My essentials: Mark Agius’s cultural picks

1. Book

Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist’ is a book that I have gone back to time and time again since I first read it about ten years ago. At face value it is the story of a shepherd who travels to Egypt in pursuit of a treasure, however it is rich in allegory with the central theme being the following of one’s dreams and fulfilling one’s destiny – metaphorically the turning of lead into gold. I personally consider life to be an on-going journey of growth and self-discovery, so I find that it resonates strongly with my core beliefs and values and going back to it reminds me that the journey is just as important as the destination.

2. Film

I don’t have much time to watch tv, however one film I did enjoy recently was Glass Onion, starring Daniel Craig. It is a sequel to Knives Out (2019), a whodunnit where the detective Benoit Blanc follows up the case of a mystery murder weekend on a Greek island, planned by a millionaire for his friends, which literally takes a deadly turn. Nothing deep but well written and an-all-star cast which makes for a relaxing and entertaining evening, which is what I would need if I find the time!

3. Internet/TV

Again, not much time for this sort of stuff and social media is something I tend to keep away from as a general rule. One blog I came across quite accidentally and do look at once in a while is Science of People. Essentially it looks into career advice, psychological research, personality tests, entrepreneurship, body language and more, delivered in brief humorous articles. Easy reading and informative at the same time.

4. Music

I would have to say Christopher Tin, a relatively young, American composer whose work I came across a couple of years ago and had the pleasure of corresponding with. His work is primarily orchestral and choral, often with a world music influence, and primarily for video games and film. He is probably best known for his choral piece Baba Yetu from the video game Civilization IV, which in 2011 became the first piece of video game music to win a Grammy Award and can be found in his first album Calling All Dawns and which, incidentally, introduced me to his music. Other albums include The Drop That Contained the Sea, To Shiver the Sky and The Lost Birds. Definitely worth a listen.

5. Place

While I cannot say it is my favourite place to have visited, I must say it is one which left a very deep impact. I visited Auschwitz and Birkenau in 2018 and the emotion I felt there led to my most recent composition for orchestra, choir, solo voices and solo violin, Lullaby for Birkenau – A Mass for Peace, which was premiered at St Paul’s Metropolitan Cathedral, Mdina, in October 2022. We are currently in discussions to have the work performed in the concentration camp itself in 2025, which is the 80th Anniversary from the liberation of Auschwitz – Birkenau by the allied forces.