Exemplary musicianship, performance skills and the beauty of European music were all on display at Katara on Wednesday night, as maestro Salvatore Accardo took to the stage with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO).
Accardo, one of the most famous violinists in the world, first conducted the orchestra through Rossini’s ‘Overture to L’Italiana in Algeri’’ before picking up his bow to lead them as soloist throughout two Vivaldi pieces and Beethoven’s ‘Concerto in D Major opus 61 for Violin and Orchestra.’
The evening, which was organised by the Italian embassy in conjunction with the Italian company, FATA and QPO, was held to mark the nation’s National Day and the special occasion of the 150th anniversary of its unification.
And the concert could not have been a more fitting tribute to the history of a culture that has contributed such masters to the canon of classical music as Vivaldi and Rossini among others.
Accardo was joined on stage by his wife, Laura Gorna for the Vivaldi pieces, and the pair played together perfectly.
In particular, the Concerto in D minor showed off their extraordinary talent as they interweaved and combined to produce extraordinarily delicate and powerful moments in equal measure.
Both players were in complete control of their performance, and the combination of both musicians displaying their ability on stage was a joy to behold.
Accardo is almost 70 years old now, but on stage he has the verve and energy of a much younger man, totally engrossed and transformed by the music he plays.
And playing alongside his former student and wife, Gorna, Accardo’s performance was passionate and expressive
Gorna on stage
throughout the evening.
The large audience at the Katara Opera House quite obviously enjoyed the concert, and for followers of the QPO, this was yet another feather to their ever increasingly impressive cap. As always the orchestra was wonderful, providing the perfect accompaniment to Accardo and Gorna’s duets, combining to produce a quite magnificent sound when soloists and orchestra played together.
Quite simply, this was yet another superb evening for QPO and for culture in Qatar in general. As the Italians would say, viva Vivaldi, viva Accardo and viva Italia!
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