Bice Mizzi
[1] She is also known as the daughter of composer Paolino Vassallo and Maria Anna nee Grech, and the wife of former Maltese Prime Minister Enrico Mizzi.
[1] 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).
[11] On the 18 October 1946 she performed at a concert by Maltese composer Carmelo Pace conducted by Francesco Bellizzi at the British Institute in Valletta.
[16] 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).
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.
[19] 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.
[4] In February 1942, the then Governor of Malta, Sir William Dobbie, took out a warrant to deport Enrico Mizzi, together with another 47 Maltese nationals, to Uganda.
[4] 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.
[4] In 1987, the National Council of Women of Malta[25] instituted the Bice Mizzi Vassallo Music Competition in her honour; Cynthia Turner chaired the adjudicating panel until her death in 2021.
[27] The Bice Mizzi Vassallo Primary state school in Pembroke,[28] as well as streets in the same locality[29] and the town of Santa Luċija,[30] are named after her.
