Ati Metwali cherishes an unexpected miscelleny Over the past few weeks, the Cairo Opera House has delighted its audience with several exceptional concerts. Both the Main and Small Halls have a lot to offer, creating a real dilemmas for many music lovers, as Egyptian and international artists take their audiences from chamber to symphonic to lighter music genres. And so the last few days of January spoiled us for choice. Attending a concert in Italy, one of the classical music kingdoms, is a privilege which only a few of us can experience. Attending a concert by the cr�me de la cr�me of the Italian music scene is the next best thing. On January 29th this dream came true when one of the best Italian chamber orchestras gave a memorable concert at the Cairo Opera House Main Hall. The Solisti Veneti Orchestra is acclaimed as one of a handful of first-rate small Italian orchestras specialising in music from the Baroque and early Classicist periods, and topping it up with select pieces from the chamber repertoire. Founded in 1959 by its director and conductor Claudio Scimone (in Padua, Italy), the orchestra has given over 5 thousand concerts in 80 countries around the globe. The Solisti Veneti took part in dozens of prestigious international music festivals; it has contributed to recordings of various film soundtracks and produced several music programmes for Italian radio and television. The orchestra's discography includes over 300 recordings and the group has performed and recorded with many renowned musicians: Placido Domingo, Mstislav Rostropovich, Sviatoslav Richter, Jean-Pierre Rampal, to name but a few. The career of each member of the Solisti Veneti is filled with countless international solo triumphs and their names are often identified with the most valuable and sought-after recordings: Mauro Maur -- a renowned Italian trumpeter and composer; Ugo Orlandi -- one of the dominant figures in the world of international mandolin music; Gabriele Ragghianti -- winner of many prestigious double bass competitions and a great performer; along with Lucio Degani, Lorenzo Guzzoni, Paolo Grazia, Chiara Parrini and many other gems of the musical earth. Their presence together can only combine beauty with professionalism testifying to their talent, skill, dedication and experience. The concert opened with the Egyptian and Italian anthems, but the first to shine was Mauro Maur, playing the Sant'Antonio Concerto in D Major for trumpet by the 18th-century Italian composer Giuseppe Tartini, often described as Baroque Paganini, due to his very demanding compositions for solo musicians. Maur performed flawlessly and with ease. Each note from his piccolo trumpet (which plays an octave higher than a regular trumpet) was poignantly bright and accurate; he excelled at maintaining musical consistency throughout the piece. Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto in D Major for mandolin performed by Ego Orlandi transported the audience into a completely new world, where each note echoed against the complete silence of the attentive hall. With his virtuosity and melodic ease Orlando recalled to the Egyptian audience the splendour of the mandolin and it naturally small sound . This performer's precision left the whole audience breathless; its sound was almost miraculous. The Carnival of Venice composed by Niccolo Paganini constitutes several variations on a theme, each being an extremely challenging piece for the solo violinist. Degani faced all the technical demands of the composer with seemingly effortlessness. Alternation of plucked and bowed phrases and pizzicato accents emphasised the almost acrobatic joy combined with the extraordinary precision of the soloist. In Variations in E flat Major for clarinet and strings by Rossini, on the "La Donna del Lago" theme, the soloist Lorenzo Guzzoni had an exceptionally warm yet decisive sound throughout the various clarinet registers. Clear dialogue with the orchestra underlined a profound understanding between the musicians and Guzzoni's at times humorous attitude towards the conductor took his performance to another level, beyond all technical borders. The second half of the concert included a composition by Giuseppe Manente and a fragment from Verdi's Quartet for Strings in E Minor. Following them was the Concerto for Double-Bass in A Major by Domenico Dragonetti, the mid- 18th-century Italian double-bass virtuoso, showing flowing melodiousness in the second movement and poignant charm and vigor in the third. It is not common to listen to concertos on Double-Bass, and it was definitely a delicious treat to listen to them performed with Gabriele Ragghianti's ...lan. The soloist demonstrated the endless abilities of the Double-Bass, he was confident about demonstrating the range of the instrument from the warmth of its lowest registers to its highest, going through velvet textures similar to the sound of the cello with nearly "falsetto" notes. Antonio Pasculli, born in the mid-19th century, was an Italian composer, one of the distinguished oboists of his times, often called "Paganini of the Oboe." His works, including Simpatici Ricordi della Traviata for Oboe (after themes from Verdi's Traviata) , require a soloist ready to meet the highest technical demands. Similar to other Solisti Veneti performers, Paolo Grazia impressed the audience with his, displaying his circular breathing abilities to astounding effect. With such a well-tailored programme and outstanding musicians, the audience was thrilled. Standing ovations were followed by three encores: the 1st movement from Vivaldi's Four Seasonsm "Summer", a spectacular violin solo by Chiara Parrini; Rossini's Sonata no. 1, performed in a joking style of the Commedia dell'Arte where one of the musicians drops the notes and gets visibly lost in music; and the last movement (titled "La Ritirada di Madrid", the retreat of the Military Night Watch of Madrid) from the String Quintet Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid (Night Music of the Streets of Madrid ) by the 18 th-century composer Luigi Boccherini. The latter piece has a characteristic ending with music fading to the distant pianissimo and then to complete silence, imitating the troops retreat. A wonderful ending for an exquisite concert! Throughout the whole concert, the colours and subtle nuances, the professional perfection of orchestra and individual musicians' alike transported the audience into a world of musical excellence. For many audience members, the concert was a unique occasion to listen to several virtuosi performing exigent works. But underlining their technical perfection does not suffice to express the power of the Solisti Veneti. It seems as if they have surpassed all technical worries decades ago. Now the music they play is like the air they inhale, naturally and effortlessly. Thus they can add much humour and amusement, ensuring that this valuable classical music concert will be a lovely experience for both musicians and audience. The Solisti Veneti enjoy performing, sharing their joy with the audience. It seemed the deserved ovations resonating in the Cairo Opera House Main Hall would never die down.
