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Historic Moment for the Gulf as Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra Performs at BBC Proms Festival
One is the grand dame of the classical music world, with a 120-year history and legions of fans around the globe. The other is barely 6 years old, from a relatively new nation that the western world knows little about.
But when the 99 musicians from the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO) take their places on stage in London’s Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms on Sunday, September 7, it will mark a significant moment in history.
The performance will signify the first time a Gulf nation has ever played at the largest and oldest classical-music festival in the world and one that has enjoyed an unbroken run since it began in 1895.
Over the years, the annual, eight-week summer season of about 70 concerts has seen the great and the good pass through the doors of the lofty Royal Albert Hall, the prestigious concert hall opened by Queen Victoria in 1871.
It will be the first time the QPO, founded by Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned to cultivate a greater appreciation of classical music in the region and to showcase Arab music around the world, have played in public in the Royal Albert Hall. They played there once before for a private function hosted by the sheikha. The orchestra’s musical director, Han-Na Chang, is preparing to fly with the troupe for the event, which sold out two months ago.
“In classical music, this is bigger than the World Cup in football,” says Chang.
“It is no exaggeration to say this is the most important concert since the QPO was founded. It is such a big deal for classical music.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to let everyone know what the QPO is. I hope the orchestra enjoys every moment of it and the musicians play their hearts out.
“Each and every one of these musicians will be able to tell their grandchildren about this. It is a momentous thing and can potentially open every door.”
The orchestra’s presence at the Proms owes no small thanks to Chang, a child prodigy and cello soloist who has been performing on stage since she was 11 and whose formidable reputation precedes her.
When she took up her role at QPO a year ago, the Korean musician and conductor immediately got to work on persuading the organisers of the Proms of the ability of her fledgling orchestra.
While they are based in Doha, the members were assembled from 30 countries after comprehensive auditions around the globe carried out by the executive director Kurt Meister, a bassoonist and former manager of the Bavarian State Opera. Only about a dozen of the musicians are from the Arab region, something the founders hope will change over time as more musicians from Qatar and beyond become proficient to world-class standards.
Once the invitation to play at the Proms was received, there was a dilemma over what to play. Eventually, Chang and her team decided on Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 5 in E minor, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor and The Sunrise from Seemorgh, part of Behzad Ranjbaran’s The Persian Trilogy.
Chang, 31, will be marking her debut as a conductor at the Royal Albert Hall, although she has performed there on the cello.
She says the decision on what to play was a difficult one. “We sent in several lists and [the Proms organisers] chose one, which was the Tchaikovsky symphony.”
She adds: “Of course, the conversation drifted in the Russian direction so we chose the piano concerto, which is an amazing balance between being a symphonic work and small-scale chamber music. There is a balance of intimacy and grandiose musical statements.”
But it was when the Proms asked the QPO to bring an additional piece of music from the Middle East that the orchestra were in a quandary.
Chang decided on the eight-minute overture by the Iranian-American Ranjbaran – and in an unexpected twist, discovered the composer had been her theory teacher while she was an 11-year-old pupil at Juilliard music school in New York.
Has the QPO missed a potential opportunity to showcase Arabian music to the world when they play before an audience of about 6,000 in a concert that is broadcast live around the world?
Chang mulls this point: “Many musicians from the orchestra… were anxious that we make a musical statement. I think it is important that QPO plays that role but perhaps less so at its Proms debut.
“The big concern for bringing a contemporary Middle Eastern piece, for myself and the orchestra musically, was that it would stand next to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff.
“We want this Prom to be musically compelling and to convey to the audience this was a wonderful evening of music, regardless of where we come from, who we are or what this means to us.”
Meister adds: “With a young orchestra, it is important you are accepted. I think it is a good ambassador for Qatar.”
The QPO’s concert will be preceded by the Berlin Philharmonic and followed by the Cleveland Orchestra – much more established ensembles that Chang hopes the QPO can emulate “in 50 or 60 years”.
“We are really honoured,” she says.
Tahira Yaqoob
The National