Les Musicales de Baabdath is back this fall with a new edition of the “Strings of Hope 2022” concert series scheduled this year from October 19 to November 12. Considering the crisis that has unleashed a spiraling down of the lives of Lebanese people, Les Musicales de Baabdath now and more than ever before, nurtures the viability and sustainability of a cultural and musical life in Lebanon.
To that end, the organizers maintain their will to offer music lovers free access to high quality classical and jazz music performances. As Lebanon’s musical world navigates unprecedented times forcing many Lebanese artists to expatriate, Les Musicales expresses its support by continuing to organize a yearly festival that allows local performers to regain the spotlight in their home country alongside international guest musicians.
This 6th edition opens with Sinfonietta Beirut, an ensemble comprised of fifteen members of the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra and professors at the Lebanese National Conservatory joined by students with advanced instrumental techniques. This inaugural performance meant for both adults and youngsters is Prokofiev’s iconic Peter and the Wolf. With Étienne Kupélian as the narrator in French language, the performance will take place in Baabdath on Wednesday October 19.
Austrian pianist Aaron Christian Pilsan is the star of two piano recitals following the opening concert. In partnership and with the support of the Austrian Embassy in Beirut and the Lebanese National Conservatory of Music, Les Musicales de Baabdath invites the famed young pianist for a first performance on Friday October 21 at St. Joseph Church – Monot Street in Ashrafieh, and a second one in Baabdath on October 23. In Beirut, Pilsan will perform the 1st book of the Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach. In Baabdath, the Austrian pianist will present a mixed program featuring Bach-Brahms Chaconne for the left hand as well as works by Liszt, Schumann, and Enescu.
Reconnecting the Lebanese Diaspora to their homeland audiences, Les Musicales de Baabdath invites violinist Ihab Jamal and cellist Jana Semaan currently based in Jordan, back to Lebanon to perform alongside Jordanian pianist and conductor Karim Said. On Thursday October 25 in
Baabdath, the newly formed ACO Trio part of the Amman Chamber Orchestra, will perform works by Beethoven and Mendelssohn.
On October 27 in Baabdath, another Lebanese artist in the Diaspora returns to Lebanon to share his music and paintings with his audience. Swiss-based Violist and Painter Ribal Molaeb will perform with Slovenian Violinist Tanja Sonc and pianist Karim Said, all three members of Amman Chamber Orchestra, a program highlighting romantic works by Chopin, Bruch, Brahms and Shostakovich. Molaeb’s paintings will be exhibited in the Baabdath Concert Hall throughout the festival.
Always in celebration of music and for the first time since its creation in 2016, Les Musicales de Baabdath adds a much beloved genre of music to its line-up. A jazz concert is scheduled during the festival with the Arthur Satyan Trio. The great Satyan on the piano, Khachatur Savzyan on double bass and Fouad Afra on drums will present a contemporary jazz concert revolving around arrangements and works by Satyan tinged with Latin tunes. The performance is scheduled for Thursday November 3, 2022 in Baabdath.
To foster the vitality of the musical and cultural life in Lebanon, the organizers are highlighting this year another important element. Youth. This 6th edition of Les Musicales de Baabdath features Kevin Kanaan, a young Lebanese musician who has just stepped in his teenage years. Kanaan who has recently left the Lebanese National Conservatory of Music to complete his studies in Yerevan, returns to Lebanon with his violin to perform alongside 13 years old violinist prodigy Ani Melikyan. Students of Professor Arthur Ter-Hovhanisian, Kanaan and Melikyan will be accompanied on the piano by Liana Harutyunyan. This concert is set for Sunday November 6 in Baabdath. The program features among others, virtuoso works by Paganini, Pablo de Sarasate, Edvard Mirzoyan, and Komitas. Liana Harutyunyan will run the 42 Km of the Beirut Marathon on November 13 wearing the colours of Les Musicales de Baabdath, a symbolic act of solidarity meant to stand for culture and music in Lebanon.
As part of its mission to ensure young musicians have access to a rich musical educational background, Les Musicales de Baabdath and Goethe-Institut Libanon, set up jointly a Chamber Music Mentoring program now in its second year, offering eight students from the Lebanese National Conservatory of Music the opportunity to be mentored by four musicians from DSO-Berlin (Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin). The Lebanese students who have been working for three months on a repertoire overseen by the German musicians, will present their work at the closing concert on Saturday November 12, 2022 in Baabdath. The program will include works by Beethoven, Shostakovich, Grieg as well as the illustrious Quintet for Piano and String op. 81 by Dvorak.
Also with the support of the Goethe-Institut Libanon and preceding the closing concert by a few days, the German mentors of DSO-Berlin invited to Beirut by Goethe-Institut for the mentorship program, will give a chamber music performance on Tuesday November 8, 2022. Elena Rindler on the violin, Adele Bitter on the cello and Holger Groschopp on the piano will perform key masterpieces by Schubert, Mendelssohn and Poulenc.
With the exception of the piano recital scheduled for October 21 at St. Joseph’s Church in Ashrafieh, all concerts will be held in Baabdath in the Parish Hall of the new Maronite Church. It should be noted that free of charge bus transport to Baabdath will be provided for the audience departing from from Beirut, Sami El-Solh Avenue.
All concerts will begin at 8:00 pm sharp. Admission is free of charge and no reservations will be made. Seating will be offered on a first come, first seated basis.
The executive committee of Les Musicales de Baabdath would like to thank all its partners, starting with Embassies and their cultural sections, the Lebanese National Conservatory of Music, the Municipality of Baabdath as well as all the sponsors from the city of Baabdath and elsewhere for their unwavering and continued support.
For additional details about the 2022 program, check Les Musicales de Baabdath website on www.lesmusicales.org and follow Les Musicales de Baabdath on social media.