CAIRO - The Latin American countries have recently celebrated 200 years of independence with a concert performed by a Latin American orchestra in the Main Hall of the Cairo Opera House, with the participation of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. The concert drew a gathering of people from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela, celebrating their independence. The event was led by young Egyptian conductor Nayer Nagui, who presented several contemporary symphonies from these seven Latin American countries, highlighting their musical culture and heritage. All the symphonies were from the same period of the 20th and 21st centuries. The concert started with two Colombian symphonies. The first was 'La Gota Fria' (The Cold Drop), composed by Emiliano Zuleta (1912-2005) and arranged by Victoriano Valencia. The second symphony was 'Colombia Tierra Querida' (Colombia Precious Land) composed by Lucho Bermudes (1912-1994) and arranged by Ruben Dario Comez Prada. Both symphonies perfectly represented Latin American music, depending mainly on dance tones and rhythm, as well as brass, woodwind and stringed instruments. The concert started lightly and was carefully presented by Nagui, popular for his understanding of light music. It was Ecuador's turn next, as the orchestra performed 'La Fiesta de la Coseha' (The Harvest Feast), composed by Luis H. Salgado (1903-1977). The audience loved it and pianist Mohamed Saleh was superb. But the centrepiece of the concert was Astor Piazzolla's 'Histoire du Tango' (Story of Tango), arranged by Uzbekistani flutist Dmitriy Varelas, who has arranged a lot of Piazzolla's works. Piazzolla is no stranger to the Cairo Opera House and the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, where many of his works have been performed by Egyptian guitarist Emad Hamdi. The 'Story of Tango' was magnificently rendered by flutist Inas Abdel-Dayem, who gave a wonderful solo performance, with the participation of other instruments. The four-part symphony constituted a wonderful ending to the first part of the programme. As for the second part, it consisted of a collection of folkloric dances, starting with two dances from Bolivia: 'Diabladas' (Dance of the Devils), arranged by Javier Parrado, and then 'Morenda Tradicional', arranged by Alvaro Monenegro. From Chile, the audience enjoyed Violeta Parra's 'Gracias a la Vida' (Thanks to Life), arranged by Guillermo Rifo, followed by Arturo Marquez's 'Dance No.2', representing Mexico. As for Venezuelans, they performed Aldemaro Romero's 'Fuga con Pajarillo' (Fugue of the little Bird), and 'Alma IIanera' (Soul of the Plains), composed by Pedro Elias Gutierrrez (1870-1954), which is the unofficial national anthem of Venezuela. The anthem was skilfully sung by Egyptian tenor Ragaa el-Din Ahmed, making a marvellous ending to a concert that symbolised friendship between nations. [email protected]
