Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/611961
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 6 DECEMBER 2015 40 What led you to the study of music, and to the flute in par- ticular? When I was younger I used to accompany my father – a classi- cally-trained bass –to choir prac- tice or concerts and so I suppose I was attracted to music from a very young age because of this. A few months after trying to pro- duce a sound on a rickety wooden flute, my dad bought me silver- plated flute which was a huge im- provement and I began my music career there, which was quite a triumph as I did not only prove to be good at it but my enthusiasm seems to have pushed the band- master at the Lourdes Philhar- monic band in Qrendi – where I grew up – to write a piece and wanted me to play it as a soloist with the band. In the meantime I met Maes- tro Carmelo Abela, who was the director of the Malta Zaghzugha Orchestra, which at that time was the youth orchestra in Malta that then fed musicians to the Manoel Theatre Orchestra. Mro Abela was a highly dedicated music educator in government schools and he picked me from second- ary school, where I became his virtual assistant, playing in all his activities and also dedicating a lot of my time in his orchestra where like many of my future colleagues in the Manoel Theatre Orchestra, we used to have quite a full pro- gramme of performances. This also brought me in contact with my flute teacher Joseph Cor- rado, and I also met and worked with other Maltese composers, including Mro Carmelo Pace with whom I studied theory and coun- terpoint, but who also wanted me to play in his Malta Cultural Institute orchestra as well as per- forming at MCI concerts. In Malta that was the route to joining orchestras and playing in churches with smaller orchestras but also in giving recitals through the MCI, the Malta Zaghzugha, and other ad hoc recitals. This led me to join the Manoel Theatre Orchestra, initially as a part timer and then full time. There I met more conductors and composers, including Mro Sammut, Charles Camilleri, Joseph Vella, and other composers, whose works I played and who encouraged me to pur- sue my career further. What is perhaps remarkable is that we often moan about Malta not being a musical place, and yet most people have their first encounter with classical music in local bands, whose repertoire is always marked by popular pieces by Verdi, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, Ravel… you name it. Has being Maltese helped or hampered your career in any way? Being Maltese actually helps understanding a much bigger context. Also being Maltese also helped me approach the world by not expecting too much, by being realistic, but also by being at the same time ambitious as one de- velops an ability to grasp the right opportunity when it appears. I could say that when I left Mal- ta I felt that I was simply widen- ing my world. To an extent I went abroad partly prepared by work- ing with mentors like Charles Camilleri, who introduced me to a network of composers and performers from beyond the Mal- tese shores. This also helped me understand how the music world operates beyond Malta. It is a very different world where one does not expect anything from anyone, and where there is no sense of en- titlement in terms of one govern- ment or another helping out. I have worked with many out- standing artists and performers who came from all corners of the world. In New York I also worked with many young immigrants who came from countries of the old Soviet Union like Russia and the Ukraine, and other countries in Eastern Europe, some of them coming with nothing but their clothes and instrument and a lot of talent. Are you looking forward to cel- ebrating the legacy of Nielsen and Sibelius with this upcom- ing concert? What would you say is particularly significant about their impact on the musi- cal scene? I am looking forward to the 150th Anniversary from the birth of Nielsen and Sibelius celebra- tory concert. The Flute Concerto is a particular favourite of many in the flute world. It is a con- certo that Nielsen wrote for an instrument of which he himself said that, "the flute cannot deny its own nature, its home is in Arcadia and it prefers pastoral moods". Yet throughout the con- certo cannot be deemed lyrical though there are brief moments. The concerto shifts swiftly from one mood to another, between lyrical short passages and dra- matic, energetic, at times cha- otic sounding passages. After its premiere in October of 1926, the composer Arthur Honegger reviewed the performance writ- ing that the concerto was "full of beautiful combinations" refer- ring to interludes or dialogues between the flute and individual instruments such as the clarinet, and bass trombone, that occur throughout the concerto. Daniel Grimley in his book Carl Nielsen and the Idea of Modern- ism (Boydell Press, 2011) de- scribes Nielsen as, "one of the most playful, life-affirming and awkward voices in twentieth- century music". The concert, the first in the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra: Orchestral Concert Series, will be taking place on December 11 at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta at 20:00, and will be conducted by Christoph Gedschold. Bookings and more information: http:// www.teatrumanoel.com.mt/ This Week 40 The homecoming flutist TEODOR RELJIC speaks to Malta- born, US-based flutist Laura Falzon ahead of her participation at an upcoming concert celebrating the 150th anniversary of renowned Scandinavian composers Carl Nielsen and Jean Sibelius – taking place at the Manoel Theatre under the auspices of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra Flutist Laura Falzon