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Miran Vaupotić

Acclaimed as “dynamic and knowledgeable” by the Buenos Aires Herald, Croatian conductor Miran Vaupotić hasperformed extensively in Europe, the Middle East, the United States, Latin America and Asia, conducting manyeminent orchestras in numerous major halls including the Wiener Musikverein, Smetana Hall, Prague, Cairo OperaHouse, Forbidden City Concert Hall, Beijing, Oriental Art Center, Shanghai, and the Tchaikovsky Hall, Moscow. In 2011Vaupotić made his operatic début in the United States, conducting Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at the Atlantic CoastOpera Festival in Philadelphia. In the same year he conducted Piazzolla’s rarely performed operetta Maria de BuenosAires in a new production at Lisinski Concert Hall, Zagreb. In 2012 he conducted the Empire Opera premières ofSaavedra’s Sweet Dreams and Rose’s Rumpelstiltskin directed by the American puppeteer Tyler Bunch at TheNational Opera America Center in NYC. Miran Vaupotić won the 2015 Global Music Award for Best of Show and wasawarded the Honorary Diploma by the International Academy of Rating Technologies and Sociology “Golden Fortune”for his significant contribution to the development of symphonic music.

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Charles

CAMILLERIMediterranean

Piano Concerto No. 1 • Accordion Concerto • Malta Suite

Charlene Farrugia, Piano • Franko Božac, Accordion

Malta Philharmonic Orchestra • Miran Vaupotić

Malta Philharmonic Orchestra

The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra isMalta’s foremost professional musicalinstitution. Under the helm of its currentArtistic Director and PrincipalConductor Brian Schembri, theorchestra has been striving for musicalexcellence by investing moreintensively in a varied symphonicrepertoire throughout its concertseasons. The orchestra is involved inopera productions in Malta and Gozo,community outreach programmes,concerts of a lighter musical genre aswell as international concert tours. TheMPO is also actively involved ineducation programmes on localtelevision and radio, workshops andbespoke performances with programmestargeting children from a young age.For a number of years the orchestrahas been collaborating with variousentities in order to expose Malteseartists and composers both locally andabroad, and thanks to their collaborationwith conductor Miran Vaupotić and theValletta 2018 Foundation (the organizingbody of the European Capital of Culture).

Photo: Joe Smith

Special thanks to Neva Begović and Krunoslav Marić for their professional assistance, and to Vito Gospodnetić and Edo Forman (manufacturers of the excellent

ambient microphone “Feature 2S”) for their kind support.

Photo: Nikolai Ivanovich Semenov

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Charles Camilleri was born in Hamrun, Malta, in 1931. Heshowed early promise as an accordionist and pianist andstarted composing at the age of eleven. By the end of histeens he had written a number of compositions inspiredby Maltese traditional music and, particularly, by the localstyle of folk singing known as għana. When Camilleri waseighteen, he emigrated to Australia and eventually movedto London where he earned his living as a successfullight-music arranger, performer, composer and conductor,assisting Sir Malcolm Arnold on the Oscar-winningsoundtrack of The Bridge on the River Kwai. In 1958Camilleri left London for New York and then Canada,where he studied composition whilst working as residentconductor for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Hewould eventually describe these “electrifying” years asamongst the most exciting of his life. They certainly gavehim the confidence to dedicate himself to composition,which he did on his return to London in 1965. Thefollowing years brought him ever-increasing criticalacclaim and prestigious collaborations. 1977 sawCamilleri’s appointment as Professor of Composition atthe Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto. Camilleri alsogave lectures at Buffalo State University, a hotbed ofmusical modernism, where he met experimentalcomposers such as Carter, Feldman and Cage. Theirinfluence took root in a number of works of this periodincluding the Organ Concerto (1981).

Camilleri could not, however, resist the call of hisbeloved Malta and in 1983 it became his permanenthome. The return to his roots led to a flowering ofinspiration. In 1984 he completed an opera written inMaltese – Il-Weghda – which was followed in thesubsequent year by the oratorio Pawlu ta’ Malta. He alsocomposed another full-length opera (The Maltese Cross)and oratorio (Dun Ġorġ) as well as several concertos,music theatre pieces and other vocal, choral, orchestraland instrumental works. One of his very last works, theNew Idea Symphony, was posthumously given itspremière in Brussels in January 2009.

It is not easy to categorise the output of a composer ascomplex and prolific as Camilleri. If pressed to do so, onecould distinguish three overlapping phases. The earliestmay be referred to as “nationalistic” and is typified by anattempt to marry traditional Maltese and Mediterraneanfolk-tunes and dances to “art music”, much as Bartók, deFalla and Vaughan Williams had done with the music oftheir respective countries. This period produced some ofCamilleri’s most endearing and enduring works.

Camilleri soon directed his attention to the culture of awider geographical area. During what has been describedas his “Afro-Arabic-Hindu phase” he explored the intricaterhythms and improvisatory aspects of North-African andMiddle Eastern music in such compositions as theSecond Piano Concerto ‘Maqam’ (1970) and the PianoTrio (1972). This led him to develop the concept of the“atomisation of the beat” – “a universal type of rhythmmade up of small, apparently unconnected, units … theuniversal rhythm which in its turn forms part of an evengreater rhythm, the rhythm of the universe.” Camilleri alsobecame highly interested in the writings of the Jesuittheologian and scientist Teilhard de Chardin. This foundexpression in the organ masterpieces Missa Mundi andMorphogenesis as well as in compositions for othermedia, including Cosmic Visions for 42 strings (1976) andNoospheres for piano (1977).

The final phase in Camilleri’s output has beenreferred to as “universal”, since it merges the seeminglydisparate facets and concerns of his earlier works into acohesive whole. This incessant traveller had completedhis most impressive journey – that which led him from thesongs of a small Mediterranean island to a “cosmiclanguage” of universal relevance.

The works on this disc date from early in Camilleri’scareer. Indeed, the Piano Concerto No. 1 ‘Mediterranean’ isprobably his first mature large-scale composition. Itsoriginal version was written in 1948, although the composerrevised and re-orchestrated it thirty years later. It is thislatter version of the piece which is more often performed.

Camilleri attributed the genesis of the concerto to avisit to London where he attended a Promenade Concert.“There, for the first time I heard a live professionalorchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, performingunder Malcolm Sargent. That evening so fired myimagination that not only did I decide to commit myself tomusic but went straight into composing a large scalePiano Concerto.”

The work is cast in a traditional three-movement fast-slow-fast structure. It owes much to the epic Romanticconcerto tradition but fuses into this familiar languagemusical elements drawn from Southern Europe and NorthAfrica. A distinctive flavour is given, for instance, by themodal and chromatic inflexions of the music (despite thework being nominally in G minor) and the use of strikingrhythms, by turns elaborate and disarmingly simple. Theopening movement of the concerto contrasts a linear andagile first theme with an expansive and lyrical second idearedolent of Rachmaninov. The central Adagio, heralded byan unaccompanied horn recitative, is the emotional core ofthe piece. The piano weaves intricate improvisatoryarabesques over a languid accompaniment, evoking theimage of folk guitarists playing on a balmy summer night.The concerto ends with a sprightly rondo which, driven bya recurring tarantella, builds up to a rousing close.

In the 1950s and 1960s Camilleri was widelyrespected as an accordion virtuoso and pedagogue.Besides performing internationally, he published anaccordion method and recorded a solo LP. During thistime he composed several pieces for himself and hispupils to perform, amongst which the most substantial isthe Concerto for Accordion and String Orchestra. Rathersurprisingly, the concerto lay forgotten for two decadesuntil leading Canadian accordionist Joseph Macerollo, itsoriginal dedicatee and one-time Camilleri student,decided to record it.

The work is in three movements. The openingAndante moderato follows a classical sonata-formstructure and could be mistaken for a lost eighteenth-century concerto, were it not for the unusual soloinstrument and the fact that the main subject soundssuspiciously like a Maltese traditional melody. The slow

movement starts with an extended dirge-like accordionsolo in C minor, the chordal harmonies suggesting thesound of a church organ, before the strings join increating a warm aural halo. A dissonant fortissimo chorddispels the rapt, prayerful atmosphere and announces thefinal Allegro vivace – a manic atonal toccata based on adodecaphonic theme which, stylistically, propels theconcerto into the twentieth century. Camilleri’s sense ofhumour was well known and this exhilarating finale, sodifferent from the preceding movements, must have beenwritten with a twinkle in the composer’s eye. It could alsohave been a foretaste of the more experimental idiomsCamilleri would soon be exploring.

There are no modernist surprises in the Malta Suite,in which the composer takes a number of recognisableMaltese folk-tunes and reworks them into a set ofcolourful orchestral dances. Rather ironically for what hasbecome the most popular and regularly performed ofCamilleri’s works, there is some uncertainty as to whenexactly it was composed. It appears that the Suite had itspremière in the early sixties when the composer wasliving in Canada. Camilleri himself, however, claimed thathe had written it in 1946 during a holiday on the island ofGozo. He once observed how at that time he was alreadymuch in love with għana, whose melodic contourspermeate the work. The Suite expresses a youthfulexuberance, whilst displaying a precocious command oforchestration. Each of its four movements presents avignette of village life, culminating in a raucous depictionof the festa – the yearly celebrations in honour of thevillage patron saint which, up to this day, remain a centralevent in most Maltese localities.

Camilleri’s early nationalistic works, including the MaltaSuite, were vital creations for a composer seeking apersonal voice, and were received enthusiastically by anewly independent state which was also, in its own way, insearch of an identity. The composer would be proud to learnthat a recording of the Suite’s second movement – the Waltz– is aired daily in one of the main squares of Valletta, thecapital city, as a musical emblem of Malta and its traditions.

Dr Joseph Camilleri

Charles Camilleri (1931-2009)Piano Concerto No. 1 ‘Mediterranean’ • Accordion Concerto • Malta Suite

Charlene Farrugia

Charlene Farrugia is one of the best pianists to have emergedfrom Malta. At the age of thirteen she was the youngest soloistever to perform with the National Orchestra of Malta. Sincethen she has regularly appeared as soloist with severalorchestras, such as the Gnessin Academy of Music Orchestra,Kaliningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Blackheath HallsOrchestra, Rotterdam Ensemble, Wintergreen Orchestra, AradPhilharmonic Orchestra and the Camerata Classica. She hasalso toured China as guest soloist with the Malta PhilharmonicOrchestra. Her performances have been well received byseveral heads of state, including members of the British RoyalFamily. After finishing her musical education in Malta with DorisAmodio Chircop, she continued her studies at the Royal

Academy of Music in London with Diana Ketler. Charlene Farrugia holds a Doctorate in Piano Performance from theclass of Kenneth Hamilton. Her mentor is Boris Petrushansky. She is an EMMA for peace artist.

Franko Božac

Franko Božac, a gifted accordionist and an EMMA for Peace artist (with honorarypresident Riccardo Muti), has appeared as soloist with the Royal Academy ofMusic Symphony Orchestra (London), Kaliningrad Philharmonic, AustrianSymphony Orchestra, Arad Philharmonic, Ulyanovsk State Symphony Orchestra,Camerata Classica, Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, Varaždin ChamberOrchestra, Croatian Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, University of PulaSymphony Orchestra, Gnessin Russian Academy of Music Orchestra and theLugansk Philharmonic. He has also collaborated with the London Sinfonietta,Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and “Ensemble 10/10”. His playing hasbeen broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Scotland on several occasions.He is in great demand among contemporary composers, having given thepremières of several works composed for accordion and orchestra. This has ledhim to collaborate with eminent musicians such as Bashkim Shehu and GarryCarpenter. After his early studies in Croatia, Franko Božac continued his studiesat the Royal Academy of Music in London with Owen Murray and currentlyteaches accordion at the Music Academy in Pula, Croatia.

Photo: Mario Mintoff

Photo: Neven Udovicic

573373 bk Camilleri.qxp_573373 bk Camilleri 28/05/2015 12:23 Page 2

8.573373 2 8.573373 3 8.573373 4

Charles Camilleri was born in Hamrun, Malta, in 1931. Heshowed early promise as an accordionist and pianist andstarted composing at the age of eleven. By the end of histeens he had written a number of compositions inspiredby Maltese traditional music and, particularly, by the localstyle of folk singing known as għana. When Camilleri waseighteen, he emigrated to Australia and eventually movedto London where he earned his living as a successfullight-music arranger, performer, composer and conductor,assisting Sir Malcolm Arnold on the Oscar-winningsoundtrack of The Bridge on the River Kwai. In 1958Camilleri left London for New York and then Canada,where he studied composition whilst working as residentconductor for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Hewould eventually describe these “electrifying” years asamongst the most exciting of his life. They certainly gavehim the confidence to dedicate himself to composition,which he did on his return to London in 1965. Thefollowing years brought him ever-increasing criticalacclaim and prestigious collaborations. 1977 sawCamilleri’s appointment as Professor of Composition atthe Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto. Camilleri alsogave lectures at Buffalo State University, a hotbed ofmusical modernism, where he met experimentalcomposers such as Carter, Feldman and Cage. Theirinfluence took root in a number of works of this periodincluding the Organ Concerto (1981).

Camilleri could not, however, resist the call of hisbeloved Malta and in 1983 it became his permanenthome. The return to his roots led to a flowering ofinspiration. In 1984 he completed an opera written inMaltese – Il-Weghda – which was followed in thesubsequent year by the oratorio Pawlu ta’ Malta. He alsocomposed another full-length opera (The Maltese Cross)and oratorio (Dun Ġorġ) as well as several concertos,music theatre pieces and other vocal, choral, orchestraland instrumental works. One of his very last works, theNew Idea Symphony, was posthumously given itspremière in Brussels in January 2009.

It is not easy to categorise the output of a composer ascomplex and prolific as Camilleri. If pressed to do so, onecould distinguish three overlapping phases. The earliestmay be referred to as “nationalistic” and is typified by anattempt to marry traditional Maltese and Mediterraneanfolk-tunes and dances to “art music”, much as Bartók, deFalla and Vaughan Williams had done with the music oftheir respective countries. This period produced some ofCamilleri’s most endearing and enduring works.

Camilleri soon directed his attention to the culture of awider geographical area. During what has been describedas his “Afro-Arabic-Hindu phase” he explored the intricaterhythms and improvisatory aspects of North-African andMiddle Eastern music in such compositions as theSecond Piano Concerto ‘Maqam’ (1970) and the PianoTrio (1972). This led him to develop the concept of the“atomisation of the beat” – “a universal type of rhythmmade up of small, apparently unconnected, units … theuniversal rhythm which in its turn forms part of an evengreater rhythm, the rhythm of the universe.” Camilleri alsobecame highly interested in the writings of the Jesuittheologian and scientist Teilhard de Chardin. This foundexpression in the organ masterpieces Missa Mundi andMorphogenesis as well as in compositions for othermedia, including Cosmic Visions for 42 strings (1976) andNoospheres for piano (1977).

The final phase in Camilleri’s output has beenreferred to as “universal”, since it merges the seeminglydisparate facets and concerns of his earlier works into acohesive whole. This incessant traveller had completedhis most impressive journey – that which led him from thesongs of a small Mediterranean island to a “cosmiclanguage” of universal relevance.

The works on this disc date from early in Camilleri’scareer. Indeed, the Piano Concerto No. 1 ‘Mediterranean’ isprobably his first mature large-scale composition. Itsoriginal version was written in 1948, although the composerrevised and re-orchestrated it thirty years later. It is thislatter version of the piece which is more often performed.

Camilleri attributed the genesis of the concerto to avisit to London where he attended a Promenade Concert.“There, for the first time I heard a live professionalorchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, performingunder Malcolm Sargent. That evening so fired myimagination that not only did I decide to commit myself tomusic but went straight into composing a large scalePiano Concerto.”

The work is cast in a traditional three-movement fast-slow-fast structure. It owes much to the epic Romanticconcerto tradition but fuses into this familiar languagemusical elements drawn from Southern Europe and NorthAfrica. A distinctive flavour is given, for instance, by themodal and chromatic inflexions of the music (despite thework being nominally in G minor) and the use of strikingrhythms, by turns elaborate and disarmingly simple. Theopening movement of the concerto contrasts a linear andagile first theme with an expansive and lyrical second idearedolent of Rachmaninov. The central Adagio, heralded byan unaccompanied horn recitative, is the emotional core ofthe piece. The piano weaves intricate improvisatoryarabesques over a languid accompaniment, evoking theimage of folk guitarists playing on a balmy summer night.The concerto ends with a sprightly rondo which, driven bya recurring tarantella, builds up to a rousing close.

In the 1950s and 1960s Camilleri was widelyrespected as an accordion virtuoso and pedagogue.Besides performing internationally, he published anaccordion method and recorded a solo LP. During thistime he composed several pieces for himself and hispupils to perform, amongst which the most substantial isthe Concerto for Accordion and String Orchestra. Rathersurprisingly, the concerto lay forgotten for two decadesuntil leading Canadian accordionist Joseph Macerollo, itsoriginal dedicatee and one-time Camilleri student,decided to record it.

The work is in three movements. The openingAndante moderato follows a classical sonata-formstructure and could be mistaken for a lost eighteenth-century concerto, were it not for the unusual soloinstrument and the fact that the main subject soundssuspiciously like a Maltese traditional melody. The slow

movement starts with an extended dirge-like accordionsolo in C minor, the chordal harmonies suggesting thesound of a church organ, before the strings join increating a warm aural halo. A dissonant fortissimo chorddispels the rapt, prayerful atmosphere and announces thefinal Allegro vivace – a manic atonal toccata based on adodecaphonic theme which, stylistically, propels theconcerto into the twentieth century. Camilleri’s sense ofhumour was well known and this exhilarating finale, sodifferent from the preceding movements, must have beenwritten with a twinkle in the composer’s eye. It could alsohave been a foretaste of the more experimental idiomsCamilleri would soon be exploring.

There are no modernist surprises in the Malta Suite,in which the composer takes a number of recognisableMaltese folk-tunes and reworks them into a set ofcolourful orchestral dances. Rather ironically for what hasbecome the most popular and regularly performed ofCamilleri’s works, there is some uncertainty as to whenexactly it was composed. It appears that the Suite had itspremière in the early sixties when the composer wasliving in Canada. Camilleri himself, however, claimed thathe had written it in 1946 during a holiday on the island ofGozo. He once observed how at that time he was alreadymuch in love with għana, whose melodic contourspermeate the work. The Suite expresses a youthfulexuberance, whilst displaying a precocious command oforchestration. Each of its four movements presents avignette of village life, culminating in a raucous depictionof the festa – the yearly celebrations in honour of thevillage patron saint which, up to this day, remain a centralevent in most Maltese localities.

Camilleri’s early nationalistic works, including the MaltaSuite, were vital creations for a composer seeking apersonal voice, and were received enthusiastically by anewly independent state which was also, in its own way, insearch of an identity. The composer would be proud to learnthat a recording of the Suite’s second movement – the Waltz– is aired daily in one of the main squares of Valletta, thecapital city, as a musical emblem of Malta and its traditions.

Dr Joseph Camilleri

Charles Camilleri (1931-2009)Piano Concerto No. 1 ‘Mediterranean’ • Accordion Concerto • Malta Suite

Charlene Farrugia

Charlene Farrugia is one of the best pianists to have emergedfrom Malta. At the age of thirteen she was the youngest soloistever to perform with the National Orchestra of Malta. Sincethen she has regularly appeared as soloist with severalorchestras, such as the Gnessin Academy of Music Orchestra,Kaliningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Blackheath HallsOrchestra, Rotterdam Ensemble, Wintergreen Orchestra, AradPhilharmonic Orchestra and the Camerata Classica. She hasalso toured China as guest soloist with the Malta PhilharmonicOrchestra. Her performances have been well received byseveral heads of state, including members of the British RoyalFamily. After finishing her musical education in Malta with DorisAmodio Chircop, she continued her studies at the Royal

Academy of Music in London with Diana Ketler. Charlene Farrugia holds a Doctorate in Piano Performance from theclass of Kenneth Hamilton. Her mentor is Boris Petrushansky. She is an EMMA for peace artist.

Franko Božac

Franko Božac, a gifted accordionist and an EMMA for Peace artist (with honorarypresident Riccardo Muti), has appeared as soloist with the Royal Academy ofMusic Symphony Orchestra (London), Kaliningrad Philharmonic, AustrianSymphony Orchestra, Arad Philharmonic, Ulyanovsk State Symphony Orchestra,Camerata Classica, Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, Varaždin ChamberOrchestra, Croatian Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, University of PulaSymphony Orchestra, Gnessin Russian Academy of Music Orchestra and theLugansk Philharmonic. He has also collaborated with the London Sinfonietta,Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and “Ensemble 10/10”. His playing hasbeen broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Scotland on several occasions.He is in great demand among contemporary composers, having given thepremières of several works composed for accordion and orchestra. This has ledhim to collaborate with eminent musicians such as Bashkim Shehu and GarryCarpenter. After his early studies in Croatia, Franko Božac continued his studiesat the Royal Academy of Music in London with Owen Murray and currentlyteaches accordion at the Music Academy in Pula, Croatia.

Photo: Mario Mintoff

Photo: Neven Udovicic

573373 bk Camilleri.qxp_573373 bk Camilleri 28/05/2015 12:23 Page 2

8.573373 2 8.573373 3 8.573373 4

Charles Camilleri was born in Hamrun, Malta, in 1931. Heshowed early promise as an accordionist and pianist andstarted composing at the age of eleven. By the end of histeens he had written a number of compositions inspiredby Maltese traditional music and, particularly, by the localstyle of folk singing known as għana. When Camilleri waseighteen, he emigrated to Australia and eventually movedto London where he earned his living as a successfullight-music arranger, performer, composer and conductor,assisting Sir Malcolm Arnold on the Oscar-winningsoundtrack of The Bridge on the River Kwai. In 1958Camilleri left London for New York and then Canada,where he studied composition whilst working as residentconductor for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Hewould eventually describe these “electrifying” years asamongst the most exciting of his life. They certainly gavehim the confidence to dedicate himself to composition,which he did on his return to London in 1965. Thefollowing years brought him ever-increasing criticalacclaim and prestigious collaborations. 1977 sawCamilleri’s appointment as Professor of Composition atthe Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto. Camilleri alsogave lectures at Buffalo State University, a hotbed ofmusical modernism, where he met experimentalcomposers such as Carter, Feldman and Cage. Theirinfluence took root in a number of works of this periodincluding the Organ Concerto (1981).

Camilleri could not, however, resist the call of hisbeloved Malta and in 1983 it became his permanenthome. The return to his roots led to a flowering ofinspiration. In 1984 he completed an opera written inMaltese – Il-Weghda – which was followed in thesubsequent year by the oratorio Pawlu ta’ Malta. He alsocomposed another full-length opera (The Maltese Cross)and oratorio (Dun Ġorġ) as well as several concertos,music theatre pieces and other vocal, choral, orchestraland instrumental works. One of his very last works, theNew Idea Symphony, was posthumously given itspremière in Brussels in January 2009.

It is not easy to categorise the output of a composer ascomplex and prolific as Camilleri. If pressed to do so, onecould distinguish three overlapping phases. The earliestmay be referred to as “nationalistic” and is typified by anattempt to marry traditional Maltese and Mediterraneanfolk-tunes and dances to “art music”, much as Bartók, deFalla and Vaughan Williams had done with the music oftheir respective countries. This period produced some ofCamilleri’s most endearing and enduring works.

Camilleri soon directed his attention to the culture of awider geographical area. During what has been describedas his “Afro-Arabic-Hindu phase” he explored the intricaterhythms and improvisatory aspects of North-African andMiddle Eastern music in such compositions as theSecond Piano Concerto ‘Maqam’ (1970) and the PianoTrio (1972). This led him to develop the concept of the“atomisation of the beat” – “a universal type of rhythmmade up of small, apparently unconnected, units … theuniversal rhythm which in its turn forms part of an evengreater rhythm, the rhythm of the universe.” Camilleri alsobecame highly interested in the writings of the Jesuittheologian and scientist Teilhard de Chardin. This foundexpression in the organ masterpieces Missa Mundi andMorphogenesis as well as in compositions for othermedia, including Cosmic Visions for 42 strings (1976) andNoospheres for piano (1977).

The final phase in Camilleri’s output has beenreferred to as “universal”, since it merges the seeminglydisparate facets and concerns of his earlier works into acohesive whole. This incessant traveller had completedhis most impressive journey – that which led him from thesongs of a small Mediterranean island to a “cosmiclanguage” of universal relevance.

The works on this disc date from early in Camilleri’scareer. Indeed, the Piano Concerto No. 1 ‘Mediterranean’ isprobably his first mature large-scale composition. Itsoriginal version was written in 1948, although the composerrevised and re-orchestrated it thirty years later. It is thislatter version of the piece which is more often performed.

Camilleri attributed the genesis of the concerto to avisit to London where he attended a Promenade Concert.“There, for the first time I heard a live professionalorchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, performingunder Malcolm Sargent. That evening so fired myimagination that not only did I decide to commit myself tomusic but went straight into composing a large scalePiano Concerto.”

The work is cast in a traditional three-movement fast-slow-fast structure. It owes much to the epic Romanticconcerto tradition but fuses into this familiar languagemusical elements drawn from Southern Europe and NorthAfrica. A distinctive flavour is given, for instance, by themodal and chromatic inflexions of the music (despite thework being nominally in G minor) and the use of strikingrhythms, by turns elaborate and disarmingly simple. Theopening movement of the concerto contrasts a linear andagile first theme with an expansive and lyrical second idearedolent of Rachmaninov. The central Adagio, heralded byan unaccompanied horn recitative, is the emotional core ofthe piece. The piano weaves intricate improvisatoryarabesques over a languid accompaniment, evoking theimage of folk guitarists playing on a balmy summer night.The concerto ends with a sprightly rondo which, driven bya recurring tarantella, builds up to a rousing close.

In the 1950s and 1960s Camilleri was widelyrespected as an accordion virtuoso and pedagogue.Besides performing internationally, he published anaccordion method and recorded a solo LP. During thistime he composed several pieces for himself and hispupils to perform, amongst which the most substantial isthe Concerto for Accordion and String Orchestra. Rathersurprisingly, the concerto lay forgotten for two decadesuntil leading Canadian accordionist Joseph Macerollo, itsoriginal dedicatee and one-time Camilleri student,decided to record it.

The work is in three movements. The openingAndante moderato follows a classical sonata-formstructure and could be mistaken for a lost eighteenth-century concerto, were it not for the unusual soloinstrument and the fact that the main subject soundssuspiciously like a Maltese traditional melody. The slow

movement starts with an extended dirge-like accordionsolo in C minor, the chordal harmonies suggesting thesound of a church organ, before the strings join increating a warm aural halo. A dissonant fortissimo chorddispels the rapt, prayerful atmosphere and announces thefinal Allegro vivace – a manic atonal toccata based on adodecaphonic theme which, stylistically, propels theconcerto into the twentieth century. Camilleri’s sense ofhumour was well known and this exhilarating finale, sodifferent from the preceding movements, must have beenwritten with a twinkle in the composer’s eye. It could alsohave been a foretaste of the more experimental idiomsCamilleri would soon be exploring.

There are no modernist surprises in the Malta Suite,in which the composer takes a number of recognisableMaltese folk-tunes and reworks them into a set ofcolourful orchestral dances. Rather ironically for what hasbecome the most popular and regularly performed ofCamilleri’s works, there is some uncertainty as to whenexactly it was composed. It appears that the Suite had itspremière in the early sixties when the composer wasliving in Canada. Camilleri himself, however, claimed thathe had written it in 1946 during a holiday on the island ofGozo. He once observed how at that time he was alreadymuch in love with għana, whose melodic contourspermeate the work. The Suite expresses a youthfulexuberance, whilst displaying a precocious command oforchestration. Each of its four movements presents avignette of village life, culminating in a raucous depictionof the festa – the yearly celebrations in honour of thevillage patron saint which, up to this day, remain a centralevent in most Maltese localities.

Camilleri’s early nationalistic works, including the MaltaSuite, were vital creations for a composer seeking apersonal voice, and were received enthusiastically by anewly independent state which was also, in its own way, insearch of an identity. The composer would be proud to learnthat a recording of the Suite’s second movement – the Waltz– is aired daily in one of the main squares of Valletta, thecapital city, as a musical emblem of Malta and its traditions.

Dr Joseph Camilleri

Charles Camilleri (1931-2009)Piano Concerto No. 1 ‘Mediterranean’ • Accordion Concerto • Malta Suite

Charlene Farrugia

Charlene Farrugia is one of the best pianists to have emergedfrom Malta. At the age of thirteen she was the youngest soloistever to perform with the National Orchestra of Malta. Sincethen she has regularly appeared as soloist with severalorchestras, such as the Gnessin Academy of Music Orchestra,Kaliningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Blackheath HallsOrchestra, Rotterdam Ensemble, Wintergreen Orchestra, AradPhilharmonic Orchestra and the Camerata Classica. She hasalso toured China as guest soloist with the Malta PhilharmonicOrchestra. Her performances have been well received byseveral heads of state, including members of the British RoyalFamily. After finishing her musical education in Malta with DorisAmodio Chircop, she continued her studies at the Royal

Academy of Music in London with Diana Ketler. Charlene Farrugia holds a Doctorate in Piano Performance from theclass of Kenneth Hamilton. Her mentor is Boris Petrushansky. She is an EMMA for peace artist.

Franko Božac

Franko Božac, a gifted accordionist and an EMMA for Peace artist (with honorarypresident Riccardo Muti), has appeared as soloist with the Royal Academy ofMusic Symphony Orchestra (London), Kaliningrad Philharmonic, AustrianSymphony Orchestra, Arad Philharmonic, Ulyanovsk State Symphony Orchestra,Camerata Classica, Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, Varaždin ChamberOrchestra, Croatian Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, University of PulaSymphony Orchestra, Gnessin Russian Academy of Music Orchestra and theLugansk Philharmonic. He has also collaborated with the London Sinfonietta,Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and “Ensemble 10/10”. His playing hasbeen broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Scotland on several occasions.He is in great demand among contemporary composers, having given thepremières of several works composed for accordion and orchestra. This has ledhim to collaborate with eminent musicians such as Bashkim Shehu and GarryCarpenter. After his early studies in Croatia, Franko Božac continued his studiesat the Royal Academy of Music in London with Owen Murray and currentlyteaches accordion at the Music Academy in Pula, Croatia.

Photo: Mario Mintoff

Photo: Neven Udovicic

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Miran Vaupotić

Acclaimed as “dynamic and knowledgeable” by the Buenos Aires Herald, Croatian conductor Miran Vaupotić hasperformed extensively in Europe, the Middle East, the United States, Latin America and Asia, conducting manyeminent orchestras in numerous major halls including the Wiener Musikverein, Smetana Hall, Prague, Cairo OperaHouse, Forbidden City Concert Hall, Beijing, Oriental Art Center, Shanghai, and the Tchaikovsky Hall, Moscow. In 2011Vaupotić made his operatic début in the United States, conducting Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at the Atlantic CoastOpera Festival in Philadelphia. In the same year he conducted Piazzolla’s rarely performed operetta Maria de BuenosAires in a new production at Lisinski Concert Hall, Zagreb. In 2012 he conducted the Empire Opera premières ofSaavedra’s Sweet Dreams and Rose’s Rumpelstiltskin directed by the American puppeteer Tyler Bunch at TheNational Opera America Center in NYC. Miran Vaupotić won the 2015 Global Music Award for Best of Show and wasawarded the Honorary Diploma by the International Academy of Rating Technologies and Sociology “Golden Fortune”for his significant contribution to the development of symphonic music.

8.573373 6

Charles

CAMILLERIMediterranean

Piano Concerto No. 1 • Accordion Concerto • Malta Suite

Charlene Farrugia, Piano • Franko Božac, Accordion

Malta Philharmonic Orchestra • Miran Vaupotić

Malta Philharmonic Orchestra

The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra isMalta’s foremost professional musicalinstitution. Under the helm of its currentArtistic Director and PrincipalConductor Brian Schembri, theorchestra has been striving for musicalexcellence by investing moreintensively in a varied symphonicrepertoire throughout its concertseasons. The orchestra is involved inopera productions in Malta and Gozo,community outreach programmes,concerts of a lighter musical genre aswell as international concert tours. TheMPO is also actively involved ineducation programmes on localtelevision and radio, workshops andbespoke performances with programmestargeting children from a young age.For a number of years the orchestrahas been collaborating with variousentities in order to expose Malteseartists and composers both locally andabroad, and thanks to their collaborationwith conductor Miran Vaupotić and theValletta 2018 Foundation (the organizingbody of the European Capital of Culture).

Photo: Joe Smith

Special thanks to Neva Begović and Krunoslav Marić for their professional assistance, and to Vito Gospodnetić and Edo Forman (manufacturers of the excellent

ambient microphone “Feature 2S”) for their kind support.

Photo: Nikolai Ivanovich Semenov

573373 bk Camilleri.qxp_573373 bk Camilleri 28/05/2015 12:23 Page 1

8.573373 5

Miran Vaupotić

Acclaimed as “dynamic and knowledgeable” by the Buenos Aires Herald, Croatian conductor Miran Vaupotić hasperformed extensively in Europe, the Middle East, the United States, Latin America and Asia, conducting manyeminent orchestras in numerous major halls including the Wiener Musikverein, Smetana Hall, Prague, Cairo OperaHouse, Forbidden City Concert Hall, Beijing, Oriental Art Center, Shanghai, and the Tchaikovsky Hall, Moscow. In 2011Vaupotić made his operatic début in the United States, conducting Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at the Atlantic CoastOpera Festival in Philadelphia. In the same year he conducted Piazzolla’s rarely performed operetta Maria de BuenosAires in a new production at Lisinski Concert Hall, Zagreb. In 2012 he conducted the Empire Opera premières ofSaavedra’s Sweet Dreams and Rose’s Rumpelstiltskin directed by the American puppeteer Tyler Bunch at TheNational Opera America Center in NYC. Miran Vaupotić won the 2015 Global Music Award for Best of Show and wasawarded the Honorary Diploma by the International Academy of Rating Technologies and Sociology “Golden Fortune”for his significant contribution to the development of symphonic music.

8.573373 6

Charles

CAMILLERIMediterranean

Piano Concerto No. 1 • Accordion Concerto • Malta Suite

Charlene Farrugia, Piano • Franko Božac, Accordion

Malta Philharmonic Orchestra • Miran Vaupotić

Malta Philharmonic Orchestra

The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra isMalta’s foremost professional musicalinstitution. Under the helm of its currentArtistic Director and PrincipalConductor Brian Schembri, theorchestra has been striving for musicalexcellence by investing moreintensively in a varied symphonicrepertoire throughout its concertseasons. The orchestra is involved inopera productions in Malta and Gozo,community outreach programmes,concerts of a lighter musical genre aswell as international concert tours. TheMPO is also actively involved ineducation programmes on localtelevision and radio, workshops andbespoke performances with programmestargeting children from a young age.For a number of years the orchestrahas been collaborating with variousentities in order to expose Malteseartists and composers both locally andabroad, and thanks to their collaborationwith conductor Miran Vaupotić and theValletta 2018 Foundation (the organizingbody of the European Capital of Culture).

Photo: Joe Smith

Special thanks to Neva Begović and Krunoslav Marić for their professional assistance, and to Vito Gospodnetić and Edo Forman (manufacturers of the excellent

ambient microphone “Feature 2S”) for their kind support.

Photo: Nikolai Ivanovich Semenov

573373 bk Camilleri.qxp_573373 bk Camilleri 28/05/2015 12:23 Page 1

CMYK

Charles

CAMILLERI(1931-2009)

The three works on this recording come from the first phase in the musical development ofMalta’s prolific composer Charles Camilleri, and are some of his most rewarding and enduringworks. The Piano Concerto No. 1 ‘Mediterranean’ owes much to the Romantic concerto traditionbut is suffused with the distinctive flavours of music from southern Europe and North Africa. Avirtuoso of the accordion, Camilleri wrote a Concerto for the instrument that journeyshumorously from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. The Malta Suite, a set of colourfuldances, is widely considered the island’s musical emblem.

This recording was made possible thanks to support from the Valletta 2018 Foundation (the organizing body of the European Capital of Culture) and the Mediterranean Conference Centre.

Recorded at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta, Malta, from 21st to 23rd July, 2014Producer: Christopher Muscat • Engineers: Davor Rocco and Alec Massa • Editor: Davor Rocco

Publishers: Goodmusic Publishing (tracks 1-3); Novello & Co., Ltd. (tracks 4-6); Alfred Lengnick & Co. (tracks 7-10)

Booklet notes: Dr Joseph Camilleri • Cover photograph by Claire Calvagna

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Playing Time60:21

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Piano Concerto No. 1 ‘Mediterranean’ (1948, rev. 1978) 28:451 Allegro moderato 10:312 Adagio (French horn solo: Marco Cola) 11:113 Allegro molto vivace 7:03

Concerto for Accordion and String Orchestra (1968) 14:254 Andante moderato 5:435 Andante 4:426 Allegro vivace 4:00

Malta Suite (1946) 17:117 Country Dance 3:208 Waltz (Clarinet solo: Joseph Camilleri) 4:039 Nocturne 4:310 Village Festa 5:17

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Charlene Farrugia, Piano 1-3 • Franko Božac, Accordion 4-6

Malta Philharmonic Orchestra • Miran Vaupotić