The Second Oud Festival, organised by Katara-Cultural Village, concluded on Sunday with a grand concert featuring several renowned musicians from many countries. At the four-day event held under the theme “Al Farabi the Second Master,” oud maestros enchanted the audience with their extraordinary mix of the East and the West.

Al Farabi, a connecting link between different cultures across the Muslim world, has important contributions to culture, philosophy and music.
The final concert of the festival held at Katara's Opera House, was attended by a large crowd and featured about 18 performers. The musicians were from Qatar, Kuwait, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Armenia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iraq and Japan among other countries.
The performance started with a short documentary on oud that featured the origin of the music and the instrument and how it became popular all across the globe. 


Qatari musician Mansour Mohannadi



Kuwaiti musician Saleh al-Juraid



Japanese musican Yoshiko Matsuda


The performers of the evening included renowned musicians such as Mansour Mohannadi from Qatar, Saleh al-Juraid from Kuwait, Jalsa Balasyik from Indonesia, Yoshiko Matsuda from Japan and several other performers who took part in the festival.
The concert started with a superb oud performance accompanied with vocals by a Malaysian and Indonesian band that enthralled the audience with toe-tapping music. It was followed by a scintillating oud performance by Japanese Matsuda and others. The evening continued with individual Oud performances as well as vocal performances by several of the bands. The concert that lasted for about three hours, provided a perfect musical feast for the audience. 
The festival also had an exhibition where oud-makers had displayed their skills and craftsmanship. The exhibition showcased antique oud instruments made by the legendary makers of the stringed instruments.
In addition to the concerts and exhibition, the festival also featured lectures and forums on oud-making. More than 80 artistes had performed at the festival in all. Katara's first oud festival held in March last year was dedicated to Ziryab, the legendary musician of the Arab and Islamic world.

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