The eleventh edition of Festival Mediterranea comes to a close on Saturday 17 November with the Annual Grand Symphonic Concert by La Stella Philharmonic Band (AD 1863), during which a local composition will be premièred. The concert, which starts at 7.30pm, will be held at Teatru Astra. Entrance to the event is free of charge.
The symphonic concert brings together a strong 70-member band, under the direction of Prof. Mro. Joseph Vella, in what is considered its main event throughout the winter season. Saturday’s concert sees the band interpret a selection of classical, semi-classical and symphonic music, with music varying from soundtracks to opera, in what is increasingly becoming a much-awaited event for music lovers on Gozo.
The programme includes music from Miklós Rózsa’s soundtrack for Quo Vadis, Franz Von Suppé’s overture Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna which gained increased popularity with its use in Bugs Bunny cartoons, as well as an arrangement for band from Giacomo Puccini’s much-loved opera Madama Butterfly, performed to huge success at Teatru Astra last month.
The concert also includes Uri Hodorov’s Gypsy Rhapsody for Bb Clarinet solo and Symphonic Band with the participation of soloist George Apap, as well as Jacob de Haan’s delightful Concerto d’Amore, which is a combination of baroque, pop and jazz music which will surely go down well with fans of contemporary band music. Another piece is Denzil Stephen’s brand new arrangement of Ricardo Eugenio Drigo’s popular ballet music composition Serenade from the composer’s Les Milions d’Arlequin, a long-time favourite with euphonium soloists now with a fresh arrangement that is pitched a tone higher than the original solo. The soloist for this piece is Ino Attard.
The Annual Grand Concert also gives prominence to local compositions. Besides Prof. Mro. Joseph Vella’s well-known Rebbieha for wind band, the evening includes the première of Mario Galea’s overture Mediterranea, in three sections, which was specifically composed last year to commemorate the festival’s tenth anniversary.
While the concert starts at 7.30pm, the public is being invited to be seated by 7.15pm. Seating is on a first-come first-served basis. More information is available on www.mediterranea.com.mt or 7925 6897.
The concert brings to a close the 11th edition of Festival Mediterranea, organised by volunteers at Teatru Astra. The festival started on the 25th October with the first of two nights of Giacomo Puccini’s popular opera Madama Butterfly which brought, for the first time to the local stage, three first-class opera singers – soprano Daniela Dessì, tenor Fabio Armiliato and baritone Carlo Guelfi.
Festival Mediterranea is organised with the support of Bank of Valletta, the Malta Tourism Authority, the Malta International Airport, the Ministry for Gozo, the Ministry for Finance, the Economy and Investment, the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts and Victoria Local Council.