Charles Camilleri

Charles Camilleri (7 September 1931 – 3 January 2009) was a Maltese composer. Early life Camilleri was born in Ħamrun on 7 September 1931 He received initial piano tuition and grounding in the rudiments of music from his father, and also played the accordion. In 1959, he studied under John Weinzweig at the University of Toronto for four years. Whilst in Toronto, he had contact with Stravinsky around the time of April 1962. Career Camilleri moved from his early influences by Maltese folk music to a musical form “in which nothing is fixed and his compositions evolve from themselves with a sense of fluency and inevitability”. He composed over 100 works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, voice and solo instruments. During the 1970s he gained international attention. Camilleri’s work has since been performed throughout the world and his research of folk music and improvisation, the influences of the sounds of Africa and Asia, together with the academic study of European music, helped him create a “universal” style. Camilleri himself identified four key influences in his world music: According to the Historical Dictionary of Malta, Camilleri is the most internationally recognized of major