Cairo Symphony Orchestra

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The Cairo Symphony Orchestra ( Arabic أوركسترا القاهرة السيمفوني, DMG ạ̉wrkstrạ ạlqạhrẗ ạlsymfwny , also Orkestra al-Qāhira al-Simfōnī ) is an Egyptian symphony orchestra that is dedicated to classical music and is based in Cairo.

history

The orchestra, which had initially formed as a radio ensemble from 1956 , was founded under the new name Cairo Symphony Orchestra in 1959 by Franz Litschauer , the first chief conductor. His successors during the founding period were the Serbs Živojin "Gika" Zdravković (1959–1960) and Dušan Miladinović (1960–1963), the Egyptians Ahmed Ebeid (1963–1965) and Youssef El-Sisi (from 1965 with interruptions until 1990) and in the meantime the GDR conductor Gerhart Wiesenhütter (1967–1968) and the Armenian Martin Nersessjan (1973–1974). In the wake of Egypt's rapprochement with the Soviet Union in the Nasser era , the proportion of foreign, especially Eastern European musicians was initially very high at up to 70 percent. That changed in the years after 2000, since then the proportion of Egyptian musicians has risen to up to 80 percent. At the same time, the orchestra also performed works by Egyptian composers in its programs. a. by Abu-Bakr Khairat , Aziz El-Shawan, Ğamāl Abd al-Rahīm , Sayed Awad and Rageh Daoud.

Over the years, especially in the era under Ahmed El Saedi from 1991, the orchestra continuously expanded its repertoire with works from the late Romantic period , Impressionism and early modernism , especially with works by Bruckner , Mahler , Ravel , Debussy and Bartók , Hindemith , Stravinsky , Prokofiev and Shostakovich . In order to offer contemporary composers from the Arab world a forum, El Saedi founded the Arabic Perspectives festival with the orchestra , which took place for the first time in 2002 and has since presented artists such as Marcel Khalifé and Mayas Al Yamani.

The number of well-known guest conductors of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra ranged from Charles Münch and Yehudi Menuhin to Gennadi Roschdestwenski and Daniel Barenboim , who conducted the orchestra in Cairo in 2009 and gave a concert with Beethoven's 5th Symphony , which was also highly regarded for political reasons . Guest soloists such as Rudolf Buchbinder , Abdel Rahman El Bacha , Jörg Demus , Ramzi Yassa, André Navarra , Stefan Vladar , Christian Altenburger , Cristina Ortiz , Anastasia Chebotareva , Viktoria Postnikova and Plácido Domingo have played with the orchestra .

The orchestra also became known outside of Egypt, touring Europe and Asia, for example to China (2004/2006), Jordan (2008) and Germany (among others 2015/2018). Another highlight in the history of the orchestra was the guest performance at the renowned Wiener Musikverein in May 2017 under chief conductor Ahmed El Saedi.

Venues, rows

In the beginning, the orchestra played in the Khedivial Opera House . After its destruction by fire in 1971, the concerts took place in the El Gomhouria Theater. The orchestra finally found a new home in the Cairo Opera House , which opened in 1988 . After an opera orchestra was founded in 1994, the Cairo Symphony Orchestra was able to expand its symphonic repertoire. In 1999 the orchestra was expanded to include an integrated a cappella choir, which also made it possible to perform large oratorios and choral symphonies. The orchestra's offer includes seasonal concert series in the Cairo Opera House (large and small auditorium) and in the Sayed Darwish Theater in Alexandria , as well as concerts for children, school children and families.

Chief conductor since 1991

  • Ahmed El Saedi (1991-2003)
  • Sergio Cárdenas (2003-2004)
  • Christoph-Mathias Mueller (2004-2005)
  • Steven Lloyd Gonzalez (2005-2007)
  • Andreas Spörri (2007-2008)
  • Marcello Mottadelli (2008-2011)
  • Jiří Petrdlík (2011-2014)
  • Ahmed El Saedi (since 2014)

literature

  • Emily Freeman Brown: Cairo Symphony Orchestra . In: A Dictionary for the Modern Conductor . Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland 2015, ISBN 978-0-8108-8400-7 (English, full text in Google Book Search [accessed February 21, 2020]).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Cairo Symphony Orchestra. In: sis.gov.eg. Retrieved February 22, 2020 (English).
  2. ↑ Sherifa Zuhur: Images of Enchantment. Visual and Performing Arts of the Middle East . The American University in Cairo Press, Cairo 2000, ISBN 977-424-467-2 (English, full text in Google Book Search [accessed February 21, 2020]).
  3. ↑ a b c d Cairo Symphony Orchestra History. In: cairo-symphony.com. 2015, accessed on February 21, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b The Cairo Symphony Orchestra at Discogs (English)
  5. ↑ Aziza Sami: Youssef El-Sisi: Not a lights down man. In: Al-Ahram Weekly . November 16, 2000, archived from the original on January 13, 2017 ; accessed on February 21, 2020 (English, Obituary).
  6. ↑ Nils Burchartz: Wiesenhütter, Gerhart. In: Saxon Biography. Institute for Saxon History and Folklore, August 8, 2006, accessed on February 22, 2020 .
  7. ↑ a b Ati Metwaly: The Cairo Symphony Orchestra. Seasonal concerns at the opening of the new orchestral season. In: Al-Ahram . September 8, 2011, accessed February 22, 2020 .
  8. ↑ a b Amal Choucri Catta: A promise unfulfilled. In: Al-Ahram Weekly . February 13, 2003, archived from the original on January 8, 2017 ; accessed on February 21, 2020 (English).
  9. ^ Volkhard Windfuhr : Peacemaker Barenboim in Cairo. In: Der Spiegel . April 17, 2009, accessed February 22, 2020 .
  10. ↑ a b Cairo Symphony Orchestra. In: cairoopera.org. 2013, accessed February 21, 2020 .
  11. ^ Cairo Symphony Chamber Orchestra to perform at the famed Berliner Philharmonic. In: Ahram Online. September 16, 2015, accessed February 21, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Cairo Symphony Orchestra on tour of Germany in Berlin 2018 on: German-Arab Friendship Society
  13. ↑ Cairo Symphony Orchestra in the Wiener Musikverein on: musikverein.at
  14. ↑ Cairo Opera Orchestra on: cairoopera.org
  15. ↑ A Cappella Choir on: cairo-symphony.com