Amal Choucri Catta is attentive to a hero's demise Symphonic concert, Cairo Symphony Orchestra, conductor Jan Stulen from Amsterdam, violin soloist Hossam Shehata, Venue: Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, 7 May, 9pm When William Shakespeare wrote Coriolanus, a tragedy of the days of Republican Rome, he was inspired by Caius Marcius called Coriolanus, as mentioned in Plutarch's Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans, translated from the Greek into English by Sir Thomas North, in 1579. Caius Marcius is a great soldier, but a proud and arrogant man who treats the citizens with contempt. He wins a great victory for Rome against the Volscians and captures their city, Corioli. Henceforth, he is honoured by the name of Coriolanus and is urged by his friends to seek the consulship. The Senate supports him, but he is opposed by two tribunes: he must also have the people's support. Coriolanus finds it hard to seek the favour of the masses and when the people rise against him, he banishes himself to Antium, putting his sword at the disposal of the Volscian general. Led by Coriolanus, the Volscian army advances to the walls of Rome; his mother Volumnia, his wife Virgilia and his son Marcius come in mourning to the Volscian camp, pleading with him to spare the city. Coriolanus succeeds in making a favourable treaty for the Volscians and returns with his army to Antium. The Volscian general accuses him of betraying them in the interest of Rome and excites the Volscians against him. Coriolanus is cut to pieces by the mob. Inspired by Shakespearean adventures of the Roman hero, a number of authors created their own versions of his tragic destiny. Among them the Austrian Heinrich Joseph von Collin, whose neoclassic Coriolanus would have vanished into oblivion, had it not inspired Ludwig van Beethoven's superb Overture "Coriolan" in C-minor, Opus 62, written in 1807 and opening with thunderous harmonies, heavily syncopated strokes of percussion and strongly accented Sforzati. The overwhelmingly dark theme of tragedy is confronted by a lyrical, E-flat major theme announced by the first violins and beautifully repeated by flutes and winds. The hero, however, has to pay for his sins: he finally destroys himself while fading into a somber Pianissimo. Last Saturday's symphonic concert at Cairo Opera's Main Hall opened with Ludwig van Beethoven's Coriolan under the brilliant bâton of Jan Stulen who has already been applauded at the head of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra and is therefore not unknown to local audiences. Born in Amsterdam in 1942 Stulen studied piano and conducting at his local Music Academy and had his first engagement in Muenster, Germany, in 1964. In 1970 he returned to Holland as principal conductor of the Deutsches Kammer Orchester, Frankfurt am Main, and since 1998 of Nederlands Promenade Orkest. He furthermore works with many other orchestras in Europe, Africa and Asia, while teaching at Maastricht and Rotterdam Conservatories. His CDs comprise a wide variety of compositions. Stulen conducted Cairo Symphony's Coriolan with energy, grace and tonal sensitivity; his poetic insight and musical spontaneity were particularly appreciated. From Beethoven's hero the symphonists turned to one of the most important 20th-century Polish composers: Karol Szymanowskiu who, with Lutoslawski, Penderecki, Gorecki and others, has won international fame. Born in Tymoshovka, Ukraine, in 1882, he died of tuberculosis at the Lausanne Sanatorium in Switzerland in 1937, leaving a number of orchestral and vocal compositions, two operas -- Hagith and King Roger -- and two ballets -- Mandragora and Harnasie. His works are quite unknown to local audiences, though some of them are not devoid of oriental themes, such as Love Songs of Hafiz, of Opus 24 and 26, Six Songs of the Infatuated Muezzin or Song in the Night, composed to a text by Jalaluddin Al- Rumi. Szymanovski is typical of many 20th-century composers who searched for some key to the liberation of what they felt to be their individual characteristics. Through his works can be traced the influence of the different musical tendencies he admired, taking from them what he needed, while experimenting further with atonality, polytonality, mikrotones, elaborate rhythms and declamatory passages. Second on last Saturday's symphonic programme was Szymanowski's First Violin Concerto, Opus 35, which the author completed in 1916. It is a difficult, eloquent work, in one continuous movement, with the violin leading in radiant high pitches, above rather oppressive instrumental sequences. Impressive harmonies, reminiscent of bygone glories, diffuse their mystic shadows over the instruments, while the soloist's nimble fingers dance mirthfully on the strings and his bow seems to enjoy introducing the composer's very own musical conception to a visibly interested and appreciative audience. Violin soloist that evening was the promising young Egyptian Hossam Shehata. Born in Cairo in December 1980, Shehata joined the Cairo Conservatoire in 1987, obtaining his diploma with excellence 10 years later. He participated in the International Wieniawsky Competition in 1997, the International World Youth Musician Festival, Moscow 1998, and the Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris in 1999. Shehata furthermore presented a number of concerts and recitals in different European countries and was awarded a special prize as "top talent" and soloist of the international Master Classes in Holland, in March 2001. He is currently studying at the Maastricht Conservatoire, Holland, to obtain a Master Degree and has been appointed second concertmaster of Cairo Symphony Orchestra since 2003. Shehata is undoubtedly one of the most talented young violinists performing at Cairo's Main Hall. Though he still has a long way to go before acquiring mature virtuosity and purity of sound, while working on his high pitches and his Flautati, his interpretation of Szymanowki's Concerto was excellent. Precise, inspired and refined, his performance was greeted by the audience's cheers. From Poland, Jan Stulen took the orchestra over to Russia, choosing Piotr Ilitch Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony in B- minor, Opus 74, titled "Pathetique". Few composers are more popular with audiences than Tchaikovsky -- his music being extremely tuneful, luxuriously and colourfully scored and filled with emotional fervor directed to the heart. Each of his successes was, however, followed by a period of introspective gloom and melancholy, stemming from psychological defects. Once the gloom was replaced by his love for the world and similar emotions, he turned into the "greatest poet of everyday life" and his compositions were enthusiastically received by international audiences. Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony was premiered in Saint Petersburg in 1893 -- it was his last major composition. Eight days later, he was dead. Strangely enough, the symphony's finale is not, as generally expected, the usual Allegro, but an "Adagio Lamentoso", leading quietly towards the fatal end. Many passages in Tchaikovsky's music are delicately detailed and coloured, while others are fate-laden. Such is the case of his last symphony, the third movement of which, an "Allegro molto vivace" is reminiscent of a lively though solemn march, with the tempo increasing in velocity, while the sound increases in volume and the movement finally ends in a brilliant Fortissimo. The maestro's bâton was ravishing, the orchestra perfect. Then came the end: the superbly eloquent "Lamentoso", which was exceptionally moving. That night Jan Stulen had given his audience a magnificently conducted, superbly colourful concert. It shall not be forgotten.
