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maltatoday SUNDAY 14 JANUARY 2018 This Week 41 What is your history with the MPO? The Malta Philharmonic Or- chestra has invited me to per- form in its Ein Heldenleben concert, which is incidentally taking place the same year that marks its 50th anniversary. This is my first collaboration with the Malta Philharmonic, and I'm eagerly awaiting this mag- nificent opportunity. I feel very honoured to have received their invitation, and to be playing in Malta while Valletta enjoys its status as European Capital of Culture! Where are you based, and what is your connection with Malta? Sweden has been my home for the past 12 years, though I was born in Riga, Latvia. I moved to Sweden after having finished my music studies first in Riga and later in London. This will be my first visit to Malta, about which I've heard so much… its beauty and rich cultural herit- age. I'd also like to share this curiosity with you: There's a small village in the eastern part of Latvia that shares the same name with your country! What are your earliest memories of the piano and how was your love for music born? I'd always been fascinated by the old upright piano at my grandparents' house, as far as I can remember. There was something magical about it. I started playing easier melodies on it by ear till my mother no- ticed my musical ability and sent me to the Emils Darzins Music School in Riga when I was six years old. My first teacher was an avid performer of Mozartian reper- toire and would often play an entire movement from a sonata or concerto before beginning my lesson. At times, she'd even create a story behind it. This was a great source of inspira- tion to me, and I could probably attribute my fondness for clas- sical composers such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven to those incidents. Whom do you look to for inspiration now? I find inspiration while taking long walks among nature, and in the moments of silence I get to enjoy every now and then, which can prove rather chal- lenging when having two ener- getic children around! Besides being a concert pia- nist, I am a repetiteur at the Royal Operahouse in Stock- holm, which allows me to work closely with many great singers and conductors and is very en- riching for me as a musician. I also love to play chamber music because it provides a platform for exchanging creative ideas and musical energy with other musicians. You run a music production company with your husband, Karl Nicklas Gustavsson – a composer, producer and photographer. Could you tell us something about it? We founded Iliad kultur- produktion in 2006 shortly af- ter having moved to Sweden. Through that, we've initiated creative collaborations with artists from various cultural scenes, and have participated in artistic and pedagogical pro- jects within institutions, music societies and festivals in Sweden and abroad. In 2007, I recorded an album featuring piano music by Nikolai Medtner, which was well received by critics and lis- teners. More recordings involv- ing piano solo repertoire are in the pipeline this year, as well as further collaborations with other musicians. You will be the soloist in Rachmaninoff's piano concerto during the Ein Heldenleben concert in Malta. It is known for its ardour, fiery expression and timbral variety. What more can you tell us about the piece and how can you relate to it? Rachmaninoff's music has al- ways been close to my heart. I learnt his first piano concerto during my student years in Lon- don, in which I often dreamt about playing it with an orches- tra. Its opening piece captures you right from the start and there is this inevitable presence of fate in it. The music is highly romantic in expression, but it is also full of youthful energy and vividness. Rachmaninoff composed the concerto when he was just 18 years old. He revised the piece in 1917, giving it more trans- parency and timbral variety, particularly the orchestral part. Would you like to share your thoughts and feelings about your upcoming performance? The partnership between the soloist and orchestra is para- mount in this work by Rach- maninoff, which adds to the importance of the conductor's role. I'm looking forward to working with Lawrence Renes, especially because I've already worked with him and know how keen he is about expos- ing orchestral colours. He's got this very infectious and in- spiring energy that is mirrored in the musicians both during rehearsals and performances. I'm pretty sure this will also be transmitted to the audience on the night. The Ein Heldenleben (A He- ro's Life) concert will showcase Richard Strauss' work of the same title and Rachmaninoff's First Piano Concerto, under the direction of Dutch-Maltese conductor Lawrence Renes, and featuring guest concert- master Carmine Lauri. It is be- ing held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta, on January 27 at 20:00. The Malta Philharmonic has launched an early bird of- fer to celebrate the arrival of 2018, its 50th anniversary year. Anyone who purchases their ticket on or before January 20 will be given a free gold MPO membership for the rest of the season, entitling them to a 40% discount A Hero's Life DENISE REJEC speaks to Latvian pianist Inese Klotina ahead of her collaboration with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra in its upcoming concert featuring Richard Strauss' epic Ein Heldenleben Latvian pianist Inese Klotina A Christmas concert with a difference at the Franciscan Oratory ALBERT G. STOR ACE PRACTICALLY all concerts at Yuletide are of a vocal, more precisely, choral na- ture. A recent concert to break with that unofficial tradition was given by young soprano Kimberley Grech, who was ac- companied by pianist Maria Elena Farru- gia in a Barocco Productions event held at the Franciscan Oratory in Republic Street, Valletta on December 26. Another novelty was also announced at the start of the concert by Barocco Pro- ductions' own director – namely, that this was to be the last concert using a piano to be held at the venue. From this year on, Barocco Produc- tions without piano involvement will still be held at the Oratory, while those with piano – whether as solo or in an accom- panying role – will be held quite near: at the Augustinian Monastery two parallel streets away in Old Bakery Street. The Grech-Farrugia duo presented a fine concert during which both had an oppor- tunity to display their great musical talent be it as soloists or in ensemble. Kimberley Grech is a qualified medical doctor who has been studying for many years during which her early nascent talent has devel- oped considerably. Hers is a lovely warm, clear, voice, poised and effortless with a wide spectrum of interpretative ability. It came forth in Yon's Gesù Bambino, with then lullaby mood continuing in Max Reger's Maria Wiegenlied, which was eventually conceded as an encore. Maria Elena Farrugia then performed the first of her two solos, beginning with Carl Reinecke's Christmas Sonatina which inevitably had traces of a carol or two. Performed with great, charm, this was followed by the soprano in Mozart's famous Laudate Dominum, a rendering projected with sublime beauty. This Mozart piece, as was Rutter's popular Christmas Lullaby, was sand- wiched between the pianist's two solo offerings, the second of which was a set of Six Christmas Pieces, Op. 72 by Men- delssohn. Also known as Kinderstücke, these are not as easy to perform as the title may suggest. Many great pianists have recorded them. They come in dif- ferent tempi and moods, very Romantic and the fourth piece, an andante con moto, could easily be classified as a song without words, a form invented by and so dear to the composer. After her accomplished performance, Farrugia easily reverted to the role of worthy, dependable accompanist in the more meaty vocal number without which a Christmas concert could hardly do: Adam's O Holy Night. This came across in all its warmth, humanity and majesty. Ending the concert was Farrugia's ar- rangement of something similar to the joyful Angels from the Realms of Glory, the parentage of which has been attribut- ed to more than one person. The Maltese lyrics sung by Grech were by the Rev. Dun Ġużepp Camilleri. Kimberly Grech Maria Elena Farrugia