CLASSICAL MUSIC & ME
As a boy, born and bought up in Kerala, God's Own Country - western classical music was not accessible growing up. The only source was CARTOON Network. Yes, it is!
For example, everyone loves the episode of Tom playing a piano and Jerry trying to sleep; the classical No. plays on it "Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2". As a kid, I admired the music more than the funny parts played by the characters. The cartoons played in Indian 'Cartoon Network' channels at those days are more oriented in Western Classical, by Hanna-Barbera Productions. When listening to "Largo al factotum" for the first time, I didn't even know that its Italian. By the way, Tom is the best performer of "Largo al factotum" ;)
And when I was introduced to INTERNET, things changed. Explored the classical music and fell in love deeper and deeper. I always say to my friends "from Mozart to Michael I listen to all Music - Mozart, Michael & Music." Mozart and Michael Jackson are my favorite musicians. But the top piece of classical music on my play-list is composed by Beethoven, his 9th. I keep listening to it, each time with different conductors, orchestras and sometimes the same conductor and same orchestra but at a different venue. It's a warm, welcoming feeling when baritone soloist, sings "O Freunde...", a heavenly feeling when the choir sings 'Ode to Joy.' From the beginning of the symphony to its epic finale, Beethoven gives us different feelings of life. So much for my love to this symphony, I even named my sisters' wedding theme as "An ode to joy."
My Sister's wedding invitation - April 2018 |
DUBAI OPERA
Dubai Opera - 21/03/2019 |
I moved to UAE (Sharjah) by the end of 2015, by 2016 I was looking for a better job and was settling in. And I heard Dubai Opera is opening with a performance by Plácido Domingo. An Opera House in Dubai!, I was very excited. Exactly four days after Dubai Opera opened I got a better job in Dubai, and I moved to Dubai. But for one thing or another, I was unable to visit Dubai Opera. Of course when I go across the iconic building, I always stop by to admire its architectural beauty.
BBC Proms 2019
Dubai Opera - After the concert - 21/03/2019 |
21/03/2019
Dubai Opera is amazingly beautiful inside, like outside. The fantastic 'Symphony' a light sculpture designed by Libor Sostak made with 1000s of bespoke LEDs is something blows your mind. The concert conducted by Richard Farnes started with a beautiful Cello Concerto by William Walton. A delightful piece of music. Honestly, I was half listening, eager for Beethoven9. No offense to the music of William Walton, waiting for something that we longed for a long lime makes you impatient. Then after the break the host of the evening Petroc Trelawny explained to the audience some facts, like, Beethoven 9 is premiering in Dubai almost 200 years after its world premiere. And this is the first performance of the newly created Dubai Opera Festival Chorus.
Beethoven 9
When Richard Farnes started moving his baton the magic began, the symphony is considered to be one of the supreme achievements in the history of western music! I had listened to it conducted by various maestros in various audio devices. The concerts of Wilhelm Furtwangler, Heribert Karajan & Daniel Barenboim of Beethoven 9 is on my frequent playlist. I cannot explain how different it felt listening live.
What a night! Over 250 musicians and singers on one stage performing the Dubai premiere of Beethoven's Ninth symphony! Not only that, it was also the debut performance of the newly created Dubai Opera Festival Chorus. #BBCPromsDubai #DubaiOpera #Dubai pic.twitter.com/lieXh2V7au— Dubai Opera (@DubaiOpera) March 22, 2019
From the first movement to the third movement I was exploring for sounds and its instrumentalist, knowing what it's going to play next, I moved my eyes towards them. When the finale came, My cousins' face lit up, like "finally something I am familiar is here". The fourth movement of Beethoven 9 is much popular than the first three. When the 'Ode to Joy' theme is played by the cellos and double basses the entire audience's excitement can be felt. From the moment Roderick Williams stared the choral part of the symphony, 'O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!' always knew what it meant, but the first time I felt it. I felt what it said.
The performance of Elizabeth Atherton, Yvonne Howard, Mark le Brocq, Roderick Williams were exquisite. I could never remove their performance from my eyes. Though out the choral part, Dubai Opera Festival Chorus proved to be professional, like always, Dubai creates the best in the world!
When the audience applauded - a standing ovation, Richard Farnes and his team received the audience's honor, my mind was all about Beethoven, and the world premiere of 9th on 7 May 1824 in the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna. If after almost 200 years, the reaction to this music is like this, what would have been Beethoven received! I have read about it,
"the public received the musical hero with the utmost respect and sympathy, listened to his wonderful, gigantic creations with the most absorbed attention and broke out in jubilant applause, often during sections, and repeatedly at the end of them."[18] The audience acclaimed him through standing ovations five times; there were handkerchiefs in the air, hats, raised hands, so that Beethoven, who could not hear the applause, could at least see the ovations.
It's true that legends never die, they live forever!
The following pictures are published by Dubai Opera via their official Twitter:
The following pictures are published by Dubai Opera via their official Twitter: