Shostakovich and Dvorak by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra

The Cairo Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Hisham Gabr with violin soloist Islam Nour, will perform Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Opus 77 by Soviet-Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich and Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88 by Czech composer Antonín Leopold Dvo?ák, at Cairo's Opera House on 2 November. Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 was composed in 1948 and consists of four movements (instead of the usual three) with a cadenza linking the third and fourth movements. The work was first performed by the Leningrad Philharmonic, conduted by Yevgeny Mravinsky with violin soloist David Oistrakh - a renowned Soviet violinist, who became a close friend of the composer and to whom the concerto is dedicated. Oistrakh is known to have described the concerto's first movement Nocturne as "a suppression of feelings," and the second movement Scherzo as "demoniac." The soloist for Saturday 2 November will be Islam Nour, a young Egyptian violinist, who has performed as a soloist with several orchestras: Cairo Opera Orchestra, Cairo Conservatoire Orchestra, Cairo Symphony Orchestra, and Alexandria Chamber Orchestra. Nour has taken part in several local and international competitions and was a member of the Pionts Quartet, which won first prize at the International Chamber Music Competition in Spain. The second half of the evening will transport the audience to another time through a piece from the Romantic era, Symphony No. 8 in G Major, composed in 1889 by Antonín Dvo?ák. The first performance of this symphony took place in Prague in 1890. It did not take Dvo?ák much time to finish, and was completed in just over two months. "Melodies simply pour out of me," the composer said at the time of working on the piece. Symphony No. 8 is one of the most beloved pieces by the composer, after his 9th "New World" symphony. The orchestra will be conducted by Hisham Gabr, who has conducted many symphonic concerts, operas and ballets with numerous orchestras in Egypt, including Cairo Symphony Orchestra and Cairo Opera Orchestra, among others. He has also collaborated with various international orchestras and has conducted the Mexico State Symphony Orchestra, Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra, Wroclaw Philharmonic Orchestra (Poland) and Astana Philharmonic Orchestra. Programme: Saturday 2 November at 7pm Cairo Opera House main hall, Zamalek, Cairo Source: Ahram online