Pawlu Grech, a musician, artist and teacher, died in his sleep on Wednesday at Casa Antonia, Balzan.

He was 82 years old. 

Grech leaves to mourn his loss his partner Amanda Tabone and numerous students who were tutored by him in both music and art.

Grech was born in 1938 and was proficient in both the visual and musical fields.  

At 16 years of age, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia in Rome. His association with the great 20th century Italian composers Luciano Berio and Luigi Dallapiccola and the memorable meeting with Igor Stravinsky were key in his formation as a young composer.

Concurrent with his studies in 20th-century composition, he was pursuing his artistic studies privately at the Scuola Galli. 

He left Rome for London in 1964 and his musical career took off.

His friendship with and tutorship under Austrian musicologist Hans Keller matured him and he was eventually invited to conduct the BBC symphony orchestra.

It is rumoured that he was even the artistic director for the Purcell Room, that intimate space within the Southbank Centre complex.

Grech exhibited his paintings at different venues in London. He nurtured his friendship with the sculptor Edward Pirotta who, in 1968, sadly lost his life in a traffic accident in London. 

Grech returned to Malta in 1986 to teach 20th-century composition at the Johann Strauss School of Music in Valletta while giving art tutorship at his house in Ħamrun.

He resigned from the School of Music in the nineties, moving to his new house in Attard from where he tutored his numerous students in both art and musical composition for many years.