All set for baroque festival

All is set for the first edition of the Valletta Baroque Festival being held between January 9 and 26 at the Manoel Theatre, the Palace, St John’s Co-Cathedral, the Jesuit Church and the Church of All Souls. The festival will see some of Europe’s top baroque interpreters celebrating Valletta’s baroque identity with 15 performances. Artistic director Kenneth Zammit Tabona said the festival was “an opportunity and a great challenge”. The performers at the festival were usually seen just on CD racks “so this is a gift to the Maltese people”. He pointed out that there is a lack of awareness of what baroque is. Looking around him as he spoke from St John’s Co-Cathedral he said “What you are seeing here will be translated into music.” Mr Zammit Tabona likened living in Malta without a baroque festival to living in an orange grove without eating oranges. He noted that in a bid to open up and promote the beauty of baroque music to more people, that the two Sundays in the programme were dedicated to free baroque events for all the family. Tourism Minister Mario de Marco said that the idea to organise a baroque festival started in summer 2011 during the Summer Festival when it was pointed...