EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS 2015
Vibrant Malta
Programme
Introduction
© Niels Plotard
Discover Malta!
Date/time
Event
Location
Tickets/prices*
Mon., 5 Oct.
19:00
Panel discussion
What is it like to be Maltese?
Professor Henry J. Frendo, Professor Joseph M. Brincat, Ranier Fsadni
Moderated by Kevin O’Brien
Malta’s linguistic diversity is as unique in Europe as its process of becoming a state. Renowned
experts in the country provide an insight into fascinating topics such as the Maltese language,
which has its origins in an Arabic dialect, and the knight’s order, whose legacy can still be felt in
all aspects of modern society.
European Central Bank
Main building
Sonnemannstrasse 20
Free entry, prior registration
is required (e-mail: [email protected])
Music
© Matthew Cutajan
Event
Location
Tickets/prices*
Tues., 3 Nov.
20:00
Opening Concert
Melodious feelings: Joseph Calleja sings arias and songs
Joseph Calleja (tenor)
Malta Philharmonic Orchestra
Brian Schembri (conductor)
Critics have compared him to the legendary singers in his field, even Caruso: the Maltese tenor
extraordinaire will perform Italian, as well as Russian, French and German, pieces.
Alte Oper Frankfurt
Grosser Saal
Opernplatz 1
€69 / €56 / €43 / €30 / €20 / €12
Alte Oper and Frankfurt Ticket
RheinMain GmbH
www.frankfurt-ticket.de
Ticket hotline:
+49 (0)69 1340 400
plus all other Frankfurt Ticket
RheinMain offices
Quintessence
Sound art performance
Renzo Spiteri (sound artist, composer and performer)
Quintessence is an immersive experience at the forefront of artistic experimentation in the digital
age of storytelling. Much of this solo performance by Renzo Spiteri will be improvised and will
include a wide array of acoustic instruments, as well as large “found” objects and live electronic
manipulation.
Gallus Theater
Kleyerstrasse 15
Sun., 8 Nov.
20:00
© Kurt Cauchi
Date/time
© Simon Fowler
© Brian Grech
Worlds of sound: grand opera,
jazz and harp melodies
Mon., 16 Nov. Violin concert
20:00
Violin and piano
Carmine Lauri (violin)
Simon Hester (piano)
This evening’s programme, featuring an acclaimed violin soloist, will include works by Mozart,
Brahms, Vella, Gershwin, Tchaikovsky, de Sarasate and Wieniawski.
www.alteoper.de
www.gallustheater.de
Oper Frankfurt
Holzfoyer
Willy-Brandt-Platz
www.oper-frankfurt.de
€15
Ticket hotline:
+49 (0)69 7580 6020
Advance purchase from
www.gallustheater.de
€20
Städtische Bühnen central
ticket office
www.oper-frankfurt.de
Ticket hotline:
+49 (0)69 2124 9494
plus all other Städtische
Bühnen ticket offices
Fri., 27 Nov.
20:00
Charity concert
Jazz classics
The Dominic Galea JAZZTET
Nadine Axisa (singer)
Well-known tunes and a few Maltese surprises from an ensemble of professional musicians whose
repertoire includes classical jazz pieces as well as jazz adaptations of popular songs.
In cooperation with the City of Frankfurt am Main.
The donations received will go to charitable causes to be announced at a later date.
Frankfurter Paulskirche
Paulsplatz 11
Free entry, tickets are required
Frankfurt Ticket RheinMain
GmbH
www.frankfurt-ticket.de
Ticket hotline:
+49 (0)69 1340 400
plus all other Frankfurt Ticket
RheinMain offices
Tues., 1 Dec.
20:00
Song concert
An evening with Lydia Caruana
Lydia Caruana (soprano)
Yvette Galea (piano)
Acclaimed soprano Lydia Caruana will sing pieces by Liszt, Rossini and Camilleri, including the latter’s
Ħames Kanti Popolari, written at the start of the 1990s, with lyrics by Maltese poet Joe Friggieri.
Oper Frankfurt
Holzfoyer
Willy-Brandt-Platz
€20
Städtische Bühnen central
ticket office
www.oper-frankfurt.de
Ticket hotline:
+49 (0)69 2124 9494
plus all other Städtische Bühnen ticket offices
Special concert
Harp melodies
Britt Arend (harp)
Gillian Zammit (soprano)
Clare Ghigo (mezzo-soprano)
This performance will feature compelling melodies by Mediterranean composers, which will be
interpreted in an unusual way: by two singers and a harpist.
Alte Oper Frankfurt
Mozartsaal
Opernplatz 1
Chamber music
Wind ensemble
Cosmos Wind Ensemble: Rebecca Hall (flute), John McDonough (oboe), Godfrey Mifsud (clarinet),
José García Gutiérrez (French horn), Ulrike Buhlmann (bassoon)
The Cosmos Wind Ensemble is regarded as Malta’s most dynamic chamber music ensemble. They
will perform works by Beethoven, Camilleri, Mozart and Albert Garzia.
Alte Oper Frankfurt
Mozartsaal
Opernplatz 1
Wed., 2 Dec.
20:00
Wed., 9 Dec.
20:00
Tues., 15 Dec. Big band concert
20:00
Immortal melodies
Big Band Brothers, fronted by Daniel Cauchi
Percussionist and singer Daniel Cauchi put together the Big Band Brothers in 2005. Four trombones,
four trumpets, five saxophones and a complete rhythm section provide the full big band sound.
www.oper-frankfurt.de
www.alteoper.de
www.alteoper.de
Gesellschaftshaus Palmengarten
Palmengartenstrasse 11
www.palmengarten.de
€20 / €15
Alte Oper and Frankfurt Ticket
RheinMain GmbH
www.frankfurt-ticket.de
Ticket hotline:
+49 (0)69 1340 400
plus all other Frankfurt Ticket
RheinMain offices
€20 / €15
Alte Oper and Frankfurt Ticket
RheinMain GmbH
www.frankfurt-ticket.de
Ticket hotline:
+49 (0)69 1340 400
plus all other Frankfurt Ticket
RheinMain offices
€20 / €16 / €5
Frankfurt Ticket RheinMain
GmbH
www.frankfurt-ticket.de
Ticket hotline:
+49 (0)69 1340 400
plus all other Frankfurt Ticket
RheinMain offices
Dance
© Emma Tranter
International motion
Date/time
Event
Thurs., 19 Nov. Dance
20:00
Erbgħa(4)
ŻfinMalta Dance Ensemble
Fri., 20 Nov.
Mavin Khoo (director)
20:00 Disco with
Erbgħa(4) is made up of four contemporary dance pieces from four different international
Miss Roberta
choreographers. The pieces will be performed by Malta’s national dance company, which has
after the
performance
dedicated itself to the genre of modern ballet.
Location
Künstlerhaus Mousonturm
Frankfurt am Main GmbH
Waldschmidtstrasse 4
www.mousonturm.de
Tickets/prices*
€19 / €9
Ticket hotline:
+49 (0)69 4058 9520
www.mousonturm.de
www.adticket.de
Exhibition
© Daniel Cilia
The Spirit of an Island
Date/time
Event
Thurs., 19 Nov. Exhibition
to Sun. 13 Dec. The Spirit of an Island
Daniel Cilia (photographer)
Vernissage:
Joe Xuereb (sculptor)
Wed., 18 Nov.
This exhibition unites photography and sculpture: Daniel Cilia has captured his homeland Malta
19:00
for numerous picture books; Joe Xuereb uses stone from the island of Gozo to create sculptures
based on archaic forms.
Location
Tickets/prices*
AusstellungsHalle
Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen
Schulstrasse 1A
Free entry
Opening times:
Wed.-Thurs. 18:00-20:00
Fri.-Sun. 14:00-18:00
www.ausstellungshalle.info
The sound of words
© Nikita Goile
Literature
Date/time
Event
Location
Tickets/prices*
Thurs., 12 Nov.
19:30
Poetry in performance
Voices, electronic music, dance
ŻfinMalta Dance Ensemble and Literature Ensemble
Albert Marshall and Mavin Khoo (artistic directors)
Renzo Spiteri (musical director, composer and musician)
A multilayered performance based on the Maltese short story “Nixtieq Ngħajjat Iil Samirah”
(I want to call out to Samirah), for which the author Pierre J. Mejlak received the “Sea of Words”
literature prize in 2009. The impressive mix of spoken word, movement and layers of sound
brings the audience closer to the fascinating sound of the Maltese language.
Literaturhaus
Schöne Aussicht 2
€9 / €6 advance purchase
€10 / €7 box office
Ticket hotline:
+49 (0)69 4076 62580
Mon.-Fri. 09:00-19:30
Sat. 10:00-14:00
www.literaturhaus-frankfurt.de/
karten/karteninfo or
www.adticket.de
www.literaturhaus-frankfurt.de
Programme continued overleaf
Programme (continued)
Lectures
© Midsea Books Ltd.
© Aaron Briffa
Maltese cultural history
Date/time
Event
Location
Tickets/prices*
Mon., 30 Nov.
19:00
Lecture
The rise and fall of a unique prehistoric culture: the Megalithic temples of Malta
Professor Anthony Bonanno
Between 4,000 and 2,500 BC the Maltese archipelago was home to a civilisation that created the
world’s first freestanding stone structures. These “temples” were burial places with underground
rooms.
Goethe-Universität
Campus Westend
House of Finance
Grüneburgplatz 1
Free entry
Lecture
Caravaggio: Art, Knighthood and Malta
Professor Keith Sciberras
Myth and biography are always blurred when it comes to Caravaggio. One thing that is clear is
that the baroque painter had to flee to Malta following his exile from Rome for a criminal offence.
He never changed his boisterous way of life.
Goethe-Universität
Campus Westend
House of Finance
Grüneburgplatz 1
Lecture
Malta – the splendour of its baroque architecture
Professor Denis De Lucca
Malta’s baroque architecture is closely linked to the reign of the Order of Malta and its wish to
showcase its power. Fortification was a key function of architecture at that time in order to protect
the islands against the Ottomans.
Deutsches Architekturmuseum
Schaumainkai 43
Fri., 4 Dec.
19:00
Mon., 7 Dec.
19:00
www.hof.uni-frankfurt.de
Free entry
www.hof.uni-frankfurt.de
Free entry
www.dam-online.de
Theatre – February 2016
© Nadine Genovese
New take on a stage classic
Date/time
Event
Location
Tickets/prices*
Fri., 19 Feb.
19:30
Sat., 20 Feb.
19:30
Closing event
Tennessee Williams’ “The Rose Tattoo”
Albert Marshall Theatre Group
Director and theatre manager Albert Marshall is also one of Malta’s most important contemporary
authors. He was attracted to this play about the widow Serafina, one of a group of immigrants from
Sicily living in New Orleans, by – among others things – the comic style, which is not typical of
Williams, and the Sicilian flair.
English Theatre Frankfurt
Gallusanlage 7
€22 / €18 / €16
Ticket hotline:
+49 (0)69 2423 1620
www.english-theatre.de/tickets
www.english-theatre.de
*Advance booking fees may apply.
EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS 2015
Vibrant Malta
Discover Malta! Malta may be small, but it has
an abundance of culture. With a territory a little
smaller than that of Bremen, Malta is home to
three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the capital
city of Valletta, the Megalithic Temples, which
are some of the world’s oldest partially preserved
structures, and the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, a
subterranean cemetery which also dates back
to the Stone Age. All over the islands of Malta,
Gozo and Comino, which together with a number
of small uninhabited islands form the Maltese
archipelago, visitors can discover remnants
from a rich history and a range of cultures that
have shaped the country over the centuries. For
example, the relics from the time of the Order of
Malta and the British colonial era are not to be
missed. Another impressive fact: there are said
to be 365 churches on the islands, one for each
day of the year. One highlight of the cultural
life of Malta, which became a European Union
Member State in 2004 and adopted the euro
four years later, is an annual festival involving
artists from all over the world, representing
different genres. One of the festival venues
is the prestigious Manoel Theatre, built in
1731, which hosts concerts, operas and plays
throughout the year. But the country, which has
a population of around 425,000, is also home
to a number of other concert halls and opera
houses. And Valletta is currently preparing to
become the European Capital of Culture 2018.
The programme of the EUROPEAN CULTURAL
DAYS 2015 demonstrates how deeply rooted
the smallest country in the European Union is
in the cultural traditions that span the entire
continent, particularly musical traditions, while
also fostering new, experimental and innovative
art forms. Audiences in Frankfurt will see that
Malta’s culture is an active part of a global
artistic dialogue exploring contemporary issues
and forms and producing aesthetic works that
break down borders between genres, as well
as modern interpretations of classical music,
jazz, literature, dance, theatre and fine art. The
Patrons:
Mario Draghi
President of the European Central Bank
Josef Bonnici
Governor of the Central Bank of Malta
Hessen Trade & Invest, Wiesbaden;
House of Finance und Goethe-Universität
Frankfurt; International Bankers Forum,
Frankfurt; Lotto Hessen, Wiesbaden; Mattheußer
Immobilienvertriebs­gesellschaft, Frankfurt;
RFR Management, Frankfurt; Samsung
Electronics, Schwalbach am Taunus;
Schenker Deutschland, Kelsterbach; City of
Frankfurt am Main; Ströer Media Deutschland,
Cologne; AirMalta; Fremdenverkehrsamt Malta,
Frankfurt; Adina Apartment Hotel Frankfurt
Neue Oper; Deutsche Lufthansa, Frankfurt;
Hilton Frankfurt; InterContinental Frankfurt; Le
Méridien Parkhotel Frankfurt; Ramada Frankfurt
City Centre & Financial District; Steigenberger
Frankfurter Hof; The Westin Grand Frankfurt
world-renowned star tenor Joseph Calleja will
come to Frankfurt, having already performed
many times at the Frankfurt Oper. He will be
joined by Renzo Spiteri, one of the most original
sound artists of our time, as well as the ŻfinMalta
Dance Ensemble, under the direction of Khoo,
which stands up to comparison with any of the
top modern ballet ensembles. The European
Central Bank and the respective national central
bank, this time the Central Bank of Malta, make
the EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS in Frankfurt am
Main possible each year. The focus is on both the
individuality of the theme country and European
unity: because it is the duty of all countries in this
Union to share values such as artistic freedom
and freedom of expression. Welcome, Malta!
“Thank you” to our sponsors and partners:
Anwaltskanzlei Bögner Hensel & Partner,
Frankfurt; Bitburger Braugruppe, Bitburg;
De´Longhi Deutschland, Neu-Isenburg;
Deutsches Aktieninstitut e. V., Frankfurt;
dfv Mediengruppe, Frankfurt; forsa, Berlin/
Frankfurt; Deutsches Architekturmuseum,
Frankfurt; English Theatre, Frankfurt;
Fraport, Frankfurt; Frankfurt Main Finance e. V.;
Media partners for the EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS of the European Central Bank 2015:
hr2-kultur, Hessicher Rundfunk’s radio station for culture, and
Ströer Deutsche Städte Medien, Frankfurt
Advance ticket sales
Tickets will be on sale from 31 August 2015
at the ticket offices listed under each event.
The programme is subject to change.
Further information and contact details
Internet: www.ecb.europa.eu/culturaldays
E-mail: [email protected]
Information hotline: +49 (0)69 1344 5555
Monday to Friday, from 10:00 to 14:00
Printed by
European Central Bank
Directorate General Communications
Outreach Division
Sonnemannstrasse 20
60314 Frankfurt am Main
© European Central Bank, 2015
© For the text/images: the authors,
photographers, archives
All rights reserved.
Vibrant Malta
© Niels Plotard
Programme
3 November 2015 to 20 February 2016
Frankfurt am Main
In cooperation with the Central Bank of Malta