Amal Choucri Catta has a long-awaited reunion Cairo Symphony Orchestra, conductor Ahmed El Saedi, piano soloist Mohamed Saleh, Cairo Opera House Main Hall, 5 October, 9.30 pm A large number of his old fans were happy to see him again on the Opera's main stage at the head of the symphony orchestra. Maestro Ahmed El Saedi, who was principal conductor and musical director of the symphonists from 1991 to 2003, had not appeared on any of the Opera's stages for some four years. In the mean time, however, he founded and formed the Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, 2003, which has given regular concerts at different venues in Cairo. Ahmed El-Saedi is one of Egypt's most reputable conductors; he is the founder of the Cairo International Workshop for Orchestra Conducting and the Arab Perspectives Festival as well as mentor at the Workshop of Prospective Band Conductors in Bahrain. He has performed in highly prestigious venues, such as the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Musikverein Wien, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Kieler Schloss and other concert halls in various countries. He has collaborated with famous soloists and was guest conductor of over 50 orchestras worldwide, among them the Royal Philharmonic, London, the Prague Radio Symphony and the Sofia National Opera. His discography is quite impressive and his achievements have been amply rewarded with a range of prizes from the Villa Lobos Centennial Medal, Brazil, to the State Prize for composition in 1995, the State Prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts in 2000, and the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art in 2004. Maestro Ahmed El-Saedi will be giving six concerts this Season at the head of Cairo Symphony Orchestra in the Main Hall, as well as several concerts with his Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, in the Opera's small hall. For his first concert at the Cairo Opera Main Hall, El-Saedi chose the works of three Austrian composers, starting with Franz Schubert's Eighth Symphony in B-minor, D 759, dubbed "the Unfinished", which is nevertheless the most popular of all the composer's symphonies. Its two movements of a somewhat moderate tempo present themes combining an unusual degree of lyricism with a range of emotions. After an introduction of cello and double-bass, the strings take over their rhythmic murmur, creating an atmosphere of expectation which culminates in a lovely melody of wind instruments. There is as much nostalgic feeling as sadness and suffering in the mood of the composition, though these are, at times, interrupted by sweet melodies and exceptionally tender string sequences. Though ranking among the very greatest of composers in all forms, with an extremely vast output, Franz Schubert is not often on the Cairo symphonists' programme. Born in 1797 in Vienna, where he died in 1828 at the very early age of 31, Schubert has no equal as a composer of songs: the fertility of his melodic invention and his harmonic language are impressive. The lovely Unfinished Symphony was followed by the 13th Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in C-major, KV 415, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Mohamed Saleh at the keys. Among Mozart's numerous concertos for piano and orchestra, the 13th seems to be one of the more festive, requiring large orchestra forces, trumpets, kettle-drums, as well as a richness of the winds and the strings. It must however be said that the extent and range of Mozart's genius are so vast and so bewildering that any summing-up of his achievements must risk sounding trite. He took the musical small change of his day, learned from childhood in the courts of Europe, and transformed all that he thus acquired into a mint of gold. His sense of form and symmetry seems to have been innate and was allied to an infallible craftsmanship, partly learnt and partly instinctive. Less through revolutionary deliberation than the natural superiority of the music he wrote, Mozart changed the course of the symphony, the piano concerto, the string quartet, the sonata and much more besides. There is brilliance and gaiety at the surface of his music, but underneath lies a dark vein of melancholy giving his works an ambivalence which is continually fascinating and provocative. In his 13th concerto we had a brilliantly fluid andante with two rather vivid allegros masterfully performed by soloist and orchestra. Pianist Mohamed Saleh was born in Cairo in 1968. He had a scholarship to the Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatoire, St Petersburg, where he studied piano, accompaniment and chamber music. He graduated in 1996 and pursued his studies in composition. After obtaining a masters from St Petersburg, he was teaching assistant at the University of Connecticut, where he studied piano and chamber music, performing the Khatchaturian Piano Concerto with the university orchestra. In 1998 he was appointed pianist at the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, performing concerts and recitals. The third Austrian composer on the programme that night was, once again, Franz Joseph Haydn, who had graced the orchestra's programme, together with Mozart, the previous week. This time the Maestro had chosen Haydn's Symphony in G-major Hob. 1 : 100, called "the military". Between 1791 and 1795 Haydn had conquered London with a series of concerts that drew in many of the English nobility, not to mention the royal family -- the Prince of Wales became his patron. His fees were huge: when his vast Oratorio, "the Creation" -- one of his last and greatest works -- was premiered in Vienna, he became a colossus. But to this day, many of Franz Joseph Haydn's works remain unknown. His name belongs nevertheless alongside the very greatest in the history of Western music, including Bach, Haendel, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner and Brahms. His music has an extraordinary richness that appeals in equal measure to those who like to intellectualise their musical experience and those who listen instinctively. That night, at the Opera's main hall, the Maestro seemed quite happy with the instrumentalists' performance, though he knows it will take some time for the orchestra to reach the standard they had enjoyed around ten years ago. Nevertheless, Ahmed El-Saedi's fans were joyfully applauding his return. Hopefully, this time he will stay on.
