“Gaulitana: A Festival of Music” is back with concerts throughout the month of March 2022. The 15th edition will be held in different Gozitan venues, and kicks off on Saturday 5th March 2022 with a symphonic concert by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. The finale, focusing on Maltese music, is scheduled for the 30th March 2022.

As in previous editions, the Festival will this year once again include works by Maestro Joseph Vella.

Four of his works will be performed. ‘Passacaglietta’ (Opus 9, composed in 1968), a five minute composition for clarinet and piano, will be performed on Tuesday 8th March at the Hotel Kempinski, San Lawrenz, during the concert ‘Clarinet Fantasies’, with Giuseppe Recchia and Elaine Mercieca as soloists on clarinet and piano respectively.

Two other works are scheduled during the concert ‘Dialoghi’, which features Pierre Louis Attard on violin and Milica Lawrence on piano. The duo will be performing ‘Larghetto Cantabile’ (Opus 57, composed in 1992) and ‘Ramblings’ (Opus 136, composed in 2014).

On the other hand, ‘Rapsodija Maltija’ (Opus 26) will be performed during the final concert entirely dedicated to Maltese music, once again at the Kempinski Hotel. This work was originally written for violin and piano in 1978, and arranged at a later stage by Vella amongst others for piano solo or even violin and string orchestra.

The Gaulitanus Festival is directed by Maestro Vella`s nephew, Maestro Colin Attard, who will also be premiering his own ‘Elegie Lyrique’ dedicated to Mro. Vella during the 30th March concert. Pierre Louis Attard, Mro. Attard`s son, will be the soloist for both ‘Rapsodija Maltija’ and ‘Elegie Lyrique’.

Additional details on “Gaulitana: A Festival of Music”” are available on www.facebook.com/gaulitana