Bice Mizzi Vassallo (born Beatrix Vassallo, also known as Bice Vassallo and Bice Mizzi; 11 November 1899 – 22 February 1985) was a Maltese pianist, considered among the foremost pianists of her generation. She is also known as the daughter of composer

Paolino Vassallo Paolino Vassallo (born 24 July 1856 in Cospicua - deceased 20 January 1923 in Valletta) was a Malta, Maltese composer.Maltese Prime Minister

Enrico Mizzi Enrico Mizzi (20 September 1885 – 20 December 1950) was a Maltese politician, leader of the Maltese Nationalist Party from 1926 and briefly Prime Minister of Malta in 1950.Michael J. Schiavone, Louis J. Scerri, Maltese Biographies of the Twen ...

Early life and education

Bice Vassallo started her studies under the tutorage of her father, the Maltese composer Paolino Vassallo, a constant driving force in her early musical career. Under his direction, she studied the

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

. He eventually guided her to choose between these two

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...

s. She chose the piano over the violin but nonetheless retained a love for the violin. Bice was awarded a distinction in both her examinations in ''Pianoforte'' (lower and higher division) from the ''Associated Board of the Royal Academy of Music and The Royal College of Music'' in 1908 and 1909 respectively.

Performances

Her first notable performance was in May 1909, where she performed a classical music recital at the

Manoel Theatre (Maltese for "Manoel Theatre"; ) is a theatre and important performing arts venue in Malta. The theatre is often referred to as simply "The Manoel", and is named after Grand Master of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller, Fra António Manoel d ...

. This performance took place under the patronage of the

Bishop of Malta The Archdiocese of Malta ( Malti: ''Arċidjoċesi ta' Malta'') is a metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Malta. History Tradition claims that St. Paul the Apostle established the diocese of Malta in the year ...

Pietro Pace Sir Pietro Pace (9 April 1831 – 29 July 1914) was a senior-ranking Maltese prelate who served as the Titular Archbishop of Rhodes and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, Bishop of Malta from 1889 until his death in 1914. Biography Archbishop ...

and it was organised in aid of the Sisters of St. Joseph,

Sliema Sliema ( ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Districts of Malta#Northern Harbour District, Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. ...

. Various newspapers published reviews of this performance: "Pjanista ta'dauc il ftit snin u ta' dic il ħila hecc cbira ftit haun f'id-dinja u għalhekk għandna biex niftaħru u biex nifirħu" (A pianist so young and of such great skill there are few in this world and that is why we should be proud and happy). "Bice è un piccolo Mozart" (Bice is a little Mozart). She also performed a concert in aid of the

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

Society of

St. Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, Congregation of the Mission, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was an Occitans, Occitan French Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving ...

. This vocal and instrumental concert took place on Sunday 1 May 1910 at the Cinematograph Theatre in Cospicua. In June 1911, at the age of 11, she gave one of the most important performances of her career, when she performed in the 'Scarlatti Hall' at the ''Conservatorio di Musica Vincenzo Bellini'' in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

. This concert was under the patronage of H.E. the Princess of Castelreale. A critic from

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

’s ''Rassegna Melodrammatica'' wrote the following after Bice's performance: “A concert has been held in the Scarlatti Hall of the Royal Conservatorio of Music in Palermo, in which the protagonist was 11-year old Bice Vassallo of Malta. She has been described as a true prodigy of the piano. The distinguished if diffident audience gave her full honours of a complete triumph”. In 1912 she performed at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

in Valletta. The following is an excerpt from a local newspaper:

"Bice Vassallo, li tant żgħira tista' tokgħod mal kbar pjanisti ta barra, għad ġurnata tkiegħed isimha ma ta dauk li għall ħila tagħhom ma jmutu katt" (Bice Vassallo, who is so young has a place among the great foreign pianists, will one day have her name among those who, due to their skill, will never die).

Following another concert at the

in Valletta in 1914, the following was said about the young pianist:

"Come chiamare la pianista quattordicenne? Noi la chiameremmo fenomenale" (What to call the fourteen year old pianist? We shall call her phenomenal).

In 1923, the same year her father passed away, she performed a recital at

Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. "Bice Vassallo è vanto ed onore di Malta" (Bice Vassallo is the pride and honour of Malta". On the 18 October 1946 she performed at a concert by Maltese composer

Carmelo Pace Maestro Chev. Carmelo Pace (August 17, 1906 – May 20, 1993) was a Maltese composer, and a professor of music theory and harmony. Born in Valletta, Malta on August 17, 1906, Pace was the eldest of three children. His parents were Anthony Pac ...

conducted by Francesco Bellizzi at the British Institute in Valletta. Another notable performance was the one she gave in 1952 at the University Hall at the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana.

Life and family

On the 26 June 1926, Bice Vassallo married

, the then leader of the Nationalist party. Her husband went on to become Prime Minister of Malta in 1950 shortly before passing away just a few months after. On the 25 July 1927, Bice and Enrico Mizzi had a son and named him Fortunato (1927–2017), after Enrico’s father,

Fortunato Mizzi Fortunato Mizzi (5 July 1844 – 18 May 1905) was a Maltese lawyer and politician. Biography Born of Francesco Mizzi Marianna Galea, Fortunato Mizzi was descendant of an old Italian-Maltese family, whose ancestor Pietro Mizzi emigrated to Goz ...

(1844–1905). Fortunato Mizzi (also known as Natolino) was ordained a priest in 1952 and later, in 1955, he founded the ''Moviment Azzjoni Socjali'' (MAS - Social Action Movement).

Life during the war

Bice and her son passed through trying times during their life, because of their familial association with Enrico Mizzi. In 1940, when talk of the involvement of Malta in World War II was brewing, Enrico was arrested, for allegedly having Italian sympathies, and interned at Fort Salvatore in Kordin and then was transferred to St. Agatha’s Convent in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

. In a letter dated 19 June 1940, Bice wonders why her husband hasn't received all her letters, since she has written to him nearly every day "Mi meraviglio come mai non ricevi le mie lettere perchè fin’ora ho scritto sempre quasi ogni giorno". There was a time when Bice and her son would be walking through the streets in Rabat, when visiting Enrico, while being hurled with verbal insults and pelted with potato peels and eggshells. In February 1942, the then

Governor of Malta A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' may ...

Sir William Dobbie Lieutenant General Sir William George Shedden Dobbie, (12 July 1879 – 3 October 1964) was a British Army officer who served in the Second Boer War and the First and Second World Wars. Early life William was born in Madras to a civil servan ...

, took out a warrant to deport Enrico Mizzi, together with another 47 Maltese nationals, to Uganda. It wasn’t until 1945 that finally the group of exiles was allowed back into the country. Her husband quickly re-entered politics and was elected as Prime minister at the 1950 elections which took place on 2–4 September. Sadly, this success was short-lived, since he passed away less than 4 months later on the 20 December 1950 at the age of 65. He was given a state funeral and to this date, he is the only Prime Minister to have died in office.

Later years

Throughout her life, Bice, was determined to never divert her husband’s attention from his mission at the service of the nation. As she had done with her husband, she then dedicated herself to her son’s priestly and social calling. This was at a time when the Maltese islands were passing though the greatest post-war challenges. Bice Mizzi Vassallo devoted herself to teaching in later years. She taught with great enthusiasm and tutored some of the country’s best pianists. Teaching piano was especially important as a means of earning an income, especially after the death of her husband in 1950. Her husband died penniless and it took some time for her to be granted her husband’s government pension. A school friend of her son Fortunat, Joe Felice Pace, who would join them often for lunch on school days, described Bice as a woman of steel with a heart of gold, who dedicated her life entirely to her family, dedicating herself to their endeavours completely, putting aside her career doing so. Felice Pace also recalled an instance when she was invited to give a number of concerts abroad in the late 1960s. After dwelling on this for quite a long time, she finally declined the invitation because she felt she could not leave her son alone for a fortnight, since she was worried that this would interfere with his mission. He also recalled that her days consisted of giving piano lessons in the morning and then would play for her own pleasure between noon and 12:30pm, most notably Chopin, who was her favourite composer. She would then stop for lunch and was joined in the kitchen by him and her son Fortunat. She would then resume her lessons in the afternoon.

Death and legacy

Bice Mizzi Vassallo died on the 22 February 1985 at the age of 85. In 1987, the National Council of Women of Malta instituted the Bice Mizzi Vassallo Music Competition in her honour; Cynthia Turner chaired the adjudicating panel until her death in 2021. The competition takes place every 2 years and has run uninterruptedly ever since it was established. The Bice Mizzi Vassallo Primary state school in Pembroke, as well as streets in the same locality and the town of

Santa Luċija Santa Luċija () is a village in the Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 2,997 as of March 2014. It is one of the modern towns developed in Malta during the 20th century. By virtue of an article which appeared in Government Gazette o ...

, are named after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mizzi Vassallo, Bice 1899 births 1985 deaths Musicians from Valletta Maltese pianists Maltese women pianists Spouses of prime ministers