I happened to listen to a programme on a German radio station focusing on great mandolin concertos and, to my surprise, in the company of Mozart, Vivaldi, Boccherini and Vittorio Monti, there surfaced a Maltese composer, Giuseppe Frendo (1810-1884) who, in the late 19th century, composed a mandolin concerto L’Eroile de Bonheur.

This fascinating composition is now being performed in major music halls, especially in Germany. An enterprising Bavarian musical institution has made a video of the composition which can be accessed in the international media.

This composer, who hails from a musical family in Vittoriosa, founded a mandolin ensemble in this cultural city where this family name is enshrined in the minds and hearts of its citizens, not least because it was this ensemble that later inaugurated our national anthem at the Manoel Theatre.

Unfortunately, this highly accomplished composer has escaped the attention of our musicologists – hopefully his name and works will now be thoroughly researched by our University.

May I suggest that Frendo’s compositions, which are being enthusiastically received with acclamation, will feature in the repertoire of our national orchestra.

How strange that after a standing ovation in one of the Bavarian music halls, the appreciative audience was asking: “But who is this Giuseppe Frendo?”