As the capital of classical music, Vienna is a music lover’s dream with its legendary Staatsoper, Musikverein, Beethovenhaus-es and countless other landmarks where the great composers walked and lived in. Courtesy of Malta International Airport a group of journalists and members of the media were invited to attend the launch of a first CD sponsored by MIA together with the famous CD label, Gramola and BAWAG Bank, which own Bosendorfer the legendary piano manufacturer.
Soprano Lydia Caruana was making her debut on the international circuit accompanied by no less than acclaimed pianist Paul Gulda, so we were looking forward to listening to a selection of pieces from the CD in a concert held at the Bosendorfer Saal last Saturday week.
As we arrived on Friday morning, there was time in the afternoon to walk those famous streets close to the Staatsoper and visit the majestic and imposing St Stephen Cathedral. This magnificent early baroque edifice is one of the landmarks in its city centre and walking through its gigantic interior is an experience in itself with the grand architecture and numerous monuments to the fallen and long departed.
On Saturday morning, our group decided to visit the celebrated Kuntshistorische Museum, one of the most important museums in Europe that has a vast patrimony of collections from all the different epochs. I was particularly bowled over by the Egyptian, Greek and Roman collections which include a myriad of statues, objects, mummies and sarcophagi and countless other artefacts that are kept in pristine display condition (Heritage Malta please note).
The highlight of this visit for me was seeing the collection of paintings by Jan Pieter Breughel the Elder. I have long been a fan of these paintings from the time when they were reproduced on the covers of Decca’s Istvan Kertesz Dvorak symphony cycle. “Hunters in the Snow”, “Fun and Games” and “The Tower of Babel” were there right before me and I could almost touch the canvas, a moment of pure exhilaration and bliss. The art collection also includes such visionary names as Tiepolo, Caravaggio, Van Eyck, Van Dyck, Rubens and Rembrandt, as well as a vast number of lesser well-known artists.
In the morning, the group visited the Gramola outlet opposite St Stephen’s; it was a joy to browse through the enormous mountain of CDs and DVDs on display.
Before the concert, the group was treated to some exquisite playing on a newly designed Bosendorfer Ceus system piano that records what you play. There was the marvellous opportunity to hear Sergey Rachmaninoff playing in the room (with piano rolls of course)!
However, the high point of the visit (as appropriate) was the evening concert with Lydia Caruana, resplendent in electric blue, on the stage of the Bosendorfer Saal. After numerous introductory speeches by the BAWAG Bank chairman, MIA CEO Peter Bolech and others, the concert finally got underway with Gioacchino Rossini’s La Regata Veneziana.
The three songs were excellently sung by Caruana who brought a charming lilt of Mediterranean passion to the proceedings especially with Anzoleta dopo la regatta, which fairly wafted through the stuffy atmosphere of the hall. Gulda played like a man possessed, especially in the second piece with all its thrills and spills.
Lydia then performed Ravel’s Cinq Melodies Populaires Greques, another difficult sang cycle. Again she sang with beautiful eloquence with some impressive high notes and admirable clarity of diction. Incidentally, Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech made his speech just after the Rossini items, a strange change in
protocol that was apparently planned.
Paul Gulda then played Charles Camilleri’s exquisite A Summer Night in Malta. It was beautifully executed with the piano almost transporting the audience to the beach in Xlendi on a light summer breeze. Lydia joined him again for Camilleri’s Hames Kanti Popolari, which was extraordinarily well received by the large audience present.
Finally, Lydia and Paul performed Manuel De Falla’s Siete Canciones Populares Espanolas. Our soprano sung with passion and aplomb with remarkably clear diction especially in the concluding Polo, a difficult piece if ever there was one.
It was a refreshing experience all round which the plentiful rain did not spoil at all. We did have some problems with Austrian coach drivers, who can be pretty difficult, but otherwise the trip was memorable and it was sad to bid Vienna adieu.
Malta International Airport made this coverage possible