International flavour in <i>Din l-Art Helwa</i> music festival

Din l-Art Helwa is this year presenting the eighth edition of the Bir Miftuh Music Festival, which has established itself as one of the highlights of the cultural calendar. The beautiful chapel of Santa Marija ta' Bir Miftuh, with its mediaeval architecture and frescoes, and perfect acoustics, provides a truly unique setting for these concerts.

The festival continues to develop its international flavour with the participation of outstanding musicians from Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Malta. This year's programme is as follows:

May 22 : A clarinet and flute concert by Franziska and Stefanie Hofmann sponsored by the German Embassy and the German-Maltese Circle.

The identical twins Franziska and Stefanie Hofmann are highly promising young musicians. In 1992, Franziska started studying the clarinet and Stefanie the flute; they both started piano tuition a year later and have won several awards in important music contests both as a duo and as soloists.

May 29: A flute and guitar concert by Philippe Bernold and Simon Schembri sponsored by the Embassy of France and the Alliance Francaise.

Philippe Bernold is one of the most eminent representatives of the French school of flute playing. He is the only Frenchman ever to win (in 1987) the first grand prize in the Jean-Pierre Rampal International Flute Competition.

As soloist, he has played alongside the likes of Rostropovich and Jean-Pierre Rampal and with famous orchestras such as the Paris Orchestra, the Liszt Orchestra of Budapest, the Halle of Manchester and the National Orchestra of Lyon.

Simon Schembri, the distinguished Maltese guitarist, was already giving concerts at the age of nine. At 14 he obtained the coveted Concert Artist's degree from the Royal College of Music in London. He was awarded the Premier Prix d'Interprétation from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and received gold medals from the Yehudi Menuhin and the George Oziffra Foundations. He is a lifetime member of the Academie Albert Einstein and a member of the International American Foundation "Young Concert Artists'".

The programme will comprise works by Giuliani, Lagoya, Ravel, Debussy, Poulenc, Villa-Lobos and Piazzolla.

June 5: A cello concert by Matthew Barley sponsored by the British Council.

Matthew Barley's musical world has virtually no geographical, social or stylistic boundaries. He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Moscow Conservatoire. Within a year of his early debut with the London Symphony Orchestra, he was invited as guest principal cellist with that orchestra, the Philharmonia, the London Philharmonic and the London Sinfonietta Orchestras. He has performed with many international orchestras, such as the Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta.

June 12: A flute and harp concert by Giuseppe Nova and Caroline Calleja sponsored by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura.

Giuseppe Nova is one of the leading Italian flutists of his generation. After obtaining diplomas from the Conservatorio di Torino and the Conservatoire Supérieur de Lyon, in 1982 he made his debut with the Orchestra della Rai.

His brilliant career has included concerts all over Europe, the United States, Japan and China. He holds teaching posts at various leading Italian academies and his recordings have been broadcast by RAI 1, RAI Sat, Radio 3, RTSI, Washington PTand China Radio International.

Caroline Calleja, the talented Maltese musician, holds the LRSM, LTCL, ATCL, ALCM Diplomas and graduated BA (Hons) First Class in Music Studies from the University of Malta.

She won first prize in several national and international competitions and has worked closely and attended Master Classes with internationally renowned musicians. She was awarded the Medaille d'Or in Piano and the Diplôme de Fin d'Études with distinction in harp from the Conservatoire National de Région de Lyon. Ms Calleja has toured Italy and France with the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra.

The programme features works by Corelli, Paganini, Donizetti, Massenet, Ibert, Chopin, Ravel, Grandjany, Vianello and Gluck.

All concerts start at 8 p.m., and tickets, which include refreshments during the interval, are Lm7.50 per person. All funds raised are dedicated to Din l-Art Helwa's restoration work. In view of the popularity of these concerts and as the number of seats is limited, tickets will be issued strictly on a first come first served basis.

For further information contact the Din l-Art Helwa Office at 133, Melita St, Valletta, tel: 2122 0358 or 2122 5952, Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and noon.