Philip Attard & Christine Zerafa Recital
Artistic Director and Project Designer Karl Fiorini
Malta’s finest musicians will be joining forces to celebrate the Malta Society of Arts’ 100 years at Palazzo de La Salle with a series of monthly concerts and masterclasses, curated by Karl Fiorini.
Award-winning saxophonist Philip Attard and pianist Christine Zerafa present a colourful programme, featuring two works by Maltese composers, one of which is a newly commissioned piece by Ruben Zahra for saxophone soprano and piano entitled ‘Hanging on the Edge’, which presents three short movements with a strong rhythmic character.
Charles Camilleri’s rarely performed Fantasia Concertante for saxophone solo will also be featured in this programme, which is completely detached from the folk and modal-inspired music which Camilleri is often associated with, but rather having a compositional style leading towards atonality.
The duo will also present three pieces which are considered as core repertoire for saxophone and piano. The evocative piece ‘Lessons of the Sky’ is inspired by the essay The Star Thrower by Loren Einseley, where the title refers to the knowledge gained through observation of the world around and above us, and the sky represents that which is open, alive and infinite. Muczynski’s Sonata for alto saxophone and piano, formerly entitled ‘Desert Sketches’ presents two contrasting movements which portray images as this former title suggests. Finally, Fuzzy Bird Sonata by Takashi Yoshimatsu takes the audience through an imaginative and musical journey where the composer explores bird-inspired sounds and images (in a fuzzy or hazy approach), in dedication to his deceased sister.
Programme:
Charles Camilleri – Fantasia Concertante
Ruben Zahra – Hanging on the Edge
Rodney Rogers – Lessons of the Sky
Robert Muczynski – Sonata
Takashi Yoshimatsu – Fuzzy bird sonata
The concert series is supported by Arts Council Malta under the Programme Support Scheme.
