It was full house at Halim Salfiti Auditorium Saturday night, for a
concert of classical music that featured four first-class performers from the
Amman Chamber Orchestra: pianist Karim Said and violinist Nabih Boulos from
Jordan, and cellist Jena Semaan and violinist Ihab Jamal from Lebanon.
اضافة اعلان
Perhaps the huge attendance was partly the effect of
audiences finally returning to theatres after long months of frustrating
lockdowns, but mainly because of the quality and the beauty
of the music program, combined with the talent of the performers.
Said started the concert with two exquisite piano
compositions by Frederic Chopin, the epitome of classical romantic piano music;
first the Fantaisie-Impromptu in C sharp minor and then the Prelude Op. 28,
known as the “Raindrop”. Said played the two well-known pieces with ease and
elegance, perfectly rendering the dynamics, the nuances, and the spirit of
these two works by the celebrated Polish composer.
Speaking to
Jordan News after the concert, the
musician said that the first piece “I learnt to play when I was a young
student, and it means a lot to me. Technically it is not as difficulty as one
may think, and of course, it is very beautiful”.
As for the “Raindrop” prelude, told the audience
before starting to play that the piece featured a regularly repeated “A flat”
note, that precisely conjures up the sound of raindrops for the listener. The
prelude is written in the “D flat” key.
The second part of the concert brought violinist
Nabih Boulos on stage to join Said to perform Johannes Brahms’ violin sonata
No. 3 in D minor. From the onset Boulos showed his mastery of his instrument:
exceptional precision, delicate alternance between the forte and the piano
dynamics, subtle tonality, and excellent synchronization with Said, confirming
that he is one of the finest and most talented Jordanian classical violinists.
Boulos is now based in Lebanon, but regularly comes
to Jordan to work, collaborate, and perform with the Amman Chamber Orchestra.
Said and Boulos excelled in the particularly challenging fourth movement of the
sonata, the “Presto agitato”.
While playing Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio, the musicians demonstrated amazing synergy, culminating in a brilliant, passionate “Finale” that is annotated by the composer as “Allegro Appassionato.”
The third and last part of the concert consisted of
Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor. It is also a composition in
four movements, like Brahms’ sonata, and was performed by Said, along with his
Lebanese fellow colleagues Semaan and Jamal. More lyrical than Brahms’ sonata,
especially in its slower movements and in the phrases played by the violin, it
particularly appealed to the audience, judging by the applause and by the
comments overheard after the concert. The enthusiasm of the audience was such
that some were unable to refrain from applauding between movements, despite
being specifically asked not to at the beginning of the concert by the
organizers.
While playing Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio, the
musicians demonstrated amazing synergy, culminating in a brilliant, passionate
“Finale” that is annotated by the composer as “Allegro Appassionato”.
Semaan played the cello with a level of expression
and control that belies her young age; one usually imagines that great cellists
are “old” musicians.
According to najihakim.com, Semaan “started learning
cello at the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music.… After graduating
from high school, Jana moved to Berlin where she was granted a scholarship to
pursue cello studies. One year later, she auditioned to the State University of
Music and Performing Arts (HMDK) in Stuttgart…. She is a board member of the
newly founded German-Lebanese Artists Society.”
Speaking of the Piano Trio, Said told
Jordan News:
“Mendelssohn’s music is dear to my heart, and though the German composer is
very well known, of course, I think he deserves an even greater recognition,
globally speaking. I love this Piano Trio and I have played it several times,
in different places and countries, including in the UK and in South
Korea.”
The concert was highly successful and confirmed,
beyond any doubt, that the four young musicians are true virtuosos, probably
among the very best in the entire region.
In addition to being a renowned pianist, Said is
also the conductor of the Amman Chamber Orchestra and the driving force behind
the newly established Amman Institute for Performing Arts, both endeavors
entirely supported by the Arts Foundation of Bank Al-Etihad.
His repertoire hardly stops at the traditional
romantic pieces he played at the concert. He has also recorded works by Arnold
Schoenberg, Leos Janacek, and Bela Bartok.
“My career really took off in Europe after I
recorded Schoenberg’s compositions,” he told
Jordan News.
He resides in Amman but goes to Berlin once a month.
The writer is a computer engineer and a classically
trained pianist and guitarist. He has been regularly writing IT articles,
reviewing music albums, and covering concerts for more than 30 years.
Read more Opinion and Analysis
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
