Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
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HAUTE JOAI LLERI E COLLECTI ON
CHOPARD PROUD PARTNER OF ANNA NETREBKO OPERA STAR
Frequently Asked Questions
What time should I arrive
at the Emirates Palace?
Pre-Concert Talks will take place at 6:00 pm
before each concert These provide a unique
opportunity to hear more about the evenings
artists and programme Afterwards you can enjoy
the Nja Madhaoui art exhibition on display in the
Emirates Palace Auditorium Foyer Doors to the
auditorium will open at 7:00 pm and concerts will
begin promptly at 8:00 pm
How will I fnd parking?
Ample parking is available at the Emirates Palace
Abu Dhabi, with 800 parking spots right under
the hotel For overfow, the hotel provides valet
parking service As we anticipate that all ADMAF
events will be very popular, please plan to arrive
in plenty of time in order to park
How do I purchase beverages?
In order to purchase beverages you must frst
purchase a voucher The counter to purchase
vouchers is located in the same area as the bar
itself Once you have purchased a voucher, present
it at the bar in exchange for your beverage But
please note, beverages must be consumed before
entering the auditorium
May I eat or drink during the concert?
Out of respect to the performers and fellow
concert-goers there will be no food or drink
permitted inside the auditorium You will be
asked to fnish your drinks and snacks before
entering the concert auditorium
When should I applaud?
Just before the concert begins, it is customary
to applaud as a greeting Typically you applaud
to greet the Concertmaster/Leader and you
applaud again when the conductor and soloists
come onstage
Applause is usually appropriate at the very end of
a piece (when the conductor lowers his hands)
In a multi-movement work (such as a symphony)
it is customary to wait until the end of the last
movement to applaud, so as not to break the
concentration of the performers The program
will tell you the movements in each piece, so you
will know how many there are
May I take pictures?
The use of still, video, digital and mobile phone
cameras and/or audio recording equipment is
prohibited at all times during the concerts
What happens if I am late?
Out of respect to the performers, no one will be
seated while music is being performed However,
at the discretion of the performers, latecomers
may be seated in between movements and/or in
between pieces
What should I wear to concerts?
Visitors to Abu Dhabi (both men and women)
are advised not to wear excessively revealing
clothing, as a sign of respect for local culture and
customs
To help you better enjoy your concert, here is some general information and answers to some
Frequently Asked Questions
20 2l
Saturday 22
nd
March
LONDONPHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
Vladimir Jurowski, conductor
Nikolaj Znaider, violin
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Overture to Don Giovanni (K527)
Johannes Brahms
Violin Concerto in D (Op77)
Allegro non troppo
Adagio
Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No6 in B minor (Op74) - Pathtique
Adagio - Allegro non troppo
Allegro con grazia
Allegro molto vivace
Finale (Adagio lamentoso)
MUSICAL NOTES
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Overture to Don Giovanni (K527)
The Composer
Born Salzburg, Austria, on 27th January 1756; died Vienna on
5th December 1791
Composed 21 operas as well as a large amount of music for
orchestra, chamber ensemble, piano and voice
Place in History: Amazing child prodigy whose ability to
achieve near perfection in every musical genre makes him
one of the greatest composers who ever lived
Six weeks after the death of his third child (a son called Johann
Thomas Leopold, who was born on 18th October 1786 and
died less than a month later), Mozart travelled to Prague for a
production of his latest opera, The Marriage of Figaro His visit
was a huge success, the rapturous reception given him by the
Prague public contrasting sharply with the increasing disinterest
shown by the Viennese Consequently, when the Prague National
Theatre asked him to compose a new opera for them, he readily
agreed and set to work on Don Giovanni A premire was planned
for 14th October, but the opera was not fnished in time and it was
frst staged two weeks later, on 29th October 1787
Even then Mozart was working on the music right up to the last
minute and, as his wife recalled, he only completed the Overture
on the day of the performance itself Apparently Mozart worked
on it all night, kept awake by his wifes constant chattering, and
fnished it sometime around 7am There is, nevertheless, scant
evidence of haste in the Overture, which opens with music,
including two massive solemn chords, drawn from the scene in
which a statue arrives to dine with the understandably terrifed
Don Giovanni The ensuing Allegro, in a major key, portrays in
its bustling character, frequent changes of mood and colour, the
character of Don Giovanni himself
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Violin Concerto in D (Op.77)
The Composer
Born Hamburg, Germany, on 7th May 1833: Died Vienna,
Austria, on 3rd April 1897
Compositions included piano and chamber music, choral
and vocal works and 13 orchestral scores including four
symphonies and four concertos
Place in History: Major composer of the Romantic era who
avoided emotional excess and introduced traditional forms
drawn from the Classical era
Brahms composed his one and only Violin Concerto during a
summer holiday at the Austrian lakeside resort of Prtschach,
and it was premired in Leipzig on 1st January 1879 The soloist
was the great Slovakian-born violinist, and close friend of the
composer, Joseph Joachim
In keeping with Brahms strong sense of tradition, the Violin
Concerto follows the customary three movement - fast-slow-fast -
structure, the1st movement based on thefour contrastingthemes
outlined in the extended orchestral introduction The gloriously
exuberant fourish with which thesoloist enters heralds thestart of
a substantial dialogue between soloist and orchestra culminating
in a cadenza; coincidentally the last instance in a major concerto
where the cadenza was left blank by the composer (who asked
Joachim to write his own for the works frst performance)
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Sunday 23
rd
March
LONDONPHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
Vladimir Jurowski, conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No38 in D (K504) - Prague
Adagio - Allegro
Andante
Presto
Maurice Ravel
Piano Concerto in G
Allegramente
Adagio assai
Presto
Sergei Prokofev
Symphony No5 in B fat (Op100)
Andante
Allegro marcato
Adagio
Allegro giocoso
MUSICAL NOTES
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony No.38 in D (K504) - Prague
Yesterdays concert began with a work by Mozart written for
Prague, a city in which he was treated rather more enthusiastically
than Vienna where he had been living since leaving Salzburg in
1781 Mozart was in Prague to oversee a production of his opera
The Marriage of Figaro, which took place on 22nd January 1787,
and while the Prague authorities subsequently invited him to
compose another opera for them (Don Giovanni the Overture to
which opened yesterdays concert), in the meantime they asked
him write something for their orchestra He produced his 38th
Symphony, which has been known ever since as the Prague
Symphony
With the Prague Symphony Mozart chose not to follow the
Viennese fashion for four-movement symphonies, but to revert to
the three-movement format which had been the norm right up
to his 25th Symphony (of 1773) All the same it remains one of
the longest he ever wrote, its scale suggested by the statuesque
opening of the 1st movement which anticipates the overture
to Don Giovanni while the ensuing Allegro, making a passable
imitation of clucking hens, also includes themes which appeared
later in both Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute
The 2nd movement, with its graceful clock-ticking character
and delicate dialogue between violins and woodwind, provides
the ideal foil for the huge frst movement, while some startlingly
adventurous harmonic twists and turns in the middle of the
movement would have given the audience just that touch of
originality they sought in Mozarts music
The 3rd movement is the shortest and most light-hearted of the
three, its playful character belying its sheer technical difculty;
indeed few passages in the whole of Mozarts output place such
demands on the musicians ability to produce taut ensemble
playing than the opening bars Some rather dramatic moments
later in the movement provide a further foretaste of Don
Giovanni
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Piano Concerto in G
The Composer
Born Ciboure, France, on 7th May 1875 Ciboure, France: Died
Paris on 28th December 1937
Most orchestral scores began life as piano works, but among
his original orchestral compositions are two piano concertos
Place in History: Innovative writer for the piano but also one of
the 20th centurys greatest orchestrators
Despite the centrality of the piano in Ravels compositional
output, he was 53 before he seriously thought about composing
his frst piano concerto It took him more than a year to complete
the Piano Concerto in G, but in the end he expressed his total
satisfaction with it; I conceived it as a concerto in the strict sense,
and composed it in the spirit of Mozart and Saint-Sans It was
given its frst performance in Paris on 14th January 1932 with
Marguerite Long as soloist and Ravel as the conductor
Saturday 22
nd
March
LONDONPHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (continued)
Vladimir Jurowski, conductor
Nikolaj Znaider, violin
The most beautiful oboe solo in the whole of orchestral music, is
how the British writer Antony Hopkins has described the opening
of the 2nd movement Having established the mood, the oboe
gives way to the soloist who enters with an ornamented version
of the theme After some momentary increase in tension the
movement reverts to the calm, tranquil beauty of its opening bars
with a delectable duet between solo violin and oboe
The 3rd movement celebrates in its ebullient double-stopped
theme both Brahms and Joachims shared experiences of
Hungarian music
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Symphony No.6 in B minor (Op.74) - Pathtique
The Composer
Born Votkinsk, Russia, on 7th May 1840: Died St Petersburg,
Russia, on 6th November 1893
Compositions included operas, symphonies, concertos,
chamber and instrumental works and several hundred songs
Place in History: Russias most important Romantic composer,
who brought a heightened level of passion and emotional
involvement into traditional musical forms
Although his music was always very vividly descriptive, Tchaikovsky
refused to divulge the programme (or story) which inspired his
sixth and fnal symphony, frst performed in St Petersburg on
22nd October 1893 It was left to his brother to come up with
a subtitle patetichesky (usually given in its French equivalent,
Pathtique) to hint at the Symphonys character
As Tchaikovsky died just over two weeks after the Symphonys
premire, many commentators see in the work especially in
the profoundly grief-stricken last movement - his own awareness
of impending death, but this cannot be true since, at the time,
Tchaikovsky was both in the best of health and happier than he
had been for a long time Nevertheless the 1st movement begins
with a deeply sorrowful introduction This, however, is really
more sentimental and nostalgic than sad, and the appearance
of a Russian Orthodox funeral hymn played by the brass in the
middle of the movement - is believed to be a tribute to his mother
rather than a presentiment of Tchaikovskys own death
No sorrow at all in the 2nd movements elegant Waltz-like
character, and even a touch of humour; this Waltz has fve beats
in each bar (rather than the usual three) giving it a delightfully
lop-sided feel
The frst half of the vivacious 3rd movement, with its scampering
violins and little fragments of theme, is given over to preparing
the way for the big, spectacular march which turns this into one
of the most thrilling, spectacular and thoroughly life-afrming of
all Tchaikovsky symphonic movements But even as the echoes
of the triumphant march die away, the 4th movements grief-
stricken opening pours out of the violins like a food of tears Here
is some of the most emotionally-charged and passionate music
ever written
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IMG Artists is proud to be the Executive Producer of the ADTA 5th Abu Dhabi
Music and Arts Festival, working closely with the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts
Foundation as well as the festivals various partners and sponsors. IMG
Artists is the global leader in the arts management business, combining the
highest standards of management with an incomparable range of services
and management expertise to its customers and clients alike.
With offces in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Hanover, Lucca
and Singapore, IMG Artists delivers an international suite of capabilities:
Management and touring of the fnest musicians, orchestras
and attractions
Festival management world-wide, including:
U Producer, Tuscan Sun Festival (Italy)
U Producer, Festival del Sole, Napa (USA)
U Producer, Singapore Sun Festival (Singapore)
U Executive Producer, Festival of the Arts, Boca (USA)
Planning and development of Cultural Centres and Arts Institutions
in throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia
With an unparalleled degree of artistic and managerial talent, IMG Artists is
committed to breaking new ground in the ever-evolving performing arts world.
Dynamic and responsive to changing demands, IMG Artists will continue to
seek out distinctive partnerships and craft new collaborative initiatives in the
years to come.
For more information please contact Ian Smallbone, Managing Director
and Senior Vice President at ismallbone@imgartists.com
www.imgartists.com
26 27
Monday 24
th
March
Hiwar Maa Al Kibar
KHALED SELIM & ASMMA ALMONAOAR
Saeed Kamal, conductor
Khaled Selim
Without Blame
The Beauty
Rejected Love
I Dont Cry
Forgiveness
Why Do You Blame Me?
Mighty
Oh! Patience!
And Days Go By
Love Has Come to Us
Asmma Almonaoar
Once Upon a Time (Warde Al Jazaariya)
Wahran (Ahmad Wahby)
There Were Many People (Fayrouz)
My Heart is My Guide (Lyla Murad)
This is My Night (Umm Khalthoom)
You Betray Me (Abdul Haleem Hafez)
Whats This? (Najat Al Sagera)
Dont Let Me Go Alone! (Sayid Makaawi)
I Sent to You (Fayrouz)
Two voices brought up on the repertoire of heritage and traditional music Due to their inspiration from the past, they succeeded in
establishing a new music which based on tradition and aspires to the future
Khalid Saleem comes from Egypt and Asma Al Munawar comes from Morocco to perform from great Arab musicians
They innovate rather than imitate They perform wittily a new version of the old musical tradition They will sing from the treasures
Arabic heritage, from the works of Mohammad Abd Al Wahab, Umm Kolthoom, Warda Al Jazaaria, Lyla Murad, Fayrouz and Abd Al
Haleem Hafez among others in a forgettable night with maestro Saeed Kamal as a conductor
A crack of the whip launches the 1st movement in which, after
a beautifully delicate melody which dances and shimmers like
light refecting on water, the trumpet takes over and turns it into
something altogether more boisterous
Accordingto Ravel, in the2nd movement I wanted to pay homage
to scholasticism I forced myself to write as well as possible For
the frst three minutes the piano is on its own playing a passage
of utter innocence and simplicity With almost magical delicacy,
the orchestra, led by a beautifully poised fute, joins in, but while
various instruments take over the melody, the piano maintains its
gently ticking left-hand accompaniment throughout
Coarse brass chords and a thumpfrom the bass drum set the piano
of on a frenzy of activity in the 3rd movement accompanied by
various squeaks and squawks from the woodwind and brass The
spirit of jazz is never far from the surface here, while the work ends
with shrill toy-like woodwind and a decisive thump on the drum
Sergei Prokofev (1891-1953)
Symphony No.5 in B fat (Op.100)
The Composer
Born Sontsovka, Ukraine, on 23rd April 1891: Died Moscow,
Russia, on 5th March 1953
Compositions include operas, ballet scores, piano and
chamber works, seven symphonies and concertos for piano
(5), violin (2) and cello (1)
Place in History: The leading Russian composer after
Tchaikovsky, spicing up traditional musical harmonies with
witty and sometimes harsh chords and melodic lines
Having left Russia in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution of
1917, Prokofev decided to return permanently in 1936; I had not
grasped the signifcance of what was happening in the USSR I
did not realise that the events there demanded the collaboration
of all citizens not only men of politics but men of art as well
Less than a decade later, Russia was at war, and with the German
army at long last beginning to be driven back from Russian soil,
Prokofev wrote his Fifth Symphony to sing the praises of the free
and happy man his strength, his generosity and the purity of
his soul Its premire in Moscow on 13th January 1945, which
Prokofev himself conducted, was a huge triumph
The Symphony begins with a slow 1st movement, the opening
theme played in octaves by fute and bassoon a typical touch of
Prokofev wit, which gradually assumes a more majestic character
to concludewith a magnifcent celebration implyingthegreatness
of the human spirit, to echo Prokofevs own words
The nervous and abrupt 2nd movement, with its almost
mechanical momentum, has been likened by some to thehorrors
of war, while others see in it military skirmishes and the rattle of
gunfre
The sorrowful 3rd movement with its plaintive melody may well
have been prompted by the terrible price the Russian people had
to pay for their heroic resistance to the Nazi invaders, although
some of the material is actually derived from Prokofevs earlier
flm-score Alexander Nevsky
Any hint of pessimism is brushed aside in the 4th movement
which, after a refective opening, bustles along with unstoppable
energy and a certain amount of impudence
Sunday 23
rd
March
LONDONPHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (continued)
Vladimir Jurowski, conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
28 29
Wednesday 26
th
&
Thursday 27
th
March
BOLSHOI BALLET (continued)
BOLSHOI THEATRE ORCHESTRA
Pavel Sorokin, conductor
SYNOPSIS
ACT 1
Scene One: The impending tragedy and sorrow is hinted at in the
opening orchestral prelude, but soon the mood changes and we
fnd ourselves in an old castle in Germany where Prince Siegfried is
celebrating his coming of age He is congratulated by his mother,
friends and courtiers and, to suitably majestic music, he is made
a knight Vying for his attention, several girls surround him, but
Siegfried ignores them dreaming of a pure and perfect love As
the festivities draw to an end and the guests depart, Siegfried
is left alone in the gathering dusk He is aware of a shadow at
his side It is Fate, the Evil Genius, and it flls his heart with dark
forebodings as he continues to dream of his perfect love
Scene Two: Lured by Fate, Siegfried fnds himself by a mysterious
lake In the moonlight he sees on the shimmering water several
swan maidens one of which, Odette, he believes to be the most
beautiful creature he has ever seen; he has found his perfect
and pure love and swears to Odette that he will be faithful to
her for ever
ACT 2
Scene Three: His mother has told him that he must choose a wife
from the prospective brides who are being presented to him at
the castle However, he is obsessed with the image of Odette and
his dances with the various young women are of-hand; none
of them matches his ideal Suddenly a strange knight arrives at
the ball accompanied by a ravishingly beautiful young girl and a
several black swans It is Fate and his daughter, Odile, who appears
to Siegfried as Odettes exact double Struck by the resemblance,
he hurries towards Odile; something Fate has planned as a test of
the strength of Siegfrieds love He chooses her as his bride, but as
he does so the room is plunged into darkness and a vision of the
beautiful Odette appears Siegfried, realising his mistake, rushes
in despair after the receding image Odette
Scene Four: Back on the lake at night, Odette tells the swan-
maidens that Siegfried has broken his to her Siegfried appears
and begs her forgiveness, but while she forgives him, Fate stirs
up a great storm which forces them apart and, weakened by his
struggle, Siegfried can no longer hold on to the image of Odette
and, as day breaks, he is once again alone on the shore of the lake
of his lost dreams
Wednesday 26
th
& Thursday 27
th
March
BOLSHOI BALLET
BOLSHOI THEATRE ORCHESTRA
Pavel Sorokin, conductor
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Swan Lake
MUSICAL NOTES
It was Vladimir Petrovich Begichev, the Director of the Russian
Imperial Theatrein Moscow, who, in May 1875, ofered Tchaikovsky
800 roubles for a major new ballet for the Bolshoi company This
was a brave decision since Tchaikovsky, then aged just 35 (and a
close personal friend of Begichevs) had never previously written
any ballet music and had achieved only limited success in the feld
of music for thestagewith his opera TheOprichnik As Tchaikovsky
himself wrote to his fellow-composer Rimsky-Korsakov; I took
this work partly for money, which I need, and partly because I
have long wanted to try my hand at this kind of music Together
with Vasily Fedorovich Geltser, a dancer in the Moscow company,
Begichev drew up an outline libretto based on an ancient legend
concerning the mythical Swan Maiden; the purest of women who
appears in the guise of the most beautiful of birds With additions
to the libretto from Tchaikovsky himself, by the following March,
most of the work was complete and rehearsals for the new ballet
could begin
It all started well enough - Tchaikovsky, having sat in on an early
rehearsal, wrote to his brother; It was a pleasure to watch the
male and female dancers smiling at the future audience and
looking forward to the possibility of jumping, pirouetting and
turning about Everybody in the theatre is delighted with my
music but then things started to go wrong Tchaikovskys Swan
Lake was such a revolutionary ballet score that neither dancers
nor musicians could really grasp the concept At various times
it was declared undanceable, too complex and difcult, and it
took 11 months of rehearsal before the Bolshoi was ready to stage
the premire, which took place in Moscow on 4th March 1877 It
was not a success and Tchaikovskys score came in for more than
its fare share of criticism But, as his brother later recalled, The
poverty of the production, meaning the dcor and costumes, the
absence of outstanding performers, the ballet-masters weakness
of imagination, and, fnally, the orchestraall of this together
permitted Tchaikovsky, with good reason, to cast the blame for
the failure on others
The revolutionary nature of Swan Lake lay in both its powerful
emotional content and in the way in which Tchaikovsky had
produced a single, continuous stream of music Previously ballet
music had consisted of a series of unrelated dance movements,
but in Swan Lake Tchaikovsky used individual musical themes to
represent specifc characters (the famous Swan Themebeingjust
one of a number of themes which recur throughout the ballet)
and created along the way wonderful colouristic efects from the
orchestra to propel the story along
Over the years, that story has been adapted, re-written and
modifed as diferent productions seek to get to the heart of
Tchaikovskys conception The Bolshoi production we see today
is, in many ways, radically diferent from others but, as the British
Daily Telegraph wrote in its review of this production staged in
Birmingham; The point of Swan Lake is made wonderfully clear,
although not at the expense of tradition
30 3l
MUSICAL NOTES
It would seem that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts (1756-1791)
frst-hand involvement in opera dates back to the time when he
was fve when, on 1st September 1761, he made his frst public
appearance singing in an opera staged to celebrate the birthday
of the Archbishop of Salzburg Four months later, Mozarts father,
Leopold, took him of on a concert tour of Europe and it was not
until 29th November 1766, that he was back home in Salzburg
Almost immediately theArchbishopinvited him Mozart was then
aged just 10 - to compose one act of an opera to be performed
in his palace on 12th March 1767 Thus began Mozarts career
as an operatic composer; a career which saw the creation of 20
more operas, culminating in the great masterpieces of Le nozze
di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cos fan tutte, La clemenza di Tito and
Die Zauberfte, which was completed just three months before
Mozarts untimely death
Our Opera Gala opens with thefrst of thosegreat masterpieces, Le
nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) which was frst staged in
Vienna on 1st May 1786 Mozart composed its Overture just two
days before the frst performance, and, with its urgent, whispering
opening, its frenetic energy and a lack of any middle section at a
slower tempo, it serves as a brilliant summary of what happens
during the course of the opera; which tells of the frantic comings
and goings, intrigues and practical jokes, which take place on the
day on which Figaro, an aristocrats manservant, marries
Mozarts penultimate opera, La clemenza di Tito (The Clemency
of Titus) was frst staged in Prague on 6th September 1791 and
is set at the time of Emperor Titus in 1st century Rome Our frst
extract from this opera, the duet Ah perdona il primo afetto(Ah,
forgive, my former love), fnds two lovers, Annius and Servilia,
declaring their love for each other in the face of Tituss decision to
choose Servilia as his own wife
Following a hugely successful performance of La nozze di Figaro
in Prague, Mozart was asked to write a new opera expressly for the
city He responded with Don Giovanni which was premired on
29th October 1787 It tells of the famous Spanish womaniser (who
is more often known as Don Juan) and of his eventual destruction
at the hands of the father of one of the women he had seduced
Proud of his string of female conquests, Don Giovanni instructs his
manservant, Leporello, to list them all in the famous Catalogue
Aria, Madamina, il catalogo questo delle belle che am il
padron mio (Young woman, this is the list of beautiful women
my master has seduced) According to Leporello, his masters
conquests numbered 2065, with 640 in Italy, 231 in Germany, 100
in France, 91 in Turkey and no less than 1003 in Spain
Returning to La clemenza di Tito we fnd that, jealous of Servilia
and besotted with Servilias brother Sextus, Tituss daughter wants
Sextus to set the city on fre and murder her father; and as Sextus
sets of on the task, he sings the aria Parto, parto ma tu ben mio(I
go, but, my dearest) Also taking its theme from ancient history,
Mozarts 13th opera, frst staged in Munich on 29th January 1781,
was set in theaftermath of theTrojan Wars and concerned theKing
of Crete, Idomeneo It contains one of Mozarts rare operatic mad
scenes in DOreste, dAjace ho in seno I tormento (What fury!
What Madness! Rage and despair consume me!), where Electra,
having been foiled in her attempt to marry Idomeneos son, goes
berserk giving vent to her anger and despair Earlier, however, the
object of her desires, Idamante, has been on thevergeof execution
at the hands of his own father The music we hear next is played
as he is led to the sacrifcial altar; Mozart himself described this as
a very simple March for two violins, viola, cello and two oboes, to
be played mezza voce While it is being played, the King appears
and the priests prepare for the sacrifce
Between Don Giovanni and La clemenza di Tito, both composed
for Prague, Mozart wrote one opera for Vienna, which was frst
performed in the citys Burgtheater on 26th January 1790 Cos
fan tutte is concerned with the faithfulness, or otherwise, of two
women engaged to the two soldiers who, during a night of heavy
drinking, accept a challenge, thrown down by Don Alfonso, that
their respective sweethearts will prove unfaithful within the
space of just 24 hours He gets to work on the two girls by, frst,
informingthem that their two men have sailed away to war Soave
sia il vento (May the wind blow gently)
Saturday 29
th
March
OPERA GALA
ANNA NETREBKO, soprano
ELINA GARANA, mezzo-soprano
ERWIN SCHROTT, bass-baritone
Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
Alexander Vedernikov, conductor
Saturday 29
th
March
OPERA GALA
ANNA NETREBKO, soprano
ELINA GARANA, mezzo-soprano
ERWIN SCHROTT, bass-baritone
Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
Alexander Vedernikov, conductor
I
Le nozze di Figaro Ouverture WA Mozart
La Clemenza di Tito Ah perdona il primo afetto WA Mozart
Anna Netrebko & Elina Garanca
Don Giovanni Madamina, il catalogo e questo W A Mozart
Erwin Schrott
La Clemenza di Tito Parto, parto WA Mozart
Elina Garanca
Idomeneo DOreste dAiace WA Mozart
Anna Netrebko
Idomeneo March WA Mozart
Cosi fan tutte Soave sia il vento WA Mozart
Anna Netrebko, Elina Garanca, Erwin Schrott
II
La forza del destino Ouverture G Verdi
Macbeth Come dal ciel precipita G Verdi
Erwin Schrott
Norma Casta Diva V Bellini
Anna Netrebko
La cenerentola Nacqui all afanno G Rossini
Elina Garanca
Il viaggio a Reims Sinfonia G Rossini
Les flles de Cadiz L Delibes
Anna Netrebko
Carmen Toreador G Bizet
Erwin Schrott
Carmen Chanson Boheme G Bizet
Elina Garanca
32 33
Monday 31
st
March
SARAH CHANG, violin
Vivaldi / Four Seasons
Karel Mark Chichon, conductor
Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Divertimento in D (K136)
Allegro
Andante
Presto
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Serenade for Strings (Op 48)
Piece in form of a Sonatina
Waltz
Elegy
Finale
Antonio Vivaldi
The Four Seasons
1. Spring (Allegro - Largo - Allegro; Danza Pastorale)
2. Summer (Allegro con molto - Adagio - Presto)
3. Autumn (Allegro - Adagio molto - Allegro; La Caccia)
4. Winter (Allegro non molto - Largo - Allegro)
MUSICAL NOTES
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Divertimento in D (K136)
In the middle of March 1772 Hieronymus Joseph Franz von Paula,
Count of Colloredo, was elected Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg
Mozart, who up to that time had been serving as Concert-Master
to the Salzburg court orchestra without receiving any payment,
saw in the appointment the opportunity to impress sufciently to
be able to procure a respectable salary Thus it was that between
29th April, the date of the Archbishops enthronement, and 21st
August, the day on which Colloredo eventually decreed that
Mozart bepaid an annual salary of 150Gulden, music quiteliterally
poured from Mozarts pen There were two operas, fve pieces of
sacred music for use in Salzburg Cathedral, six string quartets, 21
symphonies, seven songs and a groupof three instrumental works
composed for events associated with the celebrations to mark the
enthronement which included the Divertimento in D
Mozart may have been just 16 when he composed this
Divertimento in D, but as is evident from the charming 1st
movement with its gracefully cascading strings above a gently
chugging accompaniment, this is a work of real distinction The
2nd movement is a graceful and easy-going Andante, while
the 3rd movement opens with mischievous pianissimo chords
before the violins scuttle of in playful mood to indulge in some
exuberant chasing games
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Serenade for Strings (Op. 48)
On 21st September 1880 Tchaikovsky settled down to compose
a new symphony but, a few days into the work, he decided it
might be better as a string quartet In the event, it turned out
to be a cross between the two As he wrote to his publisher, I
have accidentally written a Serenade for string orchestra, Thus
the Serenade for Strings was born, one of just two works for
string orchestra Tchaikovsky produced, and its public premire in
St Petersburg on 30th October 1881 (it had been given a private
performance in Moscow 10 months earlier) was such a success
that the second movement had to be repeated immediately
The Serenade is a tribute to the musical world of the 18th century
Tchaikovsky described the 1st movement as my homage to
Mozart; it is intended to be in imitation of his style and I should be
delighted if I thought I had in any way approached my model The
2nd movement, one of Tchaikovskys most famous and delightful
Waltzes, is also frmly rooted in the elegance of 18th century
Vienna, although the 3rd movement with its richly soaringmelody
and moments of real passion and intensity is pure 19th century
romanticism The 4th movement begins gently with the gradual
emergence of a theme originating from a song sung by barge-
pullers on the tow-paths of the great River Volga near Nizhni-
Novgorod This breaks into a boisterous dance based on another
authentic Russian melody, a Moscow street song, and despite the
eventual re-emergence of the stately theme with which the work
began, the infectious high spirits of the movement continue to
the very end
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was the greatest Italian opera
composer of the second half of the 19th century He was certainly
a hero to the Italians (at one point crowds would gather in the
streets and call Viva Verdi!, although this was actually a coded
call for Italian unifcation under King Victor Emanuel Viva Verdi
= Vittorio Emanuele R DItalia; Long live Victor Emanuel King
of Italy) and any new opera of his was almost guaranteed to be
an enormous box ofce success So it was that opera houses,
not just in Italy but further afeld, clamoured for the privilege of
premiring one of his 28 operas On 10th November 1862 that
privilege went to the opera house in St Petersburg, Russia, where
his 24th opera, La Forza del destino (The Force of Destiny) was
premired The Force of Destiny boasts a truly spine-tingling
Overture Heralded by six menacing hammer-blows a clarinet
bears its soul in a hauntingly sorrowful melody In the background
the violins urge it along with their own rushing theme and this
confict between fast and slow, sorrow and joy drives the music
along with unstoppable force
Premired in Florence on 14th March 1847, the frst of Verdis three
operas based on plays by Shakespeare was Macbeth, a gruesome
tale of murder in the Scottish court Having murdered King
Duncan, Macbeth realises that one of the kings generals, Banco,
must also be killed and as Banco walks into a garden with his son,
he is flled with justifable foreboding, which he reveals to his son
in the aria Come dal ciel precipita (How the heavens darken)
Italian opera composers in the frst decades of the 19th century
developed a style of writing for singers which has become known
as Bel Canto Its heyday coincided with the life of Vincenzo Bellini
(1801-1835), whose Norma is regarded as the supreme example
of a Bel Canto opera, and its eponymous heroines prayer to the
moon -Casta Diva(Pure Goddess) - the fnest example of a Bel
Canto aria The three key elements of Bel Canto were listed
by Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) as; a naturally beautiful voice
even in tone across its full range, careful training that encourages
efortless delivery of highly forid music, and a mastery of style
which cannot be taught And Rossini knew a thing or two
about opera being, without doubt, the most successful operatic
composer of the frst half of the 19th century So successful was
he, in fact, that at the age of 37 and with 39 operas to his credit, he
retired to a villa on the outskirts of Paris The 20th of those operas
was based on the famous story of Cinderella La Cenerentola
who recalls, when her heart is full of joy at having married her
prince, the sorrows of her earlier life in Nacqui allafanno e al
pianto (I was born to Sorrow and Tears)
We now follow Rossini as he moves from Italy to France Shortly
after he had settled there he was commissioned to write an opera
to be performed during the celebrations for the Coronation of
King Charles X in Reims in 1825 He wrote Il viaggio a Reims (The
Journey to Reims) which took as its theme the various European
monarchs heading to the Coronation and opens with a suitably
majestic Overture And it was Rossini who indirectly inspired a
native French composer, Leo Delibes (1836-1891) to take up
opera (his mother, a leading operatic soprano, had sung in several
Rossini operas) Delibes wrote several operas, but today we hear
not an opera, but a setting he made of words by Alfred de Musset
evoking Spain through the eyes of three girls - Les flles de Cadix
(The Girls from Cadiz) dancing that most characteristic fo
Spanish dances, the Bolero
Another Frenchmans view of Spain comes from Georges Bizet
(1838-1875) whose opera, Carmen, is centred around that most
Spanish of entertainments, the bull-fght In the wake of another
successful contest, the leadingToreador, Escamillo, enters a tavern
where the crowd sings his praises He responds with the famous
Toreadors Song, Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre (To your
toast, I can answer with another) Also in the same tavern is
Carmen herself, who sings of the joys of gypsy life; Les tringles
des sistres tintaient (Guitar strings and zithers sounded)
Saturday 29
th
March
OPERA GALA
ANNA NETREBKO, soprano
ELINA GARANA, mezzo-soprano
ERWIN SCHROTT, bass-baritone
Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
Alexander Vedernikov, conductor
34 35
Tuesday 1
st
April
WORLD PREMIERE The Soul of the Orient
NASEER SHAMMA
With the Oriental Orchestra
Salute
Among the Palm Trees
Violet of Fingers
Mural of Life
Oh!My Hear, Rejoice
Jalal Al Deen Al Rumi Huja
Al Nahaawand Time
Ascension Land
Soul lover
The Old Man and I
Musical Notes
Naseer Shamma is one of the most prominent oud players in the
world He has devised new ways of playing the instrument like
playing with one hand He also added another chord to the oud
and discovered two Maqams, Wisdom and Al Kuot, the latter is
named after his hometown in Iraq He invented a new musical
form entitled Crescent
Mr Shamma was invited to many countries across the globe
The German Ministry of Culture has bestowed on him the title of
Messenger of Arabic and Islamic Culture to the West He is also
the winner of many musical awards
In addition to playingthe oud, he is the composer of many musical
pieces and original flm soundtracks
He played with distinguished international orchestras
He is the founder of Al Aayoun ensemble for Arabic chamber
music, and Takhayol ensemble
In association with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, he opened
a centre for teaching oud playing techniques called Arab Oud
House He has founded the frst oud orchestra in the world which
he dreams to see its members reach one hundred
Many documentaries were made about Mr Shamma in various
languages He has produced many CDs and the father of the
notion of gathering international musicians to participate in Our
Mother Earth project
Monday 31
st
March
SARAH CHANG, violin (continued)
Vivaldi / Four Seasons
Karel Mark Chichon, conductor
Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
The Four Seasons
The Composer
Born Venice, Italy, on 4th March 1678: Died Vienna, on 28th
July 1741
Composed an enormous number of operas and concertos,
many of which were for the students of the girls school in
Venice in which, for many years, he worked as music master
Place in History: Arguably the most universally popular
composer of the Baroque era, who introduced colour and
imagery into purely instrumental music
Undoubtedly the best known of all Vivaldis works come from a
set of 12 violin concertos published in Amsterdam as his Opus
8 in 1725 Given the overall titleThe Contest between Harmony
and Invention, he prefxed the frst four of with verses describing
the seasons of the year and marked the points in each concerto
which correspond to phrases from the opening verses These
works, each of which is in fact a self-contained violin concerto,
have become known universally as The Four Seasons
SPRING has arrived and happily the birds welcome it in joyful
song, and we hear plenty of chirping birdsong efects in the
1st movement Later we hear the streams fowing with sweet
murmurings, whilethemusic becomes moreagitated to represent
a passing thunderstorm after which the little birds return and
resume their singing
The 2nd movement depicts the scene in a pleasant, fowery
meadow under rustling trees where the shepherd sleeps with his
faithful dog at his side
The 3rd movement is a rustic dance To the festive sounds of
country bagpipes, nymphs and shepherds dance in the felds
SUMMER The 1st movement opens as, under the scorching sun
man and beasts languish and the pine trees burn The music
suddenly livens up as the cuckoo begins to sing followed by the
turtledove and the nightingale After some lovely nightingale
song efects from the solo violin a sweet wind blows, but is
challenged by another blowing from the north and the next
entry of the solo violin represents a shepherd boy crying out,
frightened by the impending storm
In the 2nd movement we fnd him stirring his weary limbs for fear
of the ferocious lightning and the swarms of gnats and fies
It is only in the 3rd movement that the storm breaks out in all
its fury with fashes of lightning, claps of thunder and bursts of
torrential rain
AUTUMN in Italy is a time of harvesting and relaxation In the 1st
movement we hear the peasants celebrating the good harvest
with dances and joyful songs Some extrovert solo violin playing
represents the peasants afamed by much wine and after some
prolonged merrymaking they all fall asleep
They continue to sleep throughout the 2nd movement (Sleeping
drunkards), while, with the 3rd movement, we fnd everyone out
on the hunting feld The hunter goes forth at daybreak with
horns, guns and ferocious dogs The prey is sighted and they
follow in its tracks Tired and wounded as well as terrifed of the
noise of guns and dogs, the hunted animal makes a fnal bid for
freedom but is caught and killed
WINTER begins with much shivering in frozen snow and with
the solo violin in the 1st movement representing the icy blast
of a biting wind We also hear the stamping of feet and the
chattering of teeth
A welcome respite from the bitter weather is provided by the
warm and relaxing 2nd movement in which, while the plucked
strings in the background represent the pouring rain outside
the solo violin sings a lyrical melody representative of resting by
the fre in peace and contentment
Back outside the 3rd movement treats us to a walk on the ice,
afraid of slipping and falling, but growing in confdence until,
fnally the ice cracks and breaks We hear through an iron gate all
the winds in confict
36 37
Lianni Ahya
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas
Poetry: Nada El Hage
Ya Naseema ElReeh
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas
Poetry: Al Hallaj
Allegro con spirit (1st mvnt)
Music composition: Rodrigo
Wadadtu LawAqoul
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas
Poetry: Nada El Hage WORLD PREMIERE, a special creation for
Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Festival
Habibi
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas
Poetry: Abdel Aziz Khoja WORLDPREMIERE, a special creation for
Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Festival
Aires di Sivilia
Music composition: Jose Maria Gallardo Del Rey
WORLD PREMIERE, a special creation for Abu Dhabi Music & Arts
Festival
Sawti assama
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas
Poetry: Zahi Wehbi
Pleusis no. 1 Adagio (2nd movement)
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas
Dedicated to Mrs Nazek Hariri in April 2000
Araftu Beirut
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas
Poetry: Hussa
Wednesday 2
nd
April
HIBA AL KAWAS, soprano/composer
JOS MARIA GALLARDO DEL REY, guitar
The Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
Wojciech Czepiel, Conductor
Pleusis no. 1
Allegretto ( 1st movement)
Music Composed by: Hiba Al Kawas
Dedicated to Mrs Nazek Hariri in April 2000
Ashamamta Itri
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas
Poetry: Nada El Hage
Wa Tuhibbuni
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas
Poetry: Houda Naamani
Biekf Twaddeni
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas
Poetry: Ragheda Mahfouz
Concierto de Aranjuez
Adagio (2nd movement)
Music composition: Rodrigo
Assawt
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas
Poetry: Zahi Wehbi
WORLD PREMIERE, a special creation for Abu Dhabi Music & Arts
Festival
Tabqa Li
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas Poetry: Ounsi El Hage
Rosales
Music composition: Jose Maria Gallardo Del Rey
Njoumeddini biinaik
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas Poetry: Nada EL Hage
WORLD PREMIERE, a special creation for Abu Dhabi Music & Arts
Festival
Asra Biqalbi
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas
Poetry: Abdel Aziz Khoja WORLDPREMIERE, a special creation for
Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Festival
Intermission
In the Path of Light (Symphonic poem)
Music composition: Hiba Al Kawas WORLD PREMIERE, a special
creation for Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Festival
Dedication:
When I met her for the frst time she said, Cest dj vu
And I addressed her writing her a ddicace, Sister
At that time I saw, as if a destiny connected her to music from lives
ago and Universes
I saw, Odor of Mist, powder of Gold, a look to the unseen, a dream
yet rooted in the heart of Earth
Two years ago in the closing night of Abu Dhabi Festival her eyes
imprisoned water of accomplishment
And the dream is not a dream, the odor transforming to Music, the
veiled on its way to be seen, the roots spread in the golden desert
planting it with Music
The mission is difcult but coming true in the country of vision
Hoda, ten years ago you asked me, Hiba, why Music, why? you
asked me the question as if it was your Rattle
And I answer you today its because You are In the Path of
Light
To Mrs Hoda Kanoo I dedicate my Symphonic Poem, In the Path
of Light
Hiba Al Kawas
Wednesday 2
nd
April
HIBA AL KAWAS, soprano/composer (continued)
JOS MARIA GALLARDO DEL REY, guitar
The Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
Wojciech Czepiel, Conductor
38 39
II
Exhibitions
The Brush dances & the Ink Signs Hermitage Museum - St-
Petersburg, Russia
Meem Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The Brush dances & the Ink Signs - State Museum of Oriental Art
Moscow, Russia
Tehran Biennial (Guest of honour and Jury member) - Iran
Sharjah Arab Art Biennial (Guest of honour and Jury member)
United Arab Emirates
Word into Art British Museum, London, Great Britain
Tunisian Great Prize of Arts & Letters - Tunisia
Artcraft Unesco Prize Paris, France
International Jury member of the Unesco Arts Prize
Gulf Air 50th Anniversary
Signs, Traces and Calligraphy - Barbican Centre, London, Great
Britain
Leighton House Museum London, Great Britain
Images dAfrique at the Barbican Center, London, Great Britain
Images dAfrique at the Kit Museum, Amsterdam, Holland
Images dAfrique at the Odense Museum, Denmark
Arab Book Art at the Bibliothque Nationale Paris, France
ART Basel - 1982
Honorary Medal from the King Ibn Saoud (Saudi Arabia) for his
artworks
Gold Medal of the City of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Iwalewa Center Bayreuth, Germany
Wilfredo Lam Modern Art Center Cuba
The Ludwig Museum - Aachen, Germany
Poster for Amnesty International
Galerie Cobol Copenhagen, Denmark
Duo with Wolfgang Heuwinkel at The Unesco Paris, Berlin and
the Gutenberg Museum in Mayence, Germany
La Hune Paris, France
Rochan Gallery Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi
Dakar Biennial (Jury member)
USIA Invitation in the USA
Citibank International Album
The Arab Woman Court organised by El Taller in Beirut and
Beijing
ATCE (Tunisian Foreign Co-operation Agency) Tunisia
Icograda Zanders Calendar (UN & Unesco) New York & Paris
The International Peace Book (Chantal Bernard - Unesco) France
Graphic Design Biennial of Brno, Czechoslovakia
Tuesday 22
nd
March 2
nd
April
Calligraphic masterpieces by
NJA MAHDAOUI
Emirates Palace AuditoriumFoyer
Tuesday 22
nd
March 2
nd
April
Calligraphic masterpieces by
NJA MAHDAOUI
Emirates Palace AuditoriumFoyer
Nja Mahdaoui is a visual artist and explorer of signs Born in
Tunis in 1937, he currently lives and works in Tunisia For further
information see page 65 or visit wwwnja-mahdaouicom
I
Collections
The British Museum London, Great Britain
The National Museum of African Arts Smithsonian Institution
Washington DC, USA
The National Gallery of Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Bibliothque Nationale Paris, France
Museum of Modern Art - Tunis
Institut du Monde Arabe Paris, France
The National Museum of Scotland, Great Britain
The Ohsaki O Art Museum of Tokyo, Japan
The Modern Art Museum, Baghdad, Iraq
Beit Al Quran, Manama Bahrain
The Royal Museum of Contemporary Art, Amman, Jordan
The Museum of Contemporary Art of Baie Saint-Paul, Canada
HMThe Late King Fahad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Dar Chraiet Museum Tozeur, Tunisia
Japan Foundation
Saudi Aramco
Photography