These laws also offer vital protection to more than 1,400 rare or threatened species of animals and plants by ensuring they are protected in these Natura 2000 sites and in the wider countryside. The Nature Directives have been instrumental in the recovery of several iconic native EU species including Bittern, Grey Wolf and Iberian Lynx. Many of the special places protected by these laws are famous throughout the world – the wetlands of the Doñana National Park in Spain home to flamingos and imperial eagles, the lakes and marshes of the Danube Delta in Romania, home to pelicans and white tailed eagles, and ancient beech forests in Bavaria to name just a few. The species and places protected by the Nature Directives are each unique and irreplaceable and deserve to be protected for their intrinsic value. Nature is also good for us: wetlands help protect us from floods, well managed forests help tackle climate change, provide timber and support nature, and regular time spent in nature is important for our health and wellbeing. Increasingly economists and businesses are also recognising that a healthy and sustainable economy is dependent on our looking after nature. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text and photo Victor Falzon The importance of the Birds and Habitats Directive Pianist Stefan Cassar