https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/16862 Sat, 04 Apr 2026 14:22:06 GMT 2026-04-04T14:22:06Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143505 Title: Reports from ICTMD national and regional representatives : Malta Abstract: Malta report (2026) for The International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD). Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143505 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/142808 Title: Petrushka’s survival Authors: Coleman, Jeremy Abstract: First performed in Paris, 1911, the “burlesque” ballet Petrushka stands today as a central work of the modernist canon and an unruly assemblage of artistic media that eludes any attempt to define it simply in terms of a single “author” or as a work independent of its original production. In this chapter, I focus on Petrushka’s reputation precisely as a concert work—its various instrumental reductions, transcriptions, performances, and their own reception history—as a lens through which to consider the relationship between music and (choreographic) motion. Through a brief analysis of the 1965 Swedish television film of Stravinsky’s Three Movements from Petrushka performed by Alexis Weissenberg and directed by Åke Falck, I consider Petrushka’s life, and that of the work’s eponymous puppet, beyond the theater, and examine in what ways the extra-musical elements of the original work were either erased or preserved in “purely musical” versions. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/142808 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/140521 Title: Making history, combining sounds : British colonialism, Italian culture, and musical growth in the Maltese wind band tradition Authors: Ciantar, Philip Abstract: Malta was a British colony for over 150 years until it became independent in 1964. Though the presence of the British in Malta was considerable and permeated all sectors of Maltese life and culture, the island’s commercial and cultural ties with neighbouring Italy never ceased. This article aims to analyse how Malta’s cultural sympathies and affinities with Italy alongside British colonialism contributed to the musical growth of the wind band tradition in Malta between the mid-nineteenth and the mid-twentieth century. The co-existence in Malta of the political and cultural conflict brought about by the two competing cultures at this time and, paradoxically, their confluence transpire here as central to processes of musical growth through opportunities for syncretism. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/140521 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/137192 Title: Jazz in Valletta's Strait Street : the transcultural transmission of musical knowledge in colonial Malta Authors: Ciantar, Philip Abstract: Malta was part of the British Empire for over 150 years before gaining independence in September 1964. Throughout this period, the social, cultural, and commercial life of Valletta, Malta’s capital, was closely intertwined with naval activities in the city’s Grand Harbour. Strait Street, located near the Grand Harbour, became a hub of nightly entertainment for both the Maltese and the many servicemen stationed in Malta. Local jazz musicians who regularly performed in the numerous bars and restaurants on Strait Street had the opportunity to interact with and eventually perform alongside foreign artists and trained jazz musicians. Interviews with local musicians who were active on Strait Street between the 1940s and early 1960s highlight the significance of this setting in their acquisition of jazz knowledge. American and British jazz musicians stranded in Malta due to the outbreak of World War II, along with military bandsmen serving on warships moored in the Grand Harbour, imparted their jazz expertise to local musicians through private tuition, joint rehearsals, performances, and even on-board naval ship jazz sessions. This article sheds light on processes of transcultural musical collaboration that occurred on Strait Street, which facilitated the flow of musical knowledge. The discussion draws on the aforementioned interviews and relevant theories that link the transmission of knowledge with human contact and mobility. In this context, the knowledge, skills, and abilities acquired by individual musicians in a transcultural setting are shown to be of great value both for personal growth and for the development of a musical tradition that ultimately relies on the contributions of individual musicians for its growth and sustainability. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/137192 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z