Contemporary artist Richard Saliba presented an original painting of Pablo Casals, the famous Spanish violoncello player, to the Societa’ Filarmonica Sliema to embellish its artistic heritage in its main halls.

The presentation was made by Richard Saliba to the society’s president, President Emeritus Dr Censu Tabone at the end of the concert by the National Orchestra earlier this month during the grand finale of the Sliema International Arts Festival.

Pablo Casals was born in 1878 and died in 1973. Considered a master of the violoncello, like Paganini is considered the master of the violin, he is renowned worldwide as the king of cellists.

This is the second donation Richard Saliba has made to the Sliema Philharmonic Society premises. The first is an original painting of a landscape from his roof in the centre of Sliema portraying the environs with the Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at its centre.