CAIRO - In the closing ceremony of the 51st season of Cairo Symphony Orchestra, recently held in the Main Hall of the Cairo Opera House, conductor Marcello Mottadelli and his troupe, with the help of the Opera's superstars, treated the audience to something magnificent, made more magnificent by the fact that many of the works they played rarely get presented. The programme included Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, one of the famous composer's masterpieces and one of the greatest musical compositions ever written. Its fourth movement was particularly innovative in the West, at the time of its composition. In the fourth movement, ‘Presto', the chorus participate with different female or male voices, along with four soloists. For this reason, it is sometimes called the ‘Choral'. The Ninth Symphony, which premiered on May 7, 1924 in Vienna, was the first example of a major composer using voices in a symphony. It consists of four movements, three of which are instrumental, and the baritones sing the famous recitative: Oh friends, not these tones! Rather, let us raise our voices in more pleasing And more joyful sounds! Joy! Joy! With these words, Beethoven made a dramatic transition from instrumental music to choral singing. translated as ‘To Joy', but it is normally called ‘Ode to Joy'. It was written by German poet Friedrich von Schiller in 1785 and revised in 1803. In it, he calls for basic principles like brotherhood, unity and freedom. The Ninth Symphony has a long history with the Egyptian orchestra and is one of the greatest items in its repertoire. It was a tradition of late conductor Youssef el-Sisi to play it in the closing ceremony of every season. The fourth movement has been performed by most of the opera's superstars many times, while conductor Ahmed el-Saeedi has presented this movement several times. Back to our closing ceremony and the Italian conductor Mottadellim, with the A Capella Choir, cleverly presented this work for the first time. Their teamwork was wonderful, for which we've got their trainer Maya Gvineria to thank. The musicians were marvellous. Inas Abdel-Daim, Tareq Mahran, Rasha Yehia, Wessam Ahmed and others were very professional, having played the symphony many times before. They didn't neglect a single tiny detail in the symphony. The music went back and forth from vital and active to sad and quiet throughout the first three movements, with the chorus singing the ‘Ode to Joy', after which Reda el-Wakil, bass-baritone, performed the recitative. El-Wakil's performance reflected his vast experience and great skill. The same was true of Iman Moustafa, soprano, one of the reasons for the success of the show. As for Jolie Faizy, mezzo-soprano, who sang the alto part and Hisham Gabr, tenor, both were new to this symphony, but they were also very professional. The chorus really caught the attention of the audience, but Mottadelli's troupe were excellent too. Mottadelli preserved a wonderful coherence and balance between the soloists, chorus and troupe. [email protected]
