The Malta International Arts Festival (MIAF) presents the fourth edition of “Young Creatives in Motion”. MIAF is passionate about bringing young dancers together to create a truly inspirational programme of live performances, encouraging young dancers from a range of dance genres to present their work in a professional environment. This event also aims to discover emerging talent and skills in young dancers and choreographers across the island, raise standards and improve progression in dance on a national scale and support the teachers and leaders who deliver dance both in and out of school settings. MIAF is presenting 2 different programmes for “Young Creatives in Motion”, featuring 4 different dance schools in each programme. In the first lineup the choreographies will be set to a music programme of contemporary works for violin, piano and percussion.
Programme
Chris Paul Harman After Kuhlau (2023)
for violin, piano and percussion
Mov I
Mov II
Mov III
School: The Dance Workshop
Choreographer & Dance Leader: Francesca Bartolo
Reena Esmail Darshan (2018)
for solo violin
John Psathas Matres Dance (1991)
for piano and percussion
School: Yada Dance Company, Junior
Choreographers & Dance Leaders: Felix Busuttil, Rosario Ranieri, Ingrid Scerri
Henry Cowell Set of 5 (1952)
for violin, piano and percussion
I Largo sostenuto
II Allegro
III Andante
IV Presto leggiero
V Vigoroso
School: Academy of Dance Arts
Choreographer: Sara Bianchi
Dance Leader: Santea Aquilina
Lou Harrison Varied Trio (1986/87)
for violin, piano and percussion
I Gending
II Bowl Bells
III Elegy
IV Rondeau in Honor of Fragonard
V Dance
School: Seed Dance Company
Choreographer & Dance Leader: Marisha Bonnici
Credits Mei Yi Foo - piano
Bartosz Woroch - violin
Faith Stonehewer - percussion
Programme Notes
After Kuhlau (2023) - Chris Paul Harman
Chris Paul Harman’s After Kuhlau is a contemporary reimagining of a three-movement work by the Danish‑German composer Friedrich Kuhlau, known for his elegant, diatonic classicism and fluent keyboard writing. Rather than offering a straightforward arrangement, Harman treats Kuhlau’s original as an extended paraphrase: he preserves the overall three‑movement architecture while subjecting the source melodies and accompanimental figures to subtle distortion, chromatic inflection, and shifting harmonic perspectives. Familiar themes flicker in and out of focus, sometimes clearly outlined, sometimes submerged in dense harmonic colour, creating an uncanny dialogue between early nineteenth‑century clarity and twenty‑first‑century complexity. In this way, After Kuhlau becomes both homage and critique, inviting listeners to hear Kuhlau’s material anew—filtered through a modern ear that is fascinated by memory, quotation, and the instability of musical style.
Darshan (2018) - Reena Esmail
Meaning “vision” or “a glimpse of the divine,” Darshan is Reena Esmail’s evocative work for solo violin that bridges Indian and Western classical traditions. Written as a modern-day partita, it explores a raga-infused sound world through Western violin technique. Esmail’s characteristic lyricism sings through long, melismatic lines, while intricate rhythmic patterns and ornamental inflections recall the vocal traditions of Hindustani music. The piece asks the performer to move seamlessly between introspective meditation and fiery virtuosity, demanding both technical command and a deep sense of vocal expressivity. Rather than offering a literal narrative, Darshan invites listeners into an intimate, contemplative space where cultures meet and resonate. In this way, Esmail transforms the solo violin into a voice of dialogue and transcendence, suggesting that true “darshan” is not only seen, but heard and felt.
Matre’s Dance (1991) - John Psathas
John Psathas’s Matre’s Dance (1991) for piano and percussion is a high‑octane duet that launched the New Zealand composer’s international career, thanks in large part to performances and recordings by virtuoso percussionist Evelyn Glennie. Written for an advanced duo, the work pits a driving, tightly wound percussion part against a fiercely rhythmic, often amplified piano, creating a sound world of relentless momentum and sharp-edged attacks. The title comes from Frank Herbert’s Dune universe: Psathas was thinking of the terrifying Honored Matres, while musically inspired by an exhausting, trance‑like dance described in the novels, whose non‑repeating patterns eventually push the dancer to collapse. This idea of ecstatic, non‑repeating motion shapes the piece’s form, which unfolds as a continuous, breathless build of syncopations, metric displacements and eruptive climaxes. Matre’s Dance has since become a modern classic in the percussion–piano repertoire, prized for its visceral energy, dramatic staging potential and the sheer physicality it demands of both players.
Set of Five (1952) - Henry Cowell
Henry Cowell’s Set of Five for violin, piano and percussion is an 18‑minute suite that fuses Irish, Latin‑American and Anglo‑American melodic ideas with Asian‑inspired percussion sonorities and Cowell’s characteristic experimental techniques. Each of the five short movements has a distinct colour, like a set of contrasting “world‑music” miniatures heard through the lens of mid‑century American modernism. The opening movement typically presents vigorous, folk‑tinged melodic fragments over bright, patterned percussion, establishing the work’s exuberant and rhythm‑driven character. The second tends toward a more lyrical, modal cantilena, allowing violin and piano to sing against delicate, atmospheric percussion textures suggestive of non‑Western ensembles. A scherzo‑like third movement foregrounds pointed rhythms, playful metric shifts and sharper instrumental juxtapositions, while the fourth offers a more contemplative, free‑flowing meditation, its textures thinner and harmonies more transparent. The finale gathers these elements into an energetic synthesis, recalling earlier rhythmic cells and folk‑like motives in a buoyant closing dance that underlines Cowell’s fascination with bringing disparate musical cultures into a single, idiosyncratic voice.
Varied Trio (1986/87) - Lou Harrison
Lou Harrison’s Varied Trio for violin, piano and percussion is a five‑movement suite exploring different places, textures and historical references through his distinctive blend of Western and Asian influences. I Gending, is inspired by Indonesian gamelan, this movement evokes the shimmering, cyclical patterns of Javanese court music, using repetitive figurations and modal harmonies to create a gently hypnotic atmosphere. In mov II Bowl Bells, Harrison turns tuned rice bowls into delicate bells, struck with chopsticks; the resulting chiming sonorities frame simple, folk‑like lines, suggesting an intimate ritual or prayer. III Elegy is a rhapsodic, song‑like meditation, this movement foregrounds a long‑breathed violin cantilena over luminous piano and vibraphone sonorities, balancing sorrow with a quiet sense of consolation. Paying homage to the French Rococo painter, in mov IV Rondeau in Honor of Fragonard, Harrison imagines an elegant eighteenth‑century dance, full of gracious turns, clear phrasing and lightly ornamented charm. The finale, mov V Dance, gathers the work’s melodic and rhythmic energy into an exuberant dance, with its vivid percussion and driving rhythms leaving a final impression of joy and physical vitality.
Biographies
Mei Yi Foo - piano
Winner of the 2013 BBC Music Magazine Best Newcomer Award, Mei Yi Foo is an internationally acclaimed pianist celebrated for her eclectic repertoire and fearless artistry. She has performed on five continents with leading orchestras such as the Philharmonia Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic, and Fort Worth Symphony, and appeared at major festivals including the Lucerne Festival, Ultraschall Berlin, Born Creative Tokyo, Punkt Festival in Norway, and London’s Southbank Centre Music of Today. Her recordings on Sony, Naxos, and Odradek have earned critical praise from The Times, The Independent, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, and Klassik Magazine. Born in Malaysia and now based in the UK, Mei Yi is a professor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and previously served as Artist-in-Residence at Maynooth University in Ireland. She was awarded the Setiawan Tuanku Muhriz medal for her contributions to the arts. In 2025, she founded the Nine Arts Festival in Negeri Sembilan, where she serves as Music Director.
Bartosz Woroch - violin
Polish-born violinist Bartosz Woroch is a prize-winner at major international competitions including the Pablo Sarasate, Michael Hill and YCAT Awards. He has performed worldwide with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic, Auckland Philharmonic, Bern Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony and the Polish Radio Orchestras, and has led and directed Sinfonia Cymru, serving as Artistic Director for its landmark international project Small Nations Big Sounds. Equally active as a chamber musician and leader of the Lutosławski Quartet, Bartosz has collaborated with artists including Pekka Kuusisto, Sting, Caroline Palmer, Uri Caine, Nicholas Daniel and director Tom Morris, appearing at the Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall and the Palais des Beaux-Arts. His acclaimed recordings include Dancer on a Tightrope and ConNotations with the Britten Sinfonia. He studied at the Paderewski Academy in Poznan, the Hochschule der Kunste Berne and at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where he is now a professor.
Faith Stonehewer - percussion
Faith Stonehewer is a London-based percussionist and educator whose work spans orchestral, chamber and musical theatre performance. She has appeared with ensembles including Charles Hazlewood’s Paraorchestra, the Aurora Orchestra and Swansea City Opera, performing across the UK and Europe. Her chamber music highlights include the Holland Festival, the 2024 International Festival for Contemporary Music in the Faroe Islands and the Blüthner Piano International Classics Series in Leipzig, and as a drummer she has worked with the Novello Orchestra and Frinton Theatre. Deeply committed to music education, Faith has contributed to programmes with the National Open Youth Orchestra, Bristol Youth Orchestra, Cathedral Schools Trust and the National Children’s Orchestras. She trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, taking masterclasses with Dame Evelyn Glennie, Colin Currie and Daniella Ganeva, and began her postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music in 2025 under Sam Walton, supported by a scholarship, Earthsong Foundation and Help Musicians UK. In collaboration with Teatru Manoel
