Michelle Castelletti

"Bird perched on a road sign opposite me as I read in the balcony, the warm sun shining on my face..."

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Website built. Taking most of this to it from now on.

Michelle Castelletti

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MALTA INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL

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Inspired by Baroque - a concert by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Michelle Castelletti A celebration of the baroque period through 20th and 21st Century music inspired by Baroque Soloists: Carmine Lauri (violin) Joanne Camilleri (Harpsichord) Johanna Beisteiner (guitar)

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How can one think of music and not think of JS Bach? There is beauty, depth, majesty, grace and elegance in his music and in all Baroque music. I was (and still am!) mesmerised by cathedrals and architecture and there are very few things that I find more moving than walking into a cathedral to the sound of Bach’s music from the organ pipes, or experiencing Monteverdi’s Vespres in that engulfing ambience. There is such grandeur, beauty - and poise – in this music. But there is much more to it than that. Baroque music has left an indelible mark in history. One can even hear jazz in Bach’s chromaticism. The Baroque Era left an immense legacy and has shaped music as we know it today. And, 400 years later, we are still trying to re-imagine and re-compose Vivaldi! The richness of this period is immense. Just look at the paintings! It is all there. I love the emotion it elicits in people and the inspiration it has on all artists till today. I love the dissonance and crunch of the notes. I love the harmonic progression. I love the suspensions and the release. I love the complexity in the simplicity. I love the intensity. It is the music that makes you dance, and it is the music that makes you cry.

[michellecastelletti]

How can one think of music and not think of JS Bach? There is beauty, depth, majesty, grace and elegance in his music and in all Baroque music. I was (and still am!) mesmerised by cathedrals and architecture and there are very few things that I find more moving than walking into a cathedral to the sound of Bach’s music from the organ pipes, or experiencing Monteverdi’s Vespres in that engulfing ambience. But there is much more to it than that. There is such grandeur – and poise – in this music. Baroque music has left an indelible mark in history. One can even hear jazz in Bach’s chromaticism. The Baroque Era left an immense legacy and has shaped music as we know it today. And, 400 years later, we are still trying to re-imagine and re-compose Vivaldi! The richness of this period is immense. Just look at the paintings! It is all there. I love the emotion it elicits in people and the inspiration it has on all artists till today. I love the dissonance and crunch of the notes. I love the harmonic progression. I love the suspensions and the release. I love the complexity in the simplicity. I love the intensity. It is the music that makes you dance, and it is the music that makes you cry.

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Really looking forward to spending this week with wonderful friends and musicians making music together. Malta Philharmonic Orchestra rehearsals for the Valletta International Baroque Festival's "Inspired by Baroque" concert [26.01.17] start today.

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Hot from the press! The Michael Kennedy Memorial Concert CD is out. I feel privileged to have one of my orchestrations of one of Michael's favourite works, the Britten arrangement of The Last Rose of Summer in the CD, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis and sung by Katie Rudge.

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Arvo Pärt is the world’s most performed living composer sixth year running

BY SILVER TAMBUR IN CULTURE · JANUARY 10, 2017

The Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt, has, for the sixth year in a row, been given the title of the “world’s most performed living composer” by the classical music event database, Bachtrack, Estonian World can disclose.

Bachtrack calculates a series of statistics each year that show the number of times the work of each composer has been performed, along with information regarding the “hardest-working” conductors, orchestras and most performed individual works.

Three compositions by Pärt featured in the “top 10 contemporary works” list: “Nunc dimittis”, “The Deer’s Cry”, and “Fratres”.

Pärt’s music performed all over the world

In September, Arvo Pärt celebrated his 81st birthday with a new album launch. Called “The Deer’s Cry”, the album features the composer’s vocal pieces performed by Estonian vocal ensemble Vox Clamantis and conducted by Jaan-Eik Tulve.

“Pärt’s music is universal, and I think its message is received by Estonians much in the same way as any other people. But what makes it special for Estonians is the fact that he’s ‘one of us’. I’ve always been moved by the loving way people look at him, whether in a concert hall or on the street,” Tulve said on Pärt.

“Pärt’s music evokes such simple, yet profound emotions that listening to it is liberating and ablutionary. This has been proved time and again when we have performed his music at many concerts all over the world, to very different people,” Tulve added.

“The Deer’s Cry” was performed around the world in 2016 by Vox Clamantis, but also the UK’s choir, The Sixteen, that also performed Pärt’s “Nunc dimittis”. The Sixteen performed 33 concerts in a UK tour alone with that programme, exemplifying the sheer number of concerts where Pärt’s music is played.

--- "I consider it my greatest honour and privilege to have known and worked with the gentlest, most humble, beautiful person in the world, whose very soul comes out in his music." (Michelle Castelletti) ————-

Cover photo: Maestro Arvo Pärt after a long applause at the Carnegie Hall concert in New York, 31 May 2014. Photo by Eleri Ever.

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Rehearsing with Carmine Lauri for my next concert with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra

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I'm thrilled our media partnership with Classic FM has worked out, particularly in capturing this extraordinary moment of beauty. The making of a viola.

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Mahler Symphony No. 10 7th – 10th June 2017 We are pleased to announce the 2017 Mahler in Miniature concerts. We will perform Mahler’s final work, the Tenth Symphony, in a chamber arrangement by Michelle Castelletti. We will also work once again with composer Peter Longworth and premiere a new composition which will itself be inspired by Mahler’s Tenth. The tour will involve return visits to Ullapool and Inverness as well as our debut performance in Lossiemouth Town Hall.

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A Prelude to Christmas 2016 (Amadeus Chamber Choir & Orchestra) In photo: Tenor: Brian Cefai Conductor: Michelle Castelletti

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Always a privilege to be performing at either of our magnificent cathedrals.

TOI TOI TOI to all: soloists, choir(s) and orchestra tonight.

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Tonight: Tim Garland’s new work for Big Band and Chamber Orchestra with narrator Stefan Booth.

Luca’s Winter is an epic festive work. Think modern update of Peter and the Wolf and Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, with a gripping narrative that will capture the imaginations of teenagers and adults in a seasonal adventure.

It will tell the magical and surreal story of Luca, a young musician who finds himself in a city populated by famous characters from various winter tales. Luca’s own story becomes entwined in those of Geppetto (Pinocchio’s maker), The Tin Soldier, The Cobbler and the Elves, The Little Match Girl and more. Even Dickens’ three ghosts feature in this magic realist narrative.

Writers Nora Chassler and Don Paterson OBE have helped Tim turn the tale into beautiful, economic verse, which is choreographed to his bespoke score.

It should be one very special evening.

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Arts Leaders Podcast 2: Michelle Castelletti In the second episode of the Arts Leaders Podcast, Brian speaks to Michelle Castelletti at the closing concert of the Malta International Arts Festival. Michelle is the Artistic Director of the Festival as well as being Artistic Director at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. During her time with the Sounds New Contemporary Music Festival in Canterbury, Michelle played an instrumental role in its development and continues to be an active musician and conductor.

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Absolutely fantastic to have Tansy Davies with us - and great, as always, to be doing this in partnership with the BBC Philharmonic.

Described as a “live wire” by The Times and a cross “between Prince and Xenakis” by The Guardian, it seems perfect to be inviting Tansy Davies to a conservatoire, and, at that, a very forward looking one like ours. She is an uncompromising composer, not afraid of crossing boundaries, rather, one who searches for these chasms to build musical bridges over them. On a more personal note, she is inspired by architecture and space, as am I, and some of her works by Zaha Hadid, who I absolutely love!

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How can the classical music industry work better together to get more black, Asian and minority ethnic composers heard and celebrated? In BBC Radio 3’s 70th anniversary year, alongside a celebration of our unique history, we’re focusing on future directions in classical music composition. In partnership with BASCA , the BBC Philharmonic and the Royal Northern College of Music, we’re hosting a one day pan-industry conference which aims to facilitate greater inclusion in classical music composition from composers and would-be composers from the UK’s black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. The future of the UK is increasingly diverse and the future development and excellence of classical music needs to be enriched by full engagement with the widest possible range of artistic and cultural perspectives. Diversity in Composition is a pan-industry event which invites all involved in classical music-making; composers, publishers, festival directors, educators, venue managements, orchestral, chamber and operatic managements, funders, commissioners and industry bodies. ----- We are all individually constantly striving to make a difference... It is wonderful to be able to do this together. With: composers Daniel Kidane, Jeffrey Mumford, Priti Paintal, Shirley J. Thompson, Errolyn Wallen and Raymond Yiu, BASCA CEO Vick Bain, Toks Dada (programme co-ordinator, Town Hall and Symphony Hall, Birmingham), BBC Radio 3 Controller Alan Davey, Sound and Music CEO Susanna Eastburn, Chi-Chi Nwanoku (founder of the Chineke! Orchestra), BBC Head of Diversity and Inclusion Tunde Ogungbesan and others. I feel very honoured to be part of this.