The 50th anniversary of the death of Mro Giuseppe Giardini Vella is being marked with an exhibition showcasing his works and other memorabilia at the Astra Theatre cultural hub in Victoria.

The exhibition, which runs until October 30, was inaugurated with a talk on Giardini Vella’s musical contributions to Gozo by Mro Dr John Galea on October 12.

Giardini Vella, born in Giardini (today known as Naxos Taormina) in Sicily on October 30, 1895, studied violin and piano, as well as instrumentation and harmony in Italy under Prof. Francesco Paolo Frontini (1860-1939).

Before moving to Gozo, Giardini Vella was the director of an orchestra in Tunisia. He was appointed bandmaster of La Stella Band of Victoria in 1926. On September 19, 1926, he led his first band programme at Piazza Reale (today Independence Square) on the occasion of the national feast of September 8.

For the next 25 years, he directed several other band programmes not only in Gozo but also in Malta, Catania and Palermo. A prestigious moment for La Stella Band and Mro Giardini Vella occurred on August 3, 1928, when La Stella Band performed a musical programme at Pjazza Regina in Valletta. A couple of years later, on September 13, 1947, the band, under the direction of Giardini Vella, performed at Villa Bellini, becoming the first band from Gozo to play abroad after World War II.

The maestro is well-known among Gozitans and music enthusiasts for his composition, Inno a San Giorgio Martire (1931), which has been played every year since 1934 at the start of the procession of St George in Victoria and for the funeral marches played on Good Friday.

In 1928, Giardini Vella won the Grande Diploma d’Onore at the Grande Concerto Internazionale Musicale with one of his funeral marches. Giardini Vella was also a major contributor to the initiation of operettas in Gozo, with the first operetta being performed in early 1930.

Giardini Vella passed away on September 26, 1974, aged 79. La Stella Band played all the funeral marches composed by him during his funeral the following day at St George’s basilica in Victoria.

The exhibition at the Astra Theatre is open from 10am to 7pm. Entrance is free.

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