Vanishing euphoria
Amal Choucri Catta finds the Cairo symphony in joyless mood
Cairo Symphony Orchestra, conductor Ramon Shade, Jose Pabolo Moncayo, "Homenaje a Cervantes" for two oboes and strings, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra, in C Major, KV 299, Georges Bizet, Symphony in C Major. Soloists: Inas Abdel-Dayem, flute, Amira Hamed, Harp. Venue: Cairo Opera House, Main Hall, Saturday, 30 November, 9.30pm
Only the strings marched onto the stage for the first performance, together with two oboes. Homenaje a Cervantes, a composition by Mexican Jose Pabolo Moncayo, didn't require a full orchestra. It is written in nostalgic mood, fluctuating between three Lentos and two Allegros, reminiscent of Don Quixote, naive champion of goodness, whose adventures took him far from home. A melodious, romantic Lento introduced us to Dulcinea, lovely lady of the Don's dreams, while the Allegro came on in strong chords, solemnly recalling the Don's seizure by bandits after his futile tilting at windmills, and then the Lento returned, softly evoking the errant knight of bygone battles.
This was a colourful piece of music, paying tribute to the genius of Miguel de Cervantes, who spent as much time in prison as he did writing. Under the baton of Mexican Ramon Shade, this passionate homage to Cervantes was interpreted with a certain subtlety by the strings and the oboes though the overwhelming impression was of a failure to grasp the symbolism of the composition.
The Cairo Symphony Orchestra experienced some difficulty stepping from one style into the next: abandoning the Latin mood of Pabolo Moncayo, they turned towards the glittering charm of Mozart. His Concerto in C Major for flute, harp and orchestra, KV 299, was interpreted by flautist Inas Abdel-Dayem and the young harpist Amira Hamed, a budding musician doing her post-graduate studies at the Cairo Conservatoire. She shows much promise and has much to learn. The purity of Inas Abdel-Dayem's playing was admirable, her intonation flawless, her technique perfect enough to make for a spontaneous-sounding response to Mozart's exuberance. Her patience with the harpist, too, was wonderful: she gave her all the clues while Amira Hamed just dashed away on her harp, following her own tempo, often oblivious of the orchestra, the maestro or the flute.
The Concerto opens with something like a fanfare on the flute. If there is brilliance and gaiety on the surface of this music, beneath lies a dark vein of melancholy which gives this work an ambivalence that is provocative and fascinating. The Concerto was commissioned by the count of Guines, a former ambassador to London and an amateur musician. His daughter was one of Mozart's pupils and, according to Mozart himself, the Count played the flute "excellently", his daughter the harp "magnificently". However, unfortunately for Mozart, the Count was reluctant to pay for the work he had commissioned.
Mozart knew how to please his audiences, and the Concerto for flute and harp, with its brilliant Allegro, its rich Andantino and its lively Rondo, with its perfectly interpreted Cadenzas, is one such piece of gallant music, resplendent with lively melodies and enrapturing tunes -- a perfect crowd pleaser. The audience loved it.
From the Danube the orchestra went over to the Seine, choosing Georges Bizet and the Symphony in C-major, composed in 1855, at the age of 17. Bizet had studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, and his symphony had remained there until 1933, when it was perchance discovered and given its first performance in Basle, in 1935, under the baton of Felix Weingartner. Since then it has taken its rightful place among the international repertoire. Its first movement, an alert Allegro Vivo, presents two main themes, culminating in a rather sad Adagio, reminiscent of the smugglers' act in Carmen, when the oboe sings a melancholic melody to the accompaniment of low Pizzicatos by the strings. The Allegro Vivace of the third movement introduced a trio, graceful, fresh and filled with the peaceful joy of a pastoral. Then comes the Finale Allegro Vivace, based on a deliciously subtle theme beautifully presented by the violins. Bizet was as brilliant a pianist as he was a composer: he died at the age of 37, leaving to posterity eight operas, a number of orchestral works, chorals, songs and music for the piano. He is one of the great masters of lyric French art. His symphony was well received, though the audience had mainly come to applaud Inas Abdel-Dayem and her magic flute. First flautist of Egypt, she has been awarded a number of prizes in France, Japan and Egypt, and has toured several countries in Europe, as well as the US. She is a brilliant performer and a highly appreciated musician.
This was the last symphonic concert for the month of Ramadan: the Cairo Symphony has not been particularly in vogue during the holy month, which cannot be said of the Cairo Opera Orchestra, which has been given the lion's share of performances. This is really quite unfair -- the Cairo Symphony Orchestra is, after all, charged with the season's full load of instrumental concerts while the Cairo Opera Orchestra should, by rights, be concentrating on the orchestral performance of operas and ballets.
The musicians of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra seem, however, to be in a meditative mood of late. Their enthusiasm appears to have receded as they brood over an unknown future under the baton of the new conductor everyone is expecting in the coming season. One hopes that this despondency will not last too long and that their performances will pick up. Regretfully last Saturday's concert, though it had moments of charm was, for far the greater part of the evening lack-lustre and desultory. It is hardly a mood to be repeated in the three festive concerts scheduled for Christmas and the New Year. Audiences then will want rather more joy than was on offer tonight.
