The closing concert of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra season came so lacklustre it lacked the traditions and characteristics of the international closing celebrations. Nor did it express the great history of the Egyptian orchestra. It was rather a pallid season exposing the national Orchestra's lack of vision. I don't deny that there were some important concerts, which we followed up and reviewed critically, but they came as scattered works not based on a clear plan that could benefit the orchestra and the audience. The closing concert was held at the Main Hall of the Opera House and conducted by the chief conductor of the orchestra, the young Italian conductor Marcello Mottadelli. Therefore, he bears part of the blame. Nevertheless, the lion's share of my criticism is levelled against those who assigned him this task in the first place. The concert lasted for 75 minutes without an intermission as ordered by Mottadelli. This is one of his irksome rebellious characteristics. Moreover, his repeated appearance wearing a T-shirt on the stage, while all the players and the audience were formally dressed as it is usually the case in the concerts of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, is a matter of astonishment. This is not to mention the last-minute changes he used to introduce into the programme, as was the case with Ramzy Yassa's concert in April. According to the annual brochure of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, it was supposed that the orchestra will perform one of Verdi's religious works, which would have been an important addition to the repertoire of the choir and orchestra. Instead, a ten-minute orchestral piece by Verdi started the programme. The concert included three good pieces as two of them were new to the orchestra's repertoire but not suitable for the last concert in the season. The programme opened with the overture Verdi's opera "I Vespri siciliani" (The Sicilian Vespers) written after his operas "Rigoletto", "Il Trovatori", and "La Traviata". It is considered the first work he wrote for Paris Opera House. Its events take place in the 13th century, and unlike his other works, has few melodies and some experimental elements. Although it is not one of his famous operas and is rarely performed, its overture is known as "Sinfonia", and is one of the best overtures written by Verdi. This is mainly due to its expressionism, which was performed brilliantly by the orchestra. In general, this piece does not represent a challenge to the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, because of its simplicity and modesty. The second piece was the famous "Intermezzo" from Mascagni's Opera “Cavalleria Rusticana” (Rustic Chivalry), which was frequently performed by Cairo Symphony Orchestra in the past. The key work of the evening was Symphony No. 2 by Richard Strauss (1864-1949) - one of the most important German composers who paved the way for the 20th century musical and orchestral advances. He was well known for his symphonic poems by which he surpassed the creator of the genre Franz Liszt. His second symphony, which was performed by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, is one of his early works that he composed when he was 19 years old. Therefore, it has some strict conservative ideas and traditional structure. It consists of four movements. The first movement is in a sonata form. Although this work was usually criticised for lacking consistency, it is distinguished by its creativity in the orchestral colouring. Since this symphony is an early work of the composer, it does not represent the best piece for the final concert of the season of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. All the same, the players were excellent, considering the simplicity of the work compared to their experience. As clear from the programme, it lacked the international traditions of the closing concert of the orchestra seasons. One would expect a strong programme both in form and content to express the effort of the orchestra during the entire season, and to display the potential of the musicians and the choir. Large-scale symphonic works are always performed at such closing ceremonies in collaboration with the top soloists - most absent in this concert because the works did not need their presence! This performance should take into account the audience who came to witness a major final concert of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra as was the case in the previous years. Such works are usually loved by the audience for they unleash the full mettle of the orchestra, in addition to their use of the human voices and large choirs, such as Beethoven's 9th symphony. ([email protected])
