HX Report
Irishman in the Middle East
Musik 2
Supporting music and the arts in the Middle East is one sure way to fight extremist ideologies.
Thank God Qatar is hugely different from some of its neighbours. There are many clubs or bars where one can go to listen to music, and to enjoy a beer or whatever else might take your fancy. The Doha jazz festival finished last night and a new Salsa Music & Dance club recently opened in a prominent hotel, providing two example of the more relaxed scene in Qatar than exists elsewhere in the region.
The Qatar Philarmonic Orchestra is playing since 2008 and is made up of over 100 professional musicians who were originally recruited mostly in Europe and the Arab World. They play regular concerts at a number of venues, the most recent being the Johann Strauss’ Vienna on Friday night last.
From the website of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra:
The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra performs and promotes western and Arabic music in order to inspire the children and adults of Qatar and the Arab world to create and enjoy music. The Philharmonic is a member of the Qatar Foundation, which is supporting Qatar on its journey from carbon economy to knowledge economy by unlocking human potential.
The orchestra was founded by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned in 2007. The orchestra of 101 musicians was chosen by a jury of international music professionals through auditions held in European and Arab countries. Selection criteria were driven by musician quality. The Philharmonic held its Inaugural Concert on October 30th, 2008, conducted by Lorin Maazel.
MB was surprised not to see the below piece listed on the programme for the evening. But the sneaky German conductor had pulled a fast one on MB and others by keeping it for his encore!
So with the usual apologies for MB’s terrible hand-held camera video, voila:
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PS: How wonderful to hear the Qatar Philharmonic play the Blue Danube! As Paul Simon wrote, “This is the age of miracles and wonders.”
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Thanks H. Unfortunately, as in all regions, the international media only report Paul Simon’s incidents and accidents, hints and allegations. Etc etc. A story about an outstanding orchestra playing great music breaking down barriers and bridging divides will never get a column inch. More’s the pity.
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A story about an outstanding orchestra playing great music breaking down barriers and bridging divides may indeed never get a column inch, dear MB, but it’s still touching lives and changing hearts.
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German conductor = German orthography. Right? 😀
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Right first time H. Was an easy one really!
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Or maybe the others solved it already! No prizes. Only honour!
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In this case I guess I’m late to solve. Interesting. Whereas my mother always fondled me with saying “my hasty girl :))” 😀🤪😬
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Why don’t you write Music word in the way that normal? ( both of your posts were the same. ) I wondered. ( Actually I have an estimation. but i want to hear this from you. And thanks for sharing. We as your readers felt your happiness and excitement due to attendency of the event in the Middle East. In the end, the concepts such as Philharmonic and Symphony or Symphonic belong to Western music culture.
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Thanks L. There is a reason for ‘Musik’ but readers must solve that riddle themselves!
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You are looking so mysterious and banterer Mr. MB. I guess no one knew in this puzzle or riddle until I was asking the questions :))
Well! So how do you plan to collect the answers? And what is the prize for correct answer?
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