To mark 100 years from the birth of Dmitri Shostakovich, one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, the Malta Arts Festival – Summer 2006 will celebrate his birth centenary with a recital of chamber music performed by violinist Carmine Lauri, cellist Enrico Dindo and pianist Robert Cominati. Entitled “Piano Trio Recital”, the concert will be held on Sunday, 13 August at 9pm at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, La Vallette Hall, Valletta.
The three great musicians, who will be performing together in Malta for the first time – Carmine Lauri, Enrico Dindo and Roberto Cominati – will play Shostakovich’s Piano Trio no. 2 op. 67, which was composed in 1944-45. Shostakovich’s lesser known 1st Piano Trio op. 8 will also be performed alongside the violin and piano, and cello and piano sonatas of Debussy. The programme and performers should guarantee an evening of pleasurable listening.
In Dmitri Shostakovich’s music, the audience can a sense a tough, heroic yet subtly personal and sensitive response to difficult and dangerous times, and a compassion for humanity that is overflowing but never sentimental. The music of Shostakovich records an eventful life with a sense of reality and sharpness of focus that belongs to the age of the photograph and the cinema. Truly the music of this great Russian genius is a report on human experience through sound.
Early booking is recommended to secure seats for this exhilarating performance. Tickets are priced at Lm8 and at a special concession of Lm6 for pensioners and students (against pensioner’s and student’s card).
Carmine Lauri born in Malta, started playing the violin at the age of four. In 1988, he was awarded the Associated Board scholarship to further his studies in London at the Royal Academy of Music. He has achieved international recognition by winning various overseas prizes. On various occasions, he performed extensively as a soloist in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II and other heads of state. He is co-leader of the London Symphony Orchestra and performs regularly with the World Orchestra for Peace under Valery Gergiev.
He has three compact disc recordings to his credit. The first, Bravura, the second contains chamber music works by Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky featuring the Freden Camerata, and the third entitled Violin Extravaganza was released last year. Carmine has just made his debut with the Municipal Orchestra of Venezuela.
In 2004, he was elected Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) and this year, he was elected as Fellow of the Royal Academy (FRAM) for his achievements in his career. He currently plays the “Kortschak ex Joachim” Stradivarious violin 1698, kindly lent to him by the Royal Academy of Music.
Enrico Dindo started studying the violoncello at the age of six at the G. Verdi Conservatoire of Music in Turin. He later perfected his studies with Egidio Roveda and Antonio Janigro. In 1987 and for the eleven years to follow, he performed as principal cellist with the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra.
In 1997, he won the first prize at “Rostropovich” Competition in Paris and the great Russian maestro himself wrote “he is a cellist of exceptional qualities, a complete artist and formed musician, with an extraordinary sound which flows as a splendid Italian voice”. Since then, he performed in many countries with prestigious orchestras and leading conductors such as Riccardo Chailly, Myung-Whun Chung, Riccardo Muti as well as Mstislav Rostropovitch.
Enrico Dindo has been honoured with various prizes and many composers have composed music dedicated to him. In November 2005, he was awarded the Vittorio De Sica prize for music by the Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.
He is artistic director of cultural association I Quattro Cavalieri, musical director of I Solisti di Pavia and Professor of Cello at the Accademia Musicale di Pavia. He plays a Francesco Ruggeri cello of 1692, confided to him by the Pro Canale Foundation and owned by the Umberto Micheli Foundation.
Roberto Cominati, born in Naples, began studying piano at a very early age. At the age of 8, he was admitted to the Conservatory San Pietro a Majella in Naples for special merits. Between 1976 and 1982, he participated in a good number of important national piano competitions and constantly awarded the highest prize.
In 1984 he pursued his studies with Aldo Ciccolini at the Accademia Superiore di Musica in Biella and with Franco Scala at the Accademia Pianistica Incontri col Maestro in Imola in 1989. He won first prize in various international competitions and his career was launched with the award from the Ferruccio Bursoni in Bolzano. In 1999, he was awarded the Jacques Stehman Price by the audience of RTBF and TV5 France at the Bruxelle Reine Elisabeth Competition.
Roberto Cominati is regularly invited to perform in the most prestigious venues and festivals. He has appeared with leading European orchestras as well as in Japan and Australia.
Festival information
The Malta Arts Festival – Summer 2006 is organised by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts and in collaboration with the Ministry for Tourism and Culture. It is sponsored by HSBC Bank Malta plc, The Valletta Local Council, Bank of Valletta plc and The Westin Dragonara Resort and runs until 20 August.
Tickets for events are available from the Malta Arts Festival information stand, Freedom Square, Valletta.
Opening hours are on weekdays 8.30am to 1pm and 5pm to 9.30pm, and weekends from 10am to 1pm and 5pm to 9.30pm. One may also call on the Malta Arts Festival hotline 9999-0145 or visit the website www.maltaculture. com.