Il-Ministru għall-Wirt Nazzjonali, l-Arti u l-Gvern lokali Owen Bonnici ħabbar l-aħħar preparamenti għall-11-il edizzjoni tal-Valletta Baroque Festival, li ser isir bejn il-11 u d-29 ta’ Jannar 2023.
Dr Bonnici spjega kif dan il-festival prestiġjuż li ser jittella’ fuq tlett ġimgħat, ser iservi ta’ pjattaforma għal 36 kunċert li ser jittellgħu f’20 spazju differenti madwar Malta, li jinkludu l-Auberge de Provence, il-Gran Salon, il-Kon-Katidral ta’ San Ġwann u t-Teatru Manoel, fost oħrajn.
“Il-Valletta Baroque Festival ser jospita fost l-aktar artisti u ensembles prestiġjużi tal-mużika barokka f’pajjiżna, dan juri biċ-ċar kemm il-kultura hi dinamika u taf toħloq diversi opportunitajiet li jkopru n-niċeċ kollha tal-ekonomija kreattiva,” temm jgħid Dr Bonnici.
Il-Valletta Baroque Festival huwa kalamita għat-turiżmu kulturali, “[dan] jattira delettanti tal-mużika barokka minn madwar l-Ewropa kollha, li jiġi Malta apposta biex jintilfu fl-esperjenza barokka ħolistika li joffri dan il-festival, aspett li jagħmel dan il-festival tant uniku. Dan huwa parti integrali mill-missjoni ta’ Festivals Malta – li jistabilixxi Malta bħala destinazzjoni ewlenija tal-festivals ewropej”, qal Aaron Zahra, Chairman ta’ Festivals Malta.
Din hija t-tieni edizzjoni li Festivals Malta qiegħed jipproduċi minn mindu l-festival żdied mal-portafoll tal-aġenzija lura fl-2021. "Il-Valletta Baroque Festival ċertament jikkumplimenta l-portafoll rikk ta' festivals kulturali tagħna, filwaqt li jipprovdi opportunità oħra sabiex Festivals Malta jkompli jgħolli l-livell tiegħu bħala l-aġenzija nazzjonali tal-festivals f'Malta," qalet Annabelle Stivala Kap Eżekuttiv ta' Festivals Malta.
Il-versatilità tal-idjoma Barokka hija evidenti fl-edizzjoni ta' din is-sena, b'diversi ġeneri li jwasslu interpretazzjoni unika ta’ mużika ta’ dan il-perjodu. "Għalhekk il-festival għandu elementi rock u jazz fih, għalhekk għandu kompożizzjonijiet orkestrali tas-seklu 20 kif ukoll dawk kontemporanji, u għalhekk għandu traskrizzjonijiet speċjali għal strumenti li ma kienux għadhom żviluppaw fiż-żmien li Bach, Vivaldi u Handel kienu qiegħdin jikkomponu l-kapolavuri tagħhom fih. Però nista’ nassigurakom li dawn l-elementi kollha verament jaħdmu flimkien. Din hija xhieda tal-universalità u l-versatilità ta' dan il-ġeneru mużikali li tant għadu ħaj," jikkonkludi d-Direttur Artistiku Kenneth Zammit Tabona.
Il-Festival ser jibda bil-kunċert ‘The Dettingen Te Deum and other Handelian hits’ fil-Kon-Katidral ta’ San Ġwann, bi prestazzjoni mill-Valletta Baroque Ensemble u Kor Malta, taħt id-direzzjoni mużikali ta’ Christian Curnyn. Dan jikkonkludi bit-tnedija mondjali tal-quddiesa b’kompożizzjoni tal-kompożitur Italo-Malti Girolamo Abos, li ser tittella’ mill-Monteverdi Project flimkien ma’ Cantar Lontano, taħt id-direzzjoni mużikali ta’ Marco Mencoboni, fil-knisja tal-Ġiżwiti fil-Belt Valletta. L-artisti se jkunu Mahan Esfahani, Charlie Siem, Gabetta Consort ma’ Valer Barna-Sabadus, Vasillis Varvaresos, Avi Avital, fost ħafna oħrajn. Wara s-suċċess tas-sena li għaddiet, ser jerġaw jirritornaw ukoll The Rock Troupers flimkien mal-ProMuzika Ensemble bil-proġett tagħhom BaRock li ser isir fit-Teatru Manoel.
Il-Valletta Baroque Festival qed jiġi organizzat minn Festivals Malta, b’kollaborazzjoni mat-Teatru Manoel u Visit Malta u ser iseħħ bejn il-11 u d-29 ta' Jannar 2023.
Biljetti u iktar informazzjoni huma disponibbli fuq www.festivals.mt
Last Preparations for the 11th Edition of the Valletta Baroque Festival which Includes 36 Concerts
Minister for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government Owen Bonnici announced the final preparations for the 11th edition of the Valletta Baroque Festival, which will take place between 11 and 29 January 2023.
Dr Bonnici stated that this prestigious festival presents a diverse programme of 36 concerts, spread across 3 weeks within over 20 different venues all over Malta. From the striking Auberge de Provence and its magnificent Gran Salon to the splendid St John’s Co-Cathedral, and the opulent Manoel Theatre to mention a few.
“The Valletta Baroque Festival will host among the most prestigious artists and ensembles of baroque music in our country, this clearly shows how dynamic the culture is and knows how to create various opportunities that cover all the niches of the creative economy”, Dr Bonnici concluded.
The opening concert ‘The Dettingen Te Deum and other Handelian hits’, which will be performed by the Valletta Baroque Ensemble and Kor Malta under the musical direction of Christian Curnyn at St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, will set the tone for the festival. The festival will wrap up with the world premiere of a mass by Italo-Maltese composer Girolamo Abos at the Jesuits’ Church in Valletta which will be performed by The Monteverdi Project and Cantar Lontano, under the musical direction of Marco Mencoboni. The festival has a stellar line-up, Some of the artists will be Mahan Esfahani, Charlie Siem, Gabetta Consort with Valer Barna-Sabadus, Vasilis Varvaresos, Avi Avital, and many more. Following last year’s success, this year’s edition will also see the return of The Rock Troupers & the Valletta Baroque Ensemble with their project BaRock at the Manoel Theatre.
The Valletta Baroque Festival is a magnet for cultural tourism, “[it] attracts patrons from all over Europe, who come to Malta to immerse themselves in the wonderful holistic baroque experience that the festival offers, which is what makes it unique. This is an integral part of our mission - to establish Malta as a European festival destination”, stated Aaron Zahra, Festivals Malta Chairman.
This is the 2nd edition that Festivals Malta is producing since the festival was added to the agency’s portfolio of events in 2021. “The Valletta Baroque Festival indeed complements our high-quality portfolio of cultural festivals and provides us with another opportunity to keep raising the bar as the national agency for festivals in Malta,” remarked Annabelle Stivala Festivals Malta CEO.
The versatility of the Baroque idiom is prevalent in this year’s edition, with multiple genres delivering a unique interpretation of early music. “This is why the festival has rock and jazz in it, why it has 20th-century and contemporary orchestral compositions, and why it has special transcriptions for instruments that were not yet developed at the time that Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel were composing their masterpieces. Yet I can assure you that it works. It proves the universality and the versatility of this musical genre that is still very much alive”, concludes Artistic Director Kenneth Zammit Tabona.
The Valletta Baroque Festival is produced by Festivals Malta in collaboration with Teatru Manoel and Visit Malta and will be taking place between the 11th and 29th of January in 2023.
Tickets and more information are available on www.festivals.mt