Convincingly excellent interpretations

A recital sponsored by MIA was held in the delightful courtyard of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Palazzo Parisio, Valletta on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malta and the Czech Republic, courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, organised by the Honorary Consul Tonio Casapinta.

The programme of events featured a piano recital by Pavel Kaspar with the participation of soprano Lydia Caruana accompanied by pianist Elizabeth Leonardi, which was followed by the inauguration of an exhibition of artefacts and history of the relations between the two countries as reported in the Times of Malta between 1968 and 2008.

Anchored appropriately in the Czech and Maltese repertoire, the recital was not particularly long but provided enough variety to engage attention. Mr Kaspar plunged into Bedrich Smetana's On the Seashore with an affirmative scale which soon subsided into a series of delicate surging and receding phrases, evocative of the rise and fall of waves.

This eventually settled into the motion of the melody which was allocated to the right hand and an undulating arpeggio in the left, fading into what sounded like a last ripple on the shore. The piece was a very picturesque one and was given due interpretation as such by the pianist.

Mr Kaspar's next contribution, again taken from the Czech repertoire, consisted of Trois Esquisses - Tempo di Blues, Tempo di Tango and Tempo di Charleston by Bohuslav Martinu, which progressed from a jazzy short blues to a distinctly rhythmic tango and ended with a technically confident very fast Charleston.

His performance of Alexander Moyzes's Sonata for Piano E Moll Opus 2, in two movements, adagio and fuga, was very reminiscent of Bach's Preludes and Fugues. A very repetitive haunting melody characterised the adagio, which was retained throughout even though it modulated to various keys before reaching a climax of very forceful chords. Mr Kaspar clearly delineated the melody which became more and more intense in the fuga, until it reached a grand finale.

Soprano Lydia Caruana, accompanied sensitively by Elizabeth Lombardi, interpreted the Maltese element of the concert, ie Girolamo Abos's Pensa Ben Mio..., Carmelo Pace's Aprilja and Joe Vella's Il-Kebbies tal-Fanali. While Ms Caruana did not adapt too well to the Abos, she was much more at ease in the latter two pieces, the former characterised by a romantic flowing melody, the latter also by a very expansive melody which Ms Caruana interpreted very convincingly with excellent diction.

She also sang Dvorak's exquisite Song to the Moon from his opera Rusalka, this time accompanied at the piano by Mr Kaspar. This was also characterised by clear diction in an idiom which suited her well, with her high notes progressing naturally from one to the other. Mr Kaspar concluded the concert with a sparkling and virtuosic Scarlatti sonata.

The entire recital was in very good taste, exuding a welcome warmth which can only result from a sense of intimacy with the artistes made possible by the venue.