Lucia Micallef and Karen Briscoe write:

Cynthia Turner was a classic beauty. She had inimitable style and abundant grace, poise, elegance and flawless taste. Her radiance and her warmth shone through to all in her company. Cynthia’s love of music was absolute and gave her great joy. As children, we were inspired by her talent, listening outside her window to her disciplined hours of practice, which was to stand us in such good stead. We have wonderful recollections of her many performances throughout the years.

Apart from her life as a concert pianist, she was always happy to share her knowledge and dedicate her time to younger musicians. We have many memories of time spent at her house and her studio, playing repertoire to her, discussing technique, interpretation and the international music scene.

She would always encourage us to go to concerts and closely followed the progress of our own musical training. Once, together with her husband Tony, she had taken us to the Royal Albert Hall in London, where we were both studying at the time, to hear the legendary Emil Gilels play Tchaikovsky – an evening we will never forget.

Cynthia was a woman well ahead of her time. She attended ballet classes for many years and retained a lifelong passion for dance. She also excelled in physical and sporting activities that other Maltese women of her generation would not even contemplate – snow skiing and water skiing –  with great panache.

Often, she would generously take us on her early morning boat trips that she so loved. Cynthia practised yoga and pilates well into her 80s.

It is no wonder that everyone, young and old, enjoyed her company and admired her. As a woman and a musician, she was an inspiration to us all.

We shall deeply miss her.

Our most sincere condolences to her family.