The first Valletta International Baroque Festival has come to an end. And what a success it has been, no doubt thanks to the unstinting and persistent efforts of Kenneth Zammit Tabona , a prominent art connoisseur and music critic.

As he often wrote in his weekly column in The Times, he had to overcome a lot of scepticism to hold such a festival of Baroque music. The doubts that these sceptics harboured were more than overcome by the overwhelming attendances at all the concerts, especially the one at St John’s Co-Cathedral.

This festival has also given a boost to the island as a good number of music lovers from abroad, especially from the UK, were conspicuous among the audiences attending the performances. Not to mention also the exposure Malta will be getting during the year when the St John’s Cathedral concert will be shown on the Mezzo TV channel.

I hope that next year’s festival will be just as successful as this year’s, if not more. Thank you and prosit, Kenneth. You certainly deserve the Ġieħ ir-Repubblika award.