Din -Art Ħelwa regrets to announce that due to unforseen circumstances, Mme Liat Cohen will not be able to arrive in Malta for the concert due this evening at Bir Miftuħ.  Din l-Art Ħelwa, the Israeli Ambassador and Mme Cohen regret any inconvenience caused.  Donations will be refunded.

WHOLE CHURCH CONCERT

Bir Miftuħ  lnternational Music Festival 2016

Din l-Art Ħelwa is pleased to announce the 20th edition of the Bir Miftuħ lnternational Music Festival. This annual spring music festival, which has been garnering success and popularity over the years and is much anticipated and appreciated by lovers of music and the heritage, has firmly established itself as one of the highlights in the music calendar of the Maltese Islands.  The welcoming ambience of the  church  of Santa Marija ta’ Bir Miftuħ with its medieval architecture and frescoes and perfect acoustics provides a truly unique setting for the concerts.

Our generous sponsors are procuring for us high calibre international and national musicians who will delight the audience with select and fascinating repertoires.

Din l-Art Ħelwa is very grateful to its sponsors and sincerely conveys its thanks to the lstituto  ltaliano di Cultura and the Director Dott. Salvatore Schirmo, under the patronage of the Embassy of Italy and the Ambassador of ltaly S.E. Dott. Giovanni Umberto De Vito,  the Embassy of France and the Ambassador of France H.E. Mme. Beatrice Le Fraper Du Hellen together with the Alliance Française de Malte – Méditerranée and the Director and Cultural Counsellor M. Laurent Croset  and to the  Embassy of Israel and the Ambassador of Israel H.E. Mr. Oren David.

lnformation and details about the concerts  are attached  herewith.  All concerts start at 8.00 p.m. Tickets for each concert cost €20 per person and include refreshments after the performance in the medieval chapel grounds.  Block tickets for all three concerts and refreshments cost €50 per person, tickets for two concerts and refreshments cost €35 per person.

Those wishing to attend are requested to fill in the attached form and send it together with their remittance to Din l-Art Ħelwa, Bir Miftuħ lnternational Music Festival, 133, Melita Street, Valletta VLT 1123.  For further information, contact Din l-Art Ħelwa Office, Tel. Nos. 21225952/21220358 from Monday to Friday between 8.30a.m. – 13.30p.m. or email us on info@dinlarthelwa.org

As the concerts are in high demand and the number of seats  is limited, tickets will be issued on a first come first served basis.

Din l-Art Ħelwa greatly appreciates and relies on your support for the success of the Festival.  Apart from enjoying outstanding performances in an exceptional venue,  you will also be giving your valid contribution in aid of Din l-Art Ħelwa’s restoration projects.   We look forward to welcoming you and your friends to the concerts.

Yours sincerely,

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Cettina Caruana Curran

Events Co-ordinator

Programme

Bir Miftuħ lnternational Music Festival 2016

1st Concert – Saturday, 21st May 2016

 A Classical Accordion Recital by Pietro Roffi

This concert is being made possible thanks to the support of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura under the patronage of the Embassy of Italy.

During this special performance one can truly appreciate the extreme versatility and the highly effective and expressive sound of the accordion – a most wonderful instument which “ is almost an orchestra in itself”.

Pietro Roffi – Classical Accordion was born in 1992 and is recognised to be one of the best performers of the new generation. This talented musician possesses the extranordinary ability to turn his accordion into various intruments, as only the exceptionally gifted have the privilege to do.  He studied at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome and has won many prestigious national and international competitions.  He has performed in Europe, Asia and South America as soloist in chamber music and as soloist with world renowned orchestras and academies, such as the Philharmonic Orchestra of Tivoli in Copenhagen and the Royal Academy of Music in London.  In 2014 he made a concert tour of China, performing in Beijing, Tianjin and Nanjing.  He also toured Argentina giving thirteen recitals to enthusiastic audiences.  Pietro Roffi focues on classical and contemporary music and his repertoire ranges from baroque to innovative contemporary music.  He currently teaches accordion at the Italian Academy of Music and Art in Rome and he collaborates with major Italian composers in the writing of new works for the accordion.

Pietro Roffi will regale the audience with stunning works by Vivaldi, Janácek, Piazzolla, Grieg, Hermosa, Saint-Saëns and Zolotarjov.

 

2nd Concert – Saturday, 28th May 2016

A Double Bass and Piano Cocert

By George Cincievski – Double Bass and Charlene Farrugia – Piano

Sponsored by the Embassy of France together with the Alliance Française de Malte – Méditerranée, this unusual combination of double bass and piano will provide an enthralling experience with a magical repertoire.

 Gjorgji Cincievski – Double-Bass was born in Skopje, Macedonia.  He finished his under-graduate and post-graduate studies at the prestigious Royal Nothern College of Music, Manchester, Uk.  Since 2010 he has been the principal double bass player with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.  He has performed with world leading orchestras and has participated in many important festivals around the world.  He is an active solo performer, collaborates with prominent musicians and gives master classes and workshops in Europe, Cuba and China.  In his constant strive to enrich the double bass repertoire, he has done many successful transcriptions for double bass, including works from Bach, Rahmaninov and Brahms, which are being distributed and sold worldwide.  His recent recording of his own transcription from J. S. Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations’ has been hailed and described by music critics and scholars as “an astonishing successful effort that will leave a mark in the world of music history”.

Pianist Charlene Farrugia has been praised by musicians, audiences and music critics as the ‘enfant terrible of Maltese piano’.  Charlene Farrugia is one of the best pianists to have emerged from Malta. At the age of 13, She was the youngest soloist to ever perform with the National Orchestra of Malta. Since then, she has regularly appeared as soloist with several orchestras, such as Gnessin Academy of Music Orchestra, Kaliningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Blackheath Halls Orchestra, Rotterdam Ensemble, Wintergreen Orchestra, Arad Philharmonic Orchestra and Camerata Classica. Charlene has also toured China as guest soloist with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. Her performances have been appreciated by several heads of state, including members of the British Royal Family. After finishing her musical education in Malta with Ms Amodio Chircop, she continued her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Diana Ketler. She holds a Doctorate in Piano Performance from the class of Kenneth Hamilton. Her mentor is Boris Petrushansky. Charlene is an EMMA for peace artist.

Gjorgji Cincievski and Charlene Farrugia will entertain the audience with stimulating works by Debussy, Casadesus, Saint-Saëns ,  Fauré, Massenet,  Satie and Bizet.

3rd Concert – Saturday, 4th June 2016

A Classical Guitar Recital by Liat Cohen – BOULANGER Prize, guitar

This concert is being made possible thanks to the kind support and patronage of the Embassy of Israel.

Many will recall how Liat Cohen had mesmerised the audience with her exceptional performance at Bir Miftuh last year and so, by general request, she is back with us again this year.

Liat Cohen is considered to be one of the most important guitarists in the world today.  She is the first classical guitarist ever to receive the Nadia and Lili Boulanger Prize awarded by the Fondation de France. She has played at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Salle Cortot in Paris, the National Theatre of Costa Rica, the Opera National de Montpellier, the Musée des Invalids in Paris, the  Palais des Congrès de Lyon, the Jerusalem Theatre in Tel Aviv and the Palazzo Bernini in Rome.

She has performed with leading orchestras and at festivals in the U.S.A., Australia, South America, Turkey, Sweden and Israel, many performances being broadcasted live on national television and radio.  Cohen is ‘a true virtuoso guitarist, continuing the tradition of Andrés Segovia’.  She has been dubbed ‘the princess of the classical guitar’ and Guitar Magazine called her ‘a virtuoso of poignant, delicate sound’.  She has been highly acclaimed for her impeccable technique, her deftness and her resourcefulness.

The concert features enchanting works by  Albeniz,  Rodrigo,  Granados, Tarrega , Lauro, Koshkin and  Abreu.

 

Booking Form – Bir Miftuħ International Music Festival 2016

 

Name…………………………………………………………

 

Address ……………………………………………………………………………….

 

……………………………………………………………….Tel no. ………………..

 

Tickets for concerts and refreshments cost €20 per concert per person

 

Block tickets for three concerts and refreshments cost €50 per person

Block tickets for two concerts and refreshments cost    €35 per person

 

1st Concert Saturday, 21st May                                         

 

No. of tickets……..   

 

2nd Concert Saturday, 28th May                                                   

 

No. of tickets……..   

 

3rd Concert Saturday, 4th June

 

No of tickets ………..    

 

Total No. of tickets…………                 Total remittance enclosed ………………..

 

BLOCK TICKETS BOOKING FORM

 

I confirm booking for three concerts ………………………………………………………

 

I confirm booking for  two concerts ………………………………………………………

 

I confirm booking for  one concert …………………………………………………………….

 

 

Din l-Art Ħelwa 133, Melita Street, Valletta VLT 1123 Tel. nos. 21225952/21220358