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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 JANUARY 2016 41 This Week The Baroque heart of Valletta Ahead of its fourth edition, Artistic Director of the Valletta International Baroque Festival Kenneth Zammit Tabona speaks to TEODOR RELJIC about how this 'celebration of the baroque medium' has managed to sustain its momentum, as aided in no small part by the city of Valletta itself How would you describe the track record of the Baroque Festi- val so far? The festival has indeed moved from strength to strength since its launch in 2013. We are about to plunge into the fourth edition with a programme containing a galaxy of stars led by the living legends of the baroque world; Jordi Savall and Philippe Herreweghe. In the past editions we have en- gaged top flight artists like counter- tenors Max Emmanuel Cencic and Iestyn Davies, sopranos Carolyn Sampson and Mhairi Johnson, ten- or Nicholas Mulroy and conductors like Harry Bicket, Steven Devine, Herve Niquet and Leonardo Gar- cia Alarcon. Internationally in three short years our festival is today con- sidered to be one of the best festivals in Europe with its director now on the Board of Directors of REMA; Reseau Europeen de Musique An- cienne. We have given birth to the fes- tival's own ensemble, the Valletta International Baroque Ensemble – popularly known as VIBE – which contributes two major concerts to the festival each year besides peri- odical masterclasses throughout the year followed by specialised con- certs. It is our intention to up the fre- quency of these concerts and hence increase the level of baroque musi- cianship required in this day and age in the ever-evolving baroque idiom. Given that this will be the fourth edition of the festival, how do you strive to keep the event fresh? Internationally although we are 'Johnny come latelys', the Maltese music in the local archives is a great academic attraction and we are rid- ing the crest of the wave of 'redis- covery' that is taking place all over the world where archives are being raided and scoured to produce op- eras, oratorios and a host of other musical forms. Those who attended last year's festival will recall the elec- trifying oratorio 'Il Diluvio Univer- sale' by Michelangelo Falvetti a 17th Century Sicilian composer who was hitherto unknown up to a couple of years ago. Again I feel that being as imagina- tive as possible in one's program- ming ensures that the festival re- mains perennially interesting and aesthetically stimulating. Like the great Johann Sebastian Bach I love transcriptions and interesting in- terpretations. In many cases it was these transcriptions like those by Busoni and Stokowsky that kept ba- roque music alive at a time when it was considered passé. The decision taken by the Artistic Director of the Malta Philharmonic and myself to programme 20th cen- tury music that was 'inspired by the baroque idiom' was received very well last year and we this year have a lovely selection of music by Richard Strauss and Ottorino Respighi un- der the baton of Philip Walsh. Have you seen a change in the au- dience at all? What kind of people has the festival been attracting? In four years, I have met many people from Malta and abroad who attend the Baroque Festival almost exclusively. While the local audi- ence transcends to most of the mu- sical events organised by the thea- tre, I have made friends with a good number of music lovers from over- seas who have made January into a yearly appointment in Malta. My general impression is that most people who come to this festival come because of Valletta's unique ambience; its churches, theatre and museums. They are highly cultured individuals with a keen appreciation of music and art not to mention his- tory too. All of which Valletta and the festival has in abundance. Would you say the festival is help- ing the local music scene too? The festival is certainly raising the general benchmark of local music making as more and more Maltese musicians take up the baroque chal- lenge. It has also placed Malta on the international circuit as agents and musicians from all over Europe and even America write in to take part in our festival. The success of this festi- val has pervaded the general artistic level of music making in Malta. How do you think the festival fits into the overall plan for Valletta 2018 and the Arts Council's plans for 2020? The festival promises to live on into the years of Valletta 2018 into 2020 and beyond. If handled right and nurtured as it should be, the ideal formula that made this festi- val what it is should logically ensure that it will become one of the great festivals of Europe, comparable to festivals that have been running for over half a century like Ambronay and La Chaise Dieu. As long as Val- letta remains Valletta, the festival is destined to endure. For more information and a full programme, log on to: http://vallet- tabaroquefestival.com.mt/ Kenneth Zammit Tabona: "A good number of music lovers from overseas have made January into a yearly appointment in Malta" TEATRU Manoel opens 2016 with a great recital by con- temporary pianist Tricia Dawn Williams on Wednesday, Janu- ary 6 at 20:00. This is part of the 'Wednesdays at the Manoel' series which was launched last season. Tricia Dawn Williams is a concert pianist with an unu- sual and colourful profile. As a dedicated promoter of music by living composers, she has com- missioned, premiered, record- ed and broadcast numerous new works, and is a frequent collaborator on the creation of interdisciplinary projects with new technologies. Her international perform- ances include, amongst oth- ers: Les Invalides in Paris, the Béla Bartόk Memorial House in Budapest, the Festival Interna- tional de Carthage in Tunisia, the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Wash- ington DC, Abbaye aux Dames de Saintes in France and Festi- val di Castel dei Mondi in Italy. In Malta she has performed in various festivals and pres- tigious venues: the Malta Arts Festival, Għanafest, the Inter- national Spring Orchestra Fes- tival, Contemporary Sounds Series, Science in the City, Evenings on Campus, Notte Bi- anca, Żigużajg – Arts Festival for Children and Young People, the Valletta International Piano Festival, Modern Music Days, The Three Palaces Festival, Teatru Manoel and San Anton Presidential Palace. On January 6, Williams will perform works by John Cage, Mariella Cassar Cordiina, Makiko Kinoshita, Konstantia Gourzi, Veronika Krausas and Graham Fitkin. The recital starts at 20:00 with a pre-recital talk for ticket holders at 19:15. Tickets are €20 with discounts for students and senior citizens. Primary school aged children enter free but must be accompanied by a paying adult. Bookings: www. teatrumanoel.com.mt Tricia Dawn Williams at the Manoel Tricia Dawn Williams