I can hardly believe that I went to Maryann Kissaun's 90th birthday party. Now, that is truly a venerable age even if somehow when you speak to Maryann, you really cannot relate the word 'venerable' to her. I certainly would not dare tell her that she has reached 'a venerable age'. She would almost certainly throw one of her witty remarks at me in her pungent English.
This important birthday was celebrated with a lively party at the home of her only daughter Sandra (a 'secret' artist) and her husband Henry. Maryann was toasted by members of her family including her three granddaughters, their husbands and by several friends. She still has a great deal of spirit in her although her socializing is now considerably diminished. It seems that it was only a few years ago that she was very much part of the social scene; a solicitous and elegant hostess herself, giving frequent dinner parties at her home.
One of Malta's most distinguished personalities (she received an important award from the government a few years ago), she has spent the greatest part of her life immersed in music, with a career that spans over 50 years and many countries.
She was born into a background of metronomes and piano scales, and is one of a few women of her generation who enjoyed a successful career beyond our shores.
Over the years (we both returned to Malta in more or less the same time) I have learnt a little of Maryann's colourful life, when we met - at a concert, ballet, at a dinner party perhaps, in her home.
She comes from a family of professional musicians. In her teens she was awarded two major scholarships (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and at the same time a British Council scholarship) to run concurrently for three years at the Royal College of Music. She majored in Piano Performing with eminent teachers among them Vaughan Williams and Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli.
In Malta she continued her piano lessons through World War II. What does she remember of those dark days? "The constant air raids, long hours in shelters, people rushing there, day or night at the first sound of a siren... a crowded dimly lit refuge, nameless pallid men, women and children. The chanting of the rosary in a crescendo when the bombing heralded greater peril of life."
At this time Maryann's family was evacuated to a temporary home as their own in Floriana had been bombed. Despite these difficulties music was kept very much alive, with the encouragement and support of both parents. "Practicing the piano daily," Maryann recalls, "was never neglected either by my younger sister Nadya or myself." She walked all the way to Sliema fortnightly for piano lessons with Miss Bascetta and to school in Lija daily.
Cars and buses were almost nonexistent because of a shortage of fuel. Maryann says she enjoyed those long walks.
She remembers both her parents with affection. She remains deeply grateful to her mother Syra, née Botti, herself a most competent pianist who was nurtured within her Italian family of professional musicians. She instilled in Nadya and Maryann not only the importance of discipline and perseverance but also a great deal of love for all music. Maryann once told me: "If we were listening to music on the radio and some great musician, such as Rubenstein, was playing she would turn to me and say: "Così si suona" which of course on the one hand inspired me to do better but on the other, somewhat discouraged me to wonder whether I would ever be able to attain such great heights." Syra Kissaun clearly set very high standards for her daughters to emulate. This, added to their considerable talent, could only lead to the success they both enjoyed.
Maryann always spoke with great affection of her father Michael, the author and broadcaster who was known to be a very cultured man. Mr Kissaun had a long career in the Police Force but also close personal and family connections with the performing arts. He was appointed the first manager of the Manoel Theatre, a role he played with distinction between 1960 and 1972.
After completing her two scholarships Maryann returned to Malta. Besides a full teaching schedule she played many recitals both in Malta and abroad and two piano recitals with her sister Nadya. Other engagements followed in Europe and beyond - in Argentina and Mexico which must have been exciting for a glamorous and talented Maltese young lady coming from a generation which mostly produced wives and mothers and working women were mostly frowned upon. She remembers no dominating musical experience. Her life was so busy that the recollection of one performance is quickly engulfed. The only concert that seriously interested her was the next. As one can imagine, what she has to say about music and singing is full of insight and mature understanding.
I once asked her to jolt her memory for some unforgettable experiences. She came up with several stories, in her own animated way, but I remember one in particular which happened in Argentina. On arriving in La Plata from Buenos Aires for a recital, she was faced with a student revolt in full swing, horses stampeding all over the main avenue, troops, tear gas. She was to learn later that the police had arrested some 700 people. She tried to keep as calm as possible but that recital started two hours late and she flew back to Buenos Aires in the early hours in time to catch some sleep before the next day's concert.
For practical reasons Maryann, after a brief spell in Malta, had decided to live in London which she did for the next 25 years. There her international career really took off. She taught at the London College of Music and deputized for professors at the Royal Academy of Music, while pursuing her concert career. She also ound a new challenge: piano-violin duo recitals, a repertoire which took her to British cities and other countries. She also recalls her appearance on BBC TV George Cross programme in 1990.
Maryann is not only gifted musically but linguistically. Unlike Sir Isaiah Berlin who is said to have been unintelligible in several languages, she speaks four languages fluently. She told me once that she had also studied Latin for four years as her original intention, until fate intervened, was to study Law.
She is lucky to have been given the gift of a long life and is now a great-grand mother. She may no longer be hurrying around the world making music at all points between London and Argentina but she can look back on a life well-lived. She certainly did Malta proud. Had she been born later she would probably be listening to the Romantic composers she loves so well, on her Walkman.
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