The German Ambassador - H.E.Mr Gerhard Kunz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Throughout the five years I have had the privilege to be the German ambassador in these lovely, art and music loving islands, music and musicians have accompanied me, music and musicians from Germany, from our European neighbours, but mainly from Malta and Gozo, sacred music in cathedrals, churches and concert halls, classical music, popular music during festas, modern music, choirs, orchestras and operas. And quite a few of those who composed, performed, enacted or conducted these music events have become dear friends to me. As pars pro toto I would like to mention above all Professor Charles Camilleri of whose didactic talents we just enjoyed a sparkling sample and whose masterly compositions have delighted many audiences in Malta and overseas. Let me thank you, Charles, very cordially for your personal friendship and all the assistance, encouragement and suggestions for which the German Embassy and the German-Maltese Circle are indebted to you. Actually, I came across Charles Camilleri's music before I met him in person, being well aware that in the years before my arrival to Malta Charles had composed an opera "The Maltese Cross", based on a drama fragment, "Die Malteser" by Friedrich Schiller. Another highlight we owe to the inspiration of Mro Camilleri was the German Music Week in 1998 which we realised under the proven management of the German-Maltese Circle and, above all, almost empty-handed as far as financial resources were concerned. It was possible only because Charles contributed to it personally and motivated quite a number of young talented Maltese musicians to give their best - just as tonight. I will never forget Charles' brilliant lecture on such a dry subject like German 20th century music which was delivered in such a witty way that the audience was enlightened and amused at the same time. It would well be a daunting task to establish the calendar of German Maltese musical events during my stay in Malta. I will, however, resist this temptation. For a long time I have felt the German Embassy owes to Malta as such in general and to the Maltese musical community in particular a public gesture of appreciation and gratitude. So when we found some money in the Embassy's very modest cultural budget, I thought we could use it for this purpose - not for something beautiful, but ephemeral like a concert, but for something more durable, something to the benefit of the many music students and music teachers in Malta , and Gozo as well, of course. So - again with the help of Mro Charles Camilleri and Victor Sammut of the GMC we decided to invest this money into scores of both classical and modern music, especially of composers whose works are not so easily available on these islands, such as Henze and Hindemith and, of course, Charles Camilleri, but also Bach, Beethoven and Brahms are well represented. It took quite some time to get the whole list which looks quite impressive and represents a value of Lm600. The idea is to make it the foundation stone of a music library to which we should give in due time the name of Malta's most prominent contemporary composer, my friend Charles Camilleri. The budding library will be accessible free of cost to every music student and teacher under the rules and regulations of the German-Maltese Circle who will kindly administer it until it outgrows the dimensions of the GMC and needs a separate unit. I do hope that the library will not only find numerous users but will grow steadily. And I would be happy if this idea of setting up a Charles Camilleri Music Library would find many well-meaning sponsors emulating tonight's donation. I think it is most befitting that this function coincides with the last four months of my ambassadorship in Malta, as it represents also a symbolical "thank you" to the Maltese world to which I owe so many happy and serene hours. 

Mrs Cecilia Xuereb in The Sunday Times . . . . . . . . . . . .

On Wednesday, 7th March, the German-Maltese Circle launched its music library at its premises in Palazzo Messina in Valletta. During the presentation of the scores German Ambassador Gerhard Kunz referred to these as something permanent as opposed to performances by artists which are ephemeral. He also augured that the present collection would eventually grow to an extent that it will need to move to bigger premises. Mro Camilleri, after whom the library will eventually be named, who also donated some of his scores, also spoke briefly of the German-Maltese music connection with Malta. He mentioned particularly the presence in Malta of Count Waldstein, to whom Beethoven dedicated one of his major piano sonatas, and to the studies in Maltese folklore made by the two German scholars, Stumme and Ilg. Mro Camilleri went on to speak of the concerts organised by the British Institute (later the British Council) and the inclusion of standard German works in the syllabi of Associated Board examinations, so popular with Maltese students. However the German-Maltese connection goes well beyond this. An important link was the engagement of Wilhelm Arntz in the 1930s as bandmaster of the Senglea band club. (In 1942 Arntz even published a book on Malta in Leipzig). The Maschats - Verna, Sventa and Alexander - who were working in Malta in the 1980's, and who came from Munich (admittedly they were sponsored by the Austrian government) did even more than the British Council to familiarise students and audiences with German music, particularly German Baroque and Classical Music. Earlier still, the German-Maltese Circle was responsible for reintroducing German Lieder with the concerts that were held at its premises by soprano Antoinette Miggiani. For a number of years it also commissioned Mro Joseph Vella who organised first-rate concerts of German-Maltese music at the Imdina Cathedral Museum. And although it may be true that performances are more ephemeral than written music, the excellent concerts of chamber music presented by the German Embassy in the Sixties and early Seventies are still among the most memorable music experiences of my generation. The launching was enhanced by a short concert, which included an accomplished performance of Handel's The Harmonious Blacksmith and selections from Charles Camilleri's Folksong Suite by pianist Maria Blanco as well as a performance of two Schubert Lieder by soprano Marita Bezzina. Marita Bezzina also sang a new work for violin, viola and soprano written by Mario Frendo to works by Imanuel Mifsud, Meta jaqa' l-weraq - an interesting work that makes wide use of glissando and portamento in the vocal part and avoiding for the main part the wide intervals that have become clichés of modern vocal writing. The mood of Mifsud's poem, rather than in the vocal writing, was suggested by the accompaniment with its tremolo and portamento effects. The books are available on loan free of charge to members of the German-Maltese Circle and to teachers and students of music who are not members of the Circle against a refundable deposit of Lm5 per book taken out on loan. The library will be open in the mornings and evenings as from April 1.

Zart entwickelt es sich im Frühjahr zum Leben, es sprießt, je heller und wärmer die Tage werden. Die Natur hat auch dem Blatt eine Rolle gegeben, nach festen Regeln läuft alles eben hier auf Erden. Ständiger Kampf gegen Wind, Sonne, auch Nahrungsnot, hat das Blatt schicksalhaft an ein hartes Leben gebunden. Mit den Jahreszeiten kämpft es tapfer um Leben und Tod, und hat sich, still raschelnd, einfach damit abgefunden. Als zartes Etwas kommt es meistens hellgrün auf die Welt, durch Reife wird es danach dunkler, kräftiger und schön. Als hätte es den Wandel im Ausdruck selbst für sich bestellt, lässt es uns Menschen über die Jahreszeiten den Wechsel sehn. Der wilde Wein sei hier als leuchtendes Beispiel genommen, weil er überaus deutlich dem wachsamen Auge suggeriert, daß er als treibende Kraft, Halt suchend auf die Welt gekommen als gäbe es keine Grenzen, wie sehr er sich doch irrt! - Er treibt Blüten und Früchte, ahnt im Herbst sein frühes Ende, das Chlorophyl vergeht, das Blatt färbt sich schön und rot, es ist die Zeit der kurzen Tage, der nahen Wintersonnenwende, die Zeit des Siechens, des Zerfalls, es naht der Tod. Dann kommt die Ruhe, die Sammlung auf ein neues Leben, der Wunsch nach Aufbruch, frischem Grün und auch nach Licht, nach Sinn des Daseins durch den Ansatz neuer Reben. Die Natur kennt Stillstand auf Dauer nicht! Im Leben ist auch dem Blatt eine feste Rolle zugeteilt, die Natur hat auf geheimnisvolle Weise es gut gerichtet, hat Stadien festgelegt, in denen man immer weiter eilt, das alte Laub zu Humus und zu neuem Leben aufgeschichtet. Es gibt kein Halten, niemals bleibt die Weltuhr stehen, der Kreislauf ist es, der verbindet, er ordnet das Geschehen. Günter Schlichte 
 

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