Qatar Philharmonic season ends on a high note

VETERAN: The orchestra’s music director Han-Na Chang started the concert with the The Sunrise from Seemorgh, a soaring piece of work by Persian composer Behzad Ranjbaran. File Photo

The last concert of the season, Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony show, was sold out

By Anand Holla

As if to express how keenly Doha awaits a new season of soul-soothing concerts of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, the Katara Opera House buzzed with the palpable hum of a full house on Saturday evening. The last concert of the season, Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony show, was sold out and understandably so.

The orchestra’s music director Han-Na Chang walked up on a stage teeming with musicians, paused for a moment – as she always does – and plunged into the The Sunrise from Seemorgh, a soaring piece of work by Persian composer Behzad Ranjbaran.

Known to draw inspiration from his cultural roots and Persian heritage in form or subject matter, Ranjbaran channelled the stories of the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), the national epic poem of Iran, to compose the three orchestral works of The Persian Trilogy. Seemorgh is one of the most intriguing stories in Shahnameh.

Written by the poet Ferdowsi, Shahnameh chronicles the mythological and legendary history of the country from the creation of the world to Persia’s conquest by the Arab conquerors in the seventh century.

In his personal note about Seemorgh, Ranjbaran says, “The composition’s three movements are inspired by the three natural elements of the legend of Seemorgh: the mountain, the moonlight, and the sunrise, respectively. In the final movement, The Sunrise, the main theme is based on the opening theme of the first movement. The movement begins with a hush of drums in which it gradually builds up the thematic fragments to a heroic statement of the main theme by the horns.”

If the orchestra hadn’t bedazzled the audience enough with Seemorgh, guest soloist Benjamin Schmid decided to take it up a notch. The Austrian violinist, a rare talent who has mastered both the classical repertoire and jazz, performed Erich Korngold’s composition Violin Concerto in D major, Op.35, as the orchestra laid out a solid, lush foundation for him to build on. Having performed with the world’s best orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic and the London Philharmonic, it was time for one of today’s most versatile violinists to enthral Doha via the Qatar Philharmonic.

As for Korngold, the noted Austrian-American composer is often hailed as the man who introduced the nuances of classical musical lingo to Hollywood films. Interestingly, the D major Violin Concerto borrows the thematic material from his film scores such as themes from Anthony Adverse, Juarez, and Another Dawn. These references can be found right until the finale when the fully developed The Prince and Pauper theme can be heard.

So spectacular was Schmid’s performance of this romantic masterpiece in three movements, that the audience wouldn’t stop applauding. To convey his appreciation, Schmid returned to play an encore — a fugue by Belgian composer Eugène Ysaÿe.

The second half was meant to put a fitting end to a special evening. For nearly an hour, the rich strains of Beethoven’s Symphony No.3 in E Flat Major, Op.55 (Eroica) flowed through the hall. The Third Symphony, widely regarded as a milestone in musical history, is also considered to be a sign of the oncoming of Beethoven’s second ascent in his illustrious career.

The composition, which spans across four movements, was originally titled Bonaparte, courtesy Beethoven’s admiration for Napoleon. However, when Napoleon declared himself emperor in 1804, Beethoven scratched out the name with a knife, ripped the paper in half and threw it away. Later, Beethoven gave the lengthy, technically complex piece its current name, giving birth to the “Heroic” style from which orchestral music continues to borrow from even today.

Since the symphony is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, three horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings, it was the clarinets, bassoons and the simmering firepower of the timpani that accentuated the finer points of the composition, every once in a while.

As the musicians took a final bow to the unrelenting cheers and claps of the audience, one patron reluctantly walking towards the exit was heard asking an Orchestra official: “When does the new season begin?”

BELOW:

TALENTED: Guest soloist Benjamin Schmid performed Erich Korngold’s composition Violin Concerto in D major, Op.35, as the orchestra laid out a solid, lush foundation for him to build on.  File photo