Joe: Cecilia Xuereb’s comments on this virtuoso’s playing appeared in the May 4th edition of The Times....

Jo B.: Yesterday’s Piano Recital No.2 was superb. Suzanne has a pronounced technical skill on the piano while...

Joe: Great music from local talent! The viola and piano made a surprisingly good combination! Congratulations all...

Fabio del Cioppo: Caro Colin. ho letto del tuo concerto per la Quaresima, con la partecipazione dei tuoi figli e di...

Maria: Oh yes…we really had lots of fun and we did a great show…thanks to everyone:)

The Gaulitana: A Festival of Music: The Marcel Zidani Concert

April 11, 2008 | Author: The Gaulitanus Choir | Filed under: Latest News

The Gaulitana: A Festival of Music passed into its seventh representation this evening with the Marcel Zidani concert at the Aula Mgr. G. Farrugia, at St. George’s Basilica in Victoria, at 8.00 p.m.

Mro. Zidani in concert at the Aula Mrg. G. Farrugia, (St. George’s Basilica) on 11th April 2008

Mro. Zidani was born in London in 1973 and grew up in Banbury. He studied music at the Birmingham Conservatoire where he graduated with honours in 1995.

After being selected for advanced performance studies at the Conservatoire, Marcel began his concert career. He has performed extensively, as a soloist, in the UK and in Europe, performing much of the virtuoso concerto repertoire. including Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2, Listzt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and Litolf’s Scherzo.

Marcel is also a composer and his music has influences from a wide range of composers and in it one traces references to Chopin. Liszt, Mozart, Einaudi and Keith Jarret.

The first CD of his works, Piano in the Small Hours, is the result of improvised sessions, often late at night and after a few glasses of wine! It has a mixture of musical qualities, from easy listening with long flowing melodies, to a more classical / romantic piano style appealing to all musical tastes.

His second CD, The New Renaissance, demonstrates a mature progression from the first album. The title dictates a rebirth of the romantic style and is intended to be indicative of a long awaited return to this and other styles. This music is dedicated to those who like a good melody but need something more than much of the "easy listening" music that is so widely available today.

Marcel Zidani has been a long time supporter of Evesham-based The Tracy Sollis Leukemia Trust and donates to this charity a third of each Piano in the Small Hours CD sold.

Mro. Zidani in concert on the 11th April 2008 at the Aula Mgr. G. Farrugia, St. George’s Basilica, Victoria

For this concert Mro. Zidani regaled the audience with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in D Minor Op. 31 - The Tempest Allegro - Adagio - Allegretto and Franz Liszt’s Etude in Db Major - Un Sospiro. After the interval Mro Zidani treated the captive audience with the first two movements of his own composition Piano Sonata in Two Keys - A New Renaissance:
i) The Renaissance; and
ii) The Secret Waltz;

and then another of his own compositions: Forgotten Heroes.

Mro. Zidani concluded this concert with the Grunfeld arrangement of Soirees de Vienne by Johan Strauss.

The Gaulitana Festival of Music continues on Sunday, 13th April 2008 at the Gharb Basilica in Gharb, Gozo, where the performers will be Ramona Zammit Formosa and Silvio Zammit who have been active as a duo for the past twelve years, with a repertiore that ranges from the baroque to the contemporary.

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