Amal Choucri Catta watches the instrumentalists trading places Symphonic concerts: Cairo Opera Orchestra, conductor Nader Abbassi, soloists Nora Emody (piano), Reham Abbas (flute), Abdel-Hamid and Khaled El-Showeikh (violins), Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, 10 May, 9pm. Cairo Symphony Orchestra, conductor Christoph Mueller, Flamenco dancer Nina Corti, Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, 14 May 9pm. Strange things are happening to Cairo Opera's two main symphonic orchestras: with the Cairo symphonists concentrating on vocal concerts and light music, and the Opera Orchestra eagerly tending towards concerts of symphonic music, audiences are beginning to ask which are the symphonists and which the philharmonists. Several years ago, at a time when the Cairo Symphony Orchestra was basking in the sun of its past glory under the unique bâton of its then principal conductor Ahmed El-Saedi, Cairene audiences were given excellent performances of giant composers such as Gustav Mahler, Anton Bruckner, Dimitri Shostakovitch, Arnold Schoenberg, Richard Strauss and others, as well as the usual quota of compositions by Mendelssohn, Mozart, Grieg, Bizet, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Stravinsky, Brahms, Haydn and many others. Audiences were likewise given concerts of special events, such as the fantastic Turangalila Symphony by Olivier Messiaen -- "Ondes Martenot" inclusive -- worthy of special mention, being the most significant. Maestro Ahmed El-Saedi likewise organised the "Ludwig van Beethoven Festival", the "Twentieth Century Music Festival", the "Music Appreciation Concerts", "Children's Concerts", and several other musical ventures attracting audiences in large numbers. While he was in charge of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Ahmed El-Saedi would never have mixed symphony with Neapoletan songs or Spanish dance, leaving these to the hereto appointed Opera Orchestra. The Maestro did each year, however, give two concerts on the lighter side: the "New Year's Concert", taking place each 31 December and reminiscent of the Viennese "Neujahrskonzert", as well as the "Spring Concert", usually scheduled in the environs of Easter. These two solitary musical events featured lighter compositions by Johann Strauss, Franz Lehar, Carl Maria Ziehrer, Franz von Suppe, as well as Polkas and waltzes by other composers. On the other hand, the Cairo Opera Orchestra, under the excellent bâton of Nader Abbassi, started out with gala concerts of musicals and operettas, attracting audiences in incredible numbers and gaining more friends as time went by. Nader Abbassi's "Galas" were among rare events eagerly awaited by young and old. The Maestro had indeed succeeded in giving Cairo Opera Orchestra's concerts a certain individuality and independence appreciated by performers and audiences alike. Thus, each of the two orchestras enjoyed their very own repertoire, bringing joy, coupled with superb performances to numerous audiences. Unfortunately however, with the advent of Sergio Cardenas, followed by Christoph Mueller at the head of the Symphony Orchestra, what had been built over the course of 10 years by Ahmed El-Saedi was overthrown in two seasons. The symphonists have been turned into an orchestra for all purposes and all kinds of musical entertainment, not leaving much choice for any kind of venture to the Opera Orchestra. Therefore, if Cairo Symphony Orchestra concerts turn Neapoletan and symphonists start playing to the tunes of dancing performances, it is not surprising to see Cairo Opera Orchestra turning classic and even Baroque. Last week the Cairo Opera's Main Hall featured two concerts of this kind: the first, on 10 May, a so-called Gala Concert, presented by the Opera Orchestra and conducted by Nader Abbassi, was dedicated to works by Johann Sebastian Bach, while the second, on 14 May, presented by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, was dedicated to Spanish Flamenco, with celebrated dancer Nina Corti bringing the house down and Maestro Christoph Mueller leaping with joy on the podium. In both cases, the concerts were unique, but they, nevertheless, were not in their rightful place: the dance should have gone to the Opera Orchestra, and Bach performed by the Symphonists. Which brings us once again to a question often asked: why are both orchestras incapable of cohabiting in harmony on Egypt's musical scene and when will Egyptian artists and performers finally learn to live and let live, without trying to copy or imitate each other? Four weeks ago, the Cairo Opera Orchestra dedicated an entire evening to excerpts from Bizet's Carmen, conducted by Nader Abbassi, with singers and instrumentalists presenting all the well and lesser-known arias and tunes. Last Saturday, the Cairo Symphony Orchestra dedicated the entire evening to Spanish music, including excerpts from Bizet's Carmen Suite 1 and 2, with all the tunes presented four weeks ago. Everyone loves Spanish music and everyone loves Carmen -- this however does not justify the repetition of the same tunes at such short intervals. Strangely enough, after having applauded an evening with Bach by the Opera Orchestra, Cairo's Symphonists opened their concert last Saturday with a "Passacaglia and Fugue" by Bach, according to a transcription by Leopold Stokowski. It goes without saying that repeated similarities of this kind could be avoided if there would be a better understanding between the two orchestras. After all, past experiences have shown us that there are more names to musical compositions than Bach or Bizet. It is evident that this season's musical programmes have been established in a rather hurried rush, with little concentration and no artistry. The concert of 10 May opened, in turn, with an extremely interesting "Passacaglia", this time by the German composer Hans Peter Dott -- no stranger to Cairene audiences, having already been applauded at the opera's Main Hall for his Concerto for two pianos, presented two years ago by Ahmed Abu Zahra and Nora Emody. Once again Hungarian pianist Emody opened the Bach-dedicated programme, giving her audience a somewhat ambiguous version of Bach's piano Concerto in D- major, followed by the second Suite for flute and strings in B-minor, with promising young soloist Reham Abbas (who should work on her breathing technique, while trying to give more colour to her musical expression). Bach finally came to a close with the Concerto for two violins in D-minor with soloists Abdel-Hamid and Khaled El-Showeikh. Bach is no an easy composer: he is a great musician with his own "school" and it is not given to every soloist to play Bach the way he should be played. Bach is a whole era and soloists must be capable of "feeling" his music before "playing" it. Though Nader Abbassi did his best on the podium that evening, neither the orchestra nor the four soloists gave a convincing Bach performance. The audience, however, did not seem to mind: they loved the musicians and the orchestra, and most of all, they loved Nader Abbassi's conducting, which is always marvellous. His venture, that evening, was doubtlessly a courageous one and deserves therefore our sincere appreciation. As for the concert of 14 May, with tunes by Bach- Stokowski, Corelli-Geminiani, Soutullo, Bizet, de Falla, Chueca and Ravel, animated by the fabulous dancer Nina Corti, it was just as successful with the audience as Sobhi Bedeir's Neapoletan night. Regardless, however of whether the dance was in its rightful place or not, it must be said that Corti's performance was phenomenal: she dances with feeling, with sensitivity, with concentration and most of all with love. Music seems to be pouring out of her body like endless waves of delight, giving movement to her arms, to her feet, to all of herself and she never seems to tire, but finds joy in the applause and the smiles of her enthralled audience. That night, her encores were numerous -- the Maestro pranced with glee and the audience showered ecstatic ovations upon her, never wanting to leave the hall.
