Egyptian conductor to perform in Germany

Hisham Gabr, Egyptian composer and conductor, will conduct the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra with his program that includes his composition 'To a New World'

On 20 March, the Egyptian composer and conductor Hisham Gabr will conduct the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra in Göttingen, Germany, in a program that will include Rossini's overture 'L'italiana in Algeri' (The Italian Girl in Algiers), Gabr's sinfonia concertante for oud, guitar and orchestra 'To a New World,' and Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56, known as the "Scottish".
Gabr explained to Ahram Online that To a New World is "a dialogue between the oud (the Arabic lute) and guitar: two different instruments that – exactly like our two cultures – originate from the same ancestor."
Gabr's choice of sinfonia concertante as a musical form had specific reasons: "Contrary to the concerto form, the sinfonia is not written for the solo instrument but rather employs soloists to reach an idea. It is about the soloists' virtuosity, but also stress is placed on a concept of dialogue and how the soloists play opposite each other, together and against each other, reaching to and listening to one another."
The world premiere of To a New World took place in February 2013 when the composition was performed by the Wroclaw Philharmonic Orchestra in Poland, conducted by Gabr.
In Göttingen, the soloists of the evening will be Syrian oud player Kinan Idnawi and German lutenist and guitarist Andreas Duker on guitar.
Gabr is a contracted conductor at the Cairo Opera House. Besides his regular commitments as a conductor at the Cairo Opera, Gabr has been invited to conduct many international orchestras in Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Oman, Mexico, and Poland among others.
Apart from conducting, since 2014 Gabr also holds the post of the director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina's Arts Centre in Alexandria.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/125539.aspx