‘Rites of Spring’ part of this year’s music festival 

KARL FIORINI  has been organising the International Spring Festival since 2007.

This year’s festival, which features several premiers, starts on Tuesday and runs until Saturday. “Music is an international language with no holds barred and the festival is bringing together musicians who, despite their diversity, effortlessly unite through their love of music. All in all, from two 2 to 6 April promises to be an exciting week with at least 60 musicians performing in 13 concerts” Karl told me.

“The festival will be paying homage to two of classical music’s personalities with anniversaries this year. Richard Wagner was born 200 years ago and Igor Stravinsky’s controversial Rites of Spring was premiered at the Theatre des Champs Elysees in 1913. What could be more appropriate than heralding the arrival of spring with Stravinsky’s radical work,” he said, adding, “this the first time that Rites of Spring will be performed in Malta with a two-piano recital performed by Charlene Farrugia and Nazzareno Ferruggio. It will be performed on Wednesday at the Manoel at 8.30pm.

Karl who lives and works in Paris is one of our young and upcoming composers with an eclectic style and a hint of self-mockery on occasion. His music has been played in major cities in the US, Japan, Latin America and Europe. He has won several international composition competitions and has been awarded bursaries by the Janatha Stubbs Trust Foundation (2004-2008), the Garfield Weston Foundation (2005) and the Peter Moores Foundation (2006).

He is in demand as a composer and arranger and his important commissions include a violin concerto (2007) for the leader of the Orquestra do Norte in Portugal; Harmonies Étendues (2008) for the European Union Chamber Orchestra; Kennst du das Land (2010) for the RE orchestra and Cadavre Exquis for the Ensemble Télémaque (2012).

 “The audience for the Spring Festival performances has increased every year,” he told me, and he is hoping that this year will also see an upsurge in attendance. He started the festival with the idea of making classical music more accessible, especially to children and the young. To this end, three lunchtime concerts this year will be performed by young gifted musicians aged from 10 to 16.

This year’s opening evening concert on Tuesday features the ensemble Télémaque under the direction of Raoul Lay, and mezzo-soprano Clare Ghigo. The festival has also invited The Netherlands RE orchestra under the baton of Roberto Beltrán-Zavala. They will be performing Concerti Grossi from Vivaldi to our times with violin solo Marina Meerson and cello solo Anne Meike Burgel as well as a premier by pianist/composer Marlign Helder, from The Netherlands, on Thursday at 8.30. RE will also perform the closing concert with alto Carina Vinke at the same time on Saturday commemorating Wagner’s 200th birthday.

The Elixir piano quartet, who will be playing Premiers Quators Avec Piano, including Fiorini’s Piano Quartet No 1, on Friday at 8.30 are among the foreign artists who will be performing alongside their Maltese counterparts to offer 13 concerts during the five-day long event.

The lunchtime concerts are free, the 7pm recitals tickets are only €5 and those for the 8.30pm concerts are €10. There is also a 50 per cent discount for students and kartanzjan holders. So most can afford the performances.

For more info go to www.teatrumanoel.com and www.facebook.com/pages/International-Spring-Orchestra-Festival

Published in the Malta Sunday Independent 31/03/2013

 

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Is it “New Cool” rather than “New Labour”?

With spring and a new dawn in the administration here, what I am finding interesting is the way most in the Labour Party (PL) are taking the flak in their stride and being cool about it.

There is no doubt that some had expected much noisier and unruly carcades on victory, but that did not happen. I must admit that I, a noise hater, was not looking forward to the victory parades. I had resigned myself to the fact that after being so long in Opposition the PL supporters would go wild on winning.

But lo and behold, despite all the scaremongering from the usual people, there was certainly no violence or intimidation and the celebrations were less boisterous than those of the previous two Nationalist Party election victories. An important thing that many Labour people have learnt well is not to react to provocation.

Three things interested me just after the new government took office. The first was the new Cabinet, the second, that permanent secretaries were asked to submit their resignations and the third was the allegation by some ministers that communication lines had been severed and computers removed from ministries.

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall as all the manoeuvring to decide who would be in the new Cabinet was going on. There are quite a number of new faces, nearly half the Cabinet makeup.

It was obvious that Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech, with his extensive experience as a member of the European Parliament, would get a prime role as Minister for European Affairs and as for the Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto, I guess his successful running of our national airline for years gave him that edge.

Edward Scicluna has not had much time in the European Parliament, yet now, as Finance Minister, he has the crucial job of making sure we don’t follow in the wake of Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus. Having Economy, Investment, Small Business and Economic Growth in his portfolio, Chris Cardona also has a crucial role in keeping us afloat. As Minister for Energy and Water Conservation, Konrad Mizzi has one of the toughest jobs and one that all would be watching closely to see how one of Joseph Muscat’s main promises develops.

Manuel Mallia rose spectacularly quickly as a new politician to Home Affairs and National Security with Justice also in his portfolio. His vast experience in criminal law no doubt had some bearing in that decision. The only appointment I have some misgiving about is that of Godfrey Farrugia as Health Minister. This because he is a big defender of fireworks that generate noise and air pollution.

One of the Prime Minister’s first statements declared that his government would immediately work on its energy plan to give families lower bills and cleaner air. He must know that it is not only the energy plant that pollutes our air. The overloading of hazardous chemicals in the air in the summer festa season by fireworks is well documented. But then not having been a fly on that wall, I don’t know what made Joseph Muscat decide that Godfrey Farrugia would make a good Health Minister, besides the fact that he is a GP. We shall have to wait and see.

Now to the call for the permanent secretaries resignations. All who ever watched the BBC’s “Yes, Minister” and “Yes, Prime Minister”, on TV, would know about the tensions and manipulations that exist between a permanent secretary and his minister. Yes, I know it was fictional, but close to what really goes on. However, those tensions were usually about power struggles and infighting within the civil service and with the individual minister.

As supposedly, non-political appointments perm secs are not meant to get involved in the partisan fray. Hence, although an election can bring about a change in government, as its name suggests, permanent secretaries should stay put on the change. The idea is that although political masters can change, there should at least be some continuity in administration when a different political party takes over.

That is why they are meant to be non-partisan posts i.e. they should not be political appointments. However, they are appointed and can be sacked by the prime minister of the day, which brings objectivity into question. So what does a new prime minister do? Retain his predecessor’s choice or make his own choices? The new prime minister would have to decide on whose resignation to accept and which not, depending on their past performance.

Part of the Permanent Secretary’s role is to develop effective and sensitive communications with the public and ensure establishment of effective management information systems. That is why this whole computer disappearance mystery is interrelated. I had wondered why there had been no police report made. Well, it seems that the hierarchy at the PL, like the main newspapers, had decided to ignore the issue.

I believe it was inews that first carried the story on Friday 15, that all communication wires had been cut at the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses Ministry but, as I could not find the story elsewhere, did not know what to believe. I could not understand how the main media papers online had not picked up such a story.

A couple of days later, it appeared in l-Orrizont quoting Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, Minister for Family and Social Solidarity, and Leo Brincat, Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change. They both claimed that computers had gone missing and security cameras had been damaged. “Usually the computer hard discs are cleaned, but now all the computers have vanished,” Leo Brincat told l-Orrizont.

The latter statement was also carried in The Times on 18 March, as well as that they found, “a damaged IT network and a disconnected CCTV system, no computers and no telephones”. However, it seems that the photo of a ‘messy’ office supplied with that story might have been misleading as to its exact location. The next day Clyde Puli, outgoing Parliamentary Secretary, told The Times that they left “no mess”.

He said the photo of an office showing wires on the floor, which was passed on to The Times by Roderick Galdes, did not show the office he used to occupy at Casa Leone in Santa Venera but that of a government agency on an upper floor. Which begs the question, why was that government agency office left in that state?

Mr Puli’s rebuttal made no mention of missing computers and damaged CCTV cameras, but he said “We left the offices on Friday evening in perfect condition and this was verified by high civil service officers in the same ministry according to protocol.” So has this verification by the civil service officers been publicised? Or would that be seen as getting involved in the partisan fray?

Although the public deserves to know what really happened to government property, which it after all pays for, it looks like the Office of the Prime Minister has decided to play it cool and has not made a big deal of the issue.

Published in The Malta Independent on Sunday 24/03/2013

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Lufthansa announces more and better connections from Malta

Despite global financial uncertainty, I was surprised to hear at a Lufthansa press briefing in Malta that besides Malta (which has so far done well) Greece was the other country with promising results for the airline. We were told that with 150.000 passengers choosing Lufthansa in 2012 for flights to and from Malta, a remarkable increase of more than 15% compared to the year before was noted.

Lufthansa is a very independent company, which is preparing for further growth, Mr Carsten Scaeffer, vice president of sales and services, Southeast Europe, Africa and Middle East told us. He gave us news of more connections to the hubs in Frankfurt and Munich and that the airline will offer more flights than ever from Malta to Germany and beyond.

Starting on April 6, Lufthansa, which is currently operating one daily flight between Malta and Frankfurt, will add a second daily flight on weekends, to its main hub, while connections will double from 1 August to twice daily. Flights to and from Munich, Bavaria’s capital, will also increase with five flights per week starting in August. The adjusted departure and arrival flights offer perfect connections to long haul destinations.

“We have decided to gradually increase our flights from eight weekly departures today to 19 weekly departures in August. This means a tremendous increase of capacity and a strong confidence in future perspectives of business and leisure from and to Malta,” added Sylvain Heydlauf, Lufthansa’s general manager in Malta.

"If the increase in flights over the summer period comes up to expectations the airline hopes to be able to add a morning flight. This would make transfer flights from Frankfurt easier to connect," said Aage Dünhaupt, group communications director South East Europe and Middle East.

“In addition to the even better network opportunities from Malta, Lufthansa committed itself to invest more than €3bn over the next three years into the ground and on board product. New seats in all classes, individual in-flight entertainment in Economy Class, a special upgrade to the food service in First and Business Class, as well as brand new lounges will help us to set new industry standards,” explained Mr Schaeffer.

 “The backbone of our business is as a corporate carrier, but we also want to extend our services by adding more leisure destinations such as Marrakech”, he added. 

Lufthansa made an operating profit of €524m last year. I asked Mr Scaeffer what kind of restructuring Lufthansa had undertaken to keep their profits up and ensure continual growth?

 "Of course we have been hit by many aspects including the global crisis. We have been squeezed by the Gulf and low cost carriers, but our legacy is a great asset. As an example, we carry the most unaccompanied children worldwide, which shows that our customers trust us. 

"We are in the middle of the restructuring process now and are reshaping and refocusing as we speak. We are changing our internal structures, our Cologne offices are to close and we are working on whether we need to redesign our marketing. Information Technology is crucial to our restructuring. With all the new communication media - Facebook, Twitter and Smartphones - the way you sell has totally changed. By the fall we shall know exactly where we are and where we are going," said Mr Schaeffer.



 

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It looks like the fat lady has sung

It looks like we now know who will be holding the reins for the next five years. Phew, am I glad all the palaver will soon be over. It was nauseating to see all the political bumph every time you clicked on anything on the Internet.

Politics is a serious business, but come on guys and gals we do carry it well over the top here, don’t we? I mean, did we really need to be harassed non-stop on Facebook and any other site you happened to click on. It would have been a little less off-putting to see one of the political leaders scowl, or at least frown, now and again rather than the constant Cheshire cat grin.

And it was not just the leaders; I was amazed by the way Simon Busuttil managed to attack the Opposition while looking like a male Mother Teresa throughout the campaign. It is not that I am picking on him, but he is the only other candidate who was sharing centre stage with his leader.

What about all those discussions on TV and no serious objective analysis. As to the mass meetings, all that loud music, face painting, flag waving and ensuing bad blood really turns me off. Talk about overkill.

I have come to regret my comment, “I am more and more convinced that we need an election every three instead of five years” in my column on 27 January, “So much activity, is there an election on?”

That remark had come about as I ploughed through all the action in hand by the Nationalist Party in government (PN) and promises made by both it and the Labour Party (PL). Yes, it was great to see so much being done in so little time, but what a price to pay.

Now forgive me for the cliché, but we shall have to wait and see whether the pudding is going to prove sweet or sour. Despite all the gloom elsewhere, we seem to be living in a buoyant bubble. According to media reports, Malta has had the second highest economic growth in the euro area and property prices have risen here while, on average, they fell in other EU countries.

But are we going to sail above the global troubled waters? Shall we see growth in investment and employment? Will our health services improve long term? We heard so much about a better quality of life, but will the elected government finally bite the bullet on noise, other pollution and the environment generally? Shall we see any change at the Environment and Planning Authority?

Will the PN have learnt its lesson and try eating some humble pie? Will the PL succumb to the same level of arrogance once in power? Would the latter keep its word regarding meritocracy and lifting the time-bar on corruption cases involving politicians? Shall we see a code of ethics for chairpersons of public entities? Will the Auditor General get more power and resources? Will our national TV station become non-partisan?

We did at least get some light-hearted, satirical banter online, which was entertaining and welcome. But even the humour sometimes went haywire. I really did not like the recent sketch doing the rounds on FB, which depicted a supposedly Labour family at home. The obese father in a vest was at loggerheads with the daughter who was going to vote for the Nationalist Party. It showed them as shouting and swearing non-stop.

I am sure it was meant to counter the sketch on a supposedly Nationalist family. The latter showed a middleclass family with the daughter (who couldn’t decide whether English or Maltese was her preferred language and not managing to master either) shocking her mother by saying she intended to vote for the Labour Party.

That sketch, while hitting the nail on the head, in depicting some of our middle classes was not offensive, whereas I found the other sketch distasteful since it was implied that those kind of loudmouth, vulgar, bottom of the social class people could only be found among Labour voters. As Jane Austen’s Mr Knightley would say when scolding Emma, “badly done, badly done indeed”.

Main article excepting for the heading and first line published in the Malta Independent on Sunday 10/03/2013

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A woman you can’t help but like

Talking to KATE GONZI,  I found out that the Prime minister’s wife might be modest about her own accomplishments, but is forthcoming on her husband’s government’s achievements

With such a long build up to the forthcoming elections, it must be exhausting for someone so involved in the campaign trail, yet Mrs Gonzi shows little sign of strain, but does she feel it?

“Despite having been involved in campaigning for elections since 1987, plus two referenda: one on whether to join the European Union and the other on divorce, it’s always hard. Our lifestyle, which is always hectic, is disrupted by attending countless activities; little time to catch up on sleep, plus you always gets some people who add to these pressures at election time. However, once a campaign starts I focus on the positives that the government has established and give it my all,” she tells me.

I didn’t know Kate Gonzi very well, but every time I have met her, over the years, she comes across as a gentle, kind and modest person. I wondered how she kept her cool and asked her whether she ever gets angry? 

“It has been known”, she laughs, “especially when the children (David, Paul and Mikela – all now married and flown the nest) were growing up. It took me time to learn to keep cool; it was something I trained myself to do. Besides, time does mellow one and I have been influenced by Lawrence’s calm persona”, she tells me.

What about the challenges she has to face as a prime minister’s wife both in this crucial campaign and during the regular legislature?

“Balancing my home life, which now also includes four grandchildren, with my voluntary commitments plus being married to the prime minister, with all that entails, is the biggest challenge. Next, is motivating the many people who get in touch with me for assistance to recognise that they can also help themselves. Also, having to explain to others that, on certain topics, national interests have to take precedence over personal issues. Another challenge is to distinguish why people are affected by certain matters and to be sensitive to that.”

Mrs Gonzi is immersed in work that is admirable and inspiring. She is patron of the Malta Parkinson’s Disease Association, Honorary chairperson of the Malta Autism Parents Association and Honorary president of the Mental Health Association (the latter being one with a long association) among other good causes, yet as the PM’s wife she is also wrapped up in partisan politics, which can sometimes turn nasty. I wanted to know how she deals with rancorous back-biting.

“Being involved in politics, you have to be prepared for the sometimes unkind comments. But you have to accept that people have their own agendas. I disagree with mudslinging without proof, especially at election time, from whichever source. I usually leave it to our public relations people to deal with any response if necessary, I prefer to use my energy on positive things”, she said.

There has been a significant focus on increasing female employment rates by encouraging women, including those with small children, to seek employment, in this election campaign, and even before that, I wanted to know how she thinks that can be achieved?

“Changing attitudes, not so much for the younger generation but for women over 45, is the biggest hurdle,” she tells me and then expanded: “The Nationalist Party is proposing to issue vouchers for childcare, to enable women to choose where their children are looked after and persuade them back to work by not taxing women returnees for the first year of employment. Besides, ETC and MCAST both encourage and help women to retrain. Mothers, especially those with young children, need the reassurance that they will manage to balance family responsibilities with their work commitments. Flexible hours and tele-working should be available more widely, particularly beyond the public sector, to enable more mothers to strike that balance.
“Another step in the right direction is the commitment to allow working mothers to utilise their own sick-leave when their children are ill, meaning that they will still retain their vacation leave. In addition, about eight regional after-school clubs will also help women to move away from the part-time niche. Transport will also be provided from the children’s schools to the regional clubs,” she added.

Continuing in that vein, I asked her what issues women should be paying particular attention to in this election campaign. 

“Health, education and work for both men and women; services for the elderly and a safe environment for children to play in”, she responded.

An EU report just released claimed that a quarter of children in Malta are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, with those with a single parent with a low education level being most at risk. As she is the chairperson of the HSBC Foundation, which incorporates Care for Children under its umbrella, I asked Mrs Gonzi for her reaction to the report and what she thought should be done to help these children?

“One has to analyse what is causing this dire situation. We do have a problem with young women getting pregnant with no stable relationships, separated families and social problems like drug, alcohol and gambling addictions. There are support agencies like Appogg, but it is never enough. The new school curriculum that incorporates a holistic approach should give more personalised attention to such problems and hopefully overcome certain obstacles that prevent people from breaking away from poverty. However, we have to understand that as a society we are all responsible for social problems.”

The HSBC Foundation also incorporates Environment and Heritage, so Mrs Gonzi must really have her work cut out. I referred to the recent Din l-Art Helwa AGM at which its Executive President Simone Mizzi had this to say: “Valleys have been raped and continue to be” and “There is insufficient political will to bring an end to lawlessness and not enough courage to prevent commercial exploitation”. In addition, we have seen many articles in the press and pages on Facebook expressing concern over mature trees, so necessary for clean air and shade apart from enhancing the landscape, disappearing from our urban areas. I asked for her opinion on these issues?

“Mistakes have been made and we need more human resources to enforce the law. With regard to trees, there have been quite a few forestation projects. I love the environment, but there has to be a balance between the environment and development”, she said.

I remarked that, yes, we do also see stories in the press about tree planting. However, 100 year-old trees can never be replaced by saplings.

“Yes, that’s true, but the roots of some old trees are causing damage to our heritage, like at St John’s Cathedral, so sometimes it is a balance between the environment and heritage”, Mrs Gonzi responded.

Being married to a Prime Minister must make her privy to many things unknown to the general public, some of which give her pleasure and others grief, or just worry. How much weight does she think her husband gives to her concerns? 

“He definitely listens and we have been married for a long time so he is very aware of concerns I may have”, she said.

Kate Gonzi’s counterpart in this election, Michelle Muscat, talks like a politician rather than the wife of one and was involved in setting up Labour Party policies. I wondered whether the PM’s wife would like to be seen as more active in the political machine and tried to find out whether, behind her meek persona, she challenges strongly what she thinks is going wrong. 

“I have been involved in helping people and trying to right wrongs since my youth, which is active involvement in politics. However, being married to a politician, then Prime Minister, opened up that field from the parochial to a much wider level. I was very much part of the work leading to legislation on mental health reform, which extended treatment beyond the psychiatric unit within St Luke’s Hospital and Mount Carmel Hospital into the community. As changes started to be implemented, these were complimented with the setting up of the Richmond Foundation and the Mental Health Association, initially as self-help groups. These have since developed into a foundation that provides community mental health services and educational courses and an association with a focus on families,” she tells me.

Since Mrs Gonzi is coy about her accomplishments, her secretary filled me in with more detail. In 2009, she was appointed Patron of the World Health Organisation-European Commission Partnership Project on User Empowerment in Mental Health. In October 2010 she addressed a conference organised by the World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe) in collaboration with the European Commission in Leuven, Belgium and in November 2010, she chaired a session entitled: ‘Breaking the cycle of stigmatisation and discrimination due to mental health problems’ during a thematic conference organised by the European Commission and Ministry of Health in Portugal. She also supports the Puttinu Cares Foundation and their ongoing residential projects in the UK that accommodate Maltese patients receiving medical treatment.

This by no means covers all her endeavours. I now know her better and the impression I got of Kate Gonzi is that of a woman working alongside the PM rather than behind him.

Published in the Malta Independent on Sunday 03/03/2013

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