Frank Bonnici, a Maltese classical and jazz pianist based in Prague, will be holding a concert of film music at the Malta Society of Arts in Valletta on Wednesday at 7pm.

The pianist will be performing film scores with original music from famous composers that will take audiences on a journey through the 20th and 21st century.

The set-up will include four musicians performing a mix of semi-classic music, jazz, pop, bolero, ballads and a variety of other styles that will make for easy listening for everyone to enjoy. Among the many popular scores set to feature during the concert are those from Love Story (1970), The Godfather (1972), Harry Potter (2001–2011) and more.

“Coming from a classical background involving jazz and other styles of music, I think that film music automatically came later for me,” says the pianist, speaking to Times of Malta.

“Somehow in my life, I became more familiar with this genre. I remember I had performed live piano music for live screenings of two of the earliest films ever shot in Malta, namely Bolibar (1928) and Sons of the Sea (1925), in Żebbuġ and Mdina in 2013 in an event organised by the Central Public Library in collaboration with the Malta Film Commission, and the turnout was great.”

Film music gives me more excitement

Bonnici has been composing film music ever since, including his latest composition written in Prague currently showing in theatres like Lucerna, Pilotu and others called A Night in Branik.

Another opportunity came through a Czech film studio where the pianist was offered to work with actress Sienna Miller in preparation for her role in the 2018 feature film The Catcher was a Spy.

The concert is taking place at the Malta Society of Arts at Palazzo de la Salle, Valletta. Photo: Alex Attard

“Her role in the movie was that of a piano teacher and my job was to teach her every move on the piano for 15 days,” Bonnici recalls.

Apart from this, the pianist also wrote some small compositions for documentaries in Prague.

“Film music gives me more excitement,” he says.

“It provides the innovation and inspiration to practice more music methods to create an ambiance and share with my audience, especially doing projects like I’m doing now and for the future. I am glad to share these elements to my home town.”

The concert is taking place at the Malta Society of Arts in Valletta on Wednesday at 7pm. Tickets available from ticketline.com.mt.