Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/803478
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 MARCH 2017 30 This Week International Spring Orchestra Festival to hold 12 Vienna-inspired performances This year's International Spring Orchestra Festival will feature Viennese composers from different eras, as well as Viennese musicians, according to its artistic director THE 11 edition of the Interna- tional Spring Orchestra Festival (ISO) will boast 12 concerts, re- volving around the Austrian city of Vienna. "The Festival will feature Vien- nese composers from different eras, as well as Viennese musi- cians in a programme that travels back in time to reach its climax with Beethoven's Ninth 'Choral' Symphony," ISO's artistic direc- tor Karl Fiorini said. Spanning from April 28 until May 9, this year's ISO will show- case a cast of international stars for the solo parts of Beethoven's majestic symphony – Soprano Elisabeth Teige, Mezzo Marvic Monreal, Tenor Thomas Mohr and Baritone Franz Hawlata. The Maltese choir, prepared by Riccardo Bianchi, will also merge with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. "This edition of the ISO, which marks the beginning of the sec- ond decennial in the festival's life, is an important one for me as it is a celebration of the music of the composer I most revere, and of Vienna, a city that keeps inspir- ing me," Fiorini said. ISO will be held in various ven- ues all over the Valletta, includ- ing at Pjazza Teatru Rjal, Our La- dy of Victories Church, Auberge de Castille, Palazzo Pereira, the National Museum of Archaeol- ogy, Robert Samut Hall, and the Mediterranean Conference Cen- tre. As per tradition, all concerts will be free for anyone aged 15 and under. Following every concert, audi- ences are welcome to meet the organisers and artists for dinner and drinks at Michael's on Arch- bishop Street, Valletta. The ISO Festival is supported by The Ministry for Finance, the 2017 Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU, Arts Council Malta, the ADRC Trust, Malta Enterprise, the Central Bank of Malta, the Ministry for Educa- tion and Employment, the Office of the Prime Minister, Griscti Advocates & Associates, and the French Embassy Karl Fiorini: "This edition of the ISO is an important one for me as it is a celebration of the music of the composer I most revere, and of Vienna, a city that keeps inspiring me" A cappella concert for the start of Holy Week CAPPELLA Sanctae Catharinae will be presenting the Requiem Mass of Orlande de Lassus on April 8 at the church St Mark (Tal- Agostinjani) in Rabat. The concert, held on the eve of Palm Sunday, will feature a cappel- la polyphonic choral music appro- priate for the start of Holy Week. Lassus' Missa Pro Defunctis for four voices was written in 1578 and is possibly one of the last Requiem masses to use a pre-Tridentine set- ting, as is attested by the use of the unusual Gradual Si Ambulem. The work will be interspersed with oth- er short polyphonic pieces from the 16th century that compliment this choral masterpiece. St Mark's Church was designed by Girolamo Cassar and is consid- ered as a prototype for the Order's Conventual Church of St John in Valletta. The Priory, situated alongside the church, was designed by Andrea Belli, and is considered a Baroque architectural gem. The Priory's motto of 'Vetustior Glo- rior'. The concert will help to raise funds for the restoration of a set of 19th carved gilt statues of the Apostles. These statues, which were commissioned to adorn the main altar on high feasts, were made by none other than the famed artist Carlo Darmanin in 1894. This set is unusual because Darmanin produced original de- signs for these statues, rather than adopting the tradi-tional iconogra- phy based on the Lateran set used for such statues. This project forms part of a much bigger ongoing res- toration project at the Augustinian Priory in Rabat, which includes the recently restored facade of the church. The concert starts at 19:30 and lasts around an hour. Entrance is free but there will be a retiring collection in aid of the restoration project currently underway at St Mark's church Cappella Sanctae Catharinae will be presenting the Requiem Mass of Orlande de Lassus at the church of St Mark (Tal-Agostinjani) in Rabat Maltese funeral marches accompanied by Flamenco Dance Taking place on April 1 at Mqabba Primary School Auditorium THE King George V Band of Mqabba will be organising 'El Sagrado', a concert of Maltese funeral marches accompa- nied by flamenco dance on the occa- sion of the inaugu- ration of La Semana Santa de Espana Ho- ly Week exhibition. For this concert, the King George V Band has joined forces with Alegria Dance Company, a professional Mal- tese Flamenco com- pany, with the aim of introducing a new concept for the Good Friday celebrations in Malta. This will see Maltese fu- neral marches and sacred music accompanied by Flamenco danc- ing, bringing together Maltese and Spanish art – an interdisci- plinary collaboration the likes of which hasn't happened in Malta before. The King George V will also be playing Spanish and Classical music. The preparations for this concert have been going on for months, with all parties involved giving their full commitments for this project to be a great suc- cess. The concert will also be ani- mated by the local drama youths portraying several scenes from the life of Jesus. Afterwards, the audience can attend the official inauguration of the exhibition La Semana Santa at Palazz Santa Marija, featuring over 150 min- iature statues decorated in fine velvet and hand-made lace, silver filigree, threading and ganutell, replicas of those of the Spanish Cities. El Sagrado Concert will take place on April 1 at 19:30 at the Mqabba Primary School Audito- rium and is supported by Crea- tive Communities Fund under the Malta Council for Arts and Culture. More information: www.san- tamairja.com or www.facebook. com/santamarija