1-The review Ive chosen is one written by a member of the orchestra - Etienne Kupelian the principal oboe player

r and chamber music instructor at the National Conservatory of Music in Lebanon !e re"ularly reviews concerts and animates musical events and soirees In my opinion# out of the many reviewers# his article is the most interestin" one especially that it comes from someone who has a deep and technical understandin" of the issues relatin" to performances $since bein" a performer himself% whereas other reviewers content themselves with "eneral observations that are more close to bein" similar to pro"ram notes# due to a lac& of serious musical education The review is in 'rench and published on his facebook pa"e $http())www faceboo& com)etienne &upelian% Ive attached a copy of it in case his facebook pa"e can only be viewed by his friends The reviewer starts his article by praisin" the 'rench musician-friend of the Lebanese musical scene who has made his ei"hth appearance with the *hilharmonic orchestra in the time span of ten years Naturally# accordin" to the reviewer# the e+perienced conductor succeeded in transformin" a pro"ram - which most conductors would re"ard as traditionalist - into an inspirin" moment ta&in" complete control over the orchestra and ma&in" its members receptive to his sli"htest intentions ,econdly# the reviewer discusses the choice of the pro"ram itself which he described as eclectic# or varied in that it can be considered as a -ourney of wor&s written by composers from different "eo"raphical locations# a pro"ram tin"ed mostly with romantic colors In the third &ey point $probably the most interestin" one% the reviewer discusses the technical aspects of the performance where he notes that the delicate woodwinds part in Semiramide for e+ample# particularly the piccolo# was successfully and ele"antly addressed by the conductor In the Steppes of Central Asia is also a score that contains some technical problems to be solved( the .n"lish horns noble phrasin" underlined successfully the beautifully crafted oriental melody In Gymnopdies# the reviewer notes that the li"htly orchestrated pieces so characteristic of the orchestral colors and te+tures of the late 1/th century)early 01th century 'rench music was ade2uately placed in the pro"ram before the heavier orchestrated Die Moldau with hi"h 3ermanic orchestral influences# the whole bein" crowned by a paintin" of firewor& of sounds# the virtuosic olro of 4avel "reeted by a storm of applause from an enthusiastic audience 0- 5n the evenin" of March 06th# the Lebanese philharmonic 5rchestra members "athered for a memorable performance led by 'rench 3uest conductor# 7lain *8ris The concert hall# which is ori"inally a 9esuit Church with beautiful acoustics located in a :eirut suburb# was completely full by ;h <1 pm and the audience awaited impatiently the start of the concert that included famous pieces written by composers from various ori"ins# a pro"ram tin"ed with romantic colors# still the most favored and cherished musical lan"ua"e of the Lebanese audience The concert opened with 4ossinis Semiramide overture# a wor& of symphonic proportions from the opera Semiramide# written in a style that is reminiscent of Mo=arts ele"antly crafted melodies# and :eethovens star& orchestral contrasts of dynamics( "radually movin" from the softest sound to a ma-estic and "randiose one *ersonally# I consider the be"innin" of the piece as bein" a "reat challen"e from the conductin" perspective due to the re2uired precision of the cellos entrance# answered by various woodwinds and coupled finally by the hi"h strin"s in a crescendo leadin" to a ma-estic > ma-or bloc& played by the orchestra# the whole in a 2uic& conte+t This first challen"e was successfully met by the conductor The beautiful horn passa"e that followed was also well addressed by him with a noble sense of phrasin" in a contrastin" lyrical conte+t In what follows# 4ossinis orchestration has stri&in" resemblances with some passa"es found in :eethovens symphonies# which probably shows that 4ossini has spent some time studyin" the masters wor&s 7s mentioned by the reviewer# the woodwinds have the "reatest load in this piece and the conductor must insure precise synchroni=ation with the other instruments( the a"ile parts of the clarinet# the flute and especially the piccolo would only add to these difficulties !owever# I thin& that the

conductors interpretation communicated faithfully the musics boundless ener"y# aided by an e+cellent contribution from the orchestras woodwind section Movin" to the second item of the pro"ram# :orodins symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia constituted an interestin" chan"e of scenery to the audience after an ener"etic first piece# where lyricism and orientalism were in order ?ndoubtedly# the music showcases the "reat nationalistic influences# the obvious conse2uent of :orodin bein" a member of the Kuchka! 7lthou"h the tempo mar&in" indicated by the composer is 7lle"retto con moto# the tempo adopted by the conductor was relatively slow# especially if compared to the different recordin"s found on the mar&et *ersonally# I found his choice of tempo a rather interestin" one especially that it helped to underline the pro"rammatic conte+t of the music( the slow movement of a caravan in a sandy and hot scenery The conductor seemed well in control from the be"innin" as we heard the violins soundin" as if theyre emer"in" from silence( a most challen"in" debut that was handled ele"antly by *8ris !ere a"ain# the reviewer advanced a well-placed ar"ument( the lon" phrase played by the .n"lish horn had a sense of noble and delicate phrasin"# undisputedly the obvious mar& of the conductor 4ecently# the direction of the 5rchestra decided to include wor&s from Lebanese composers in every concert Its within this conte+t that @anaans symphonic poem falls 7lthou"h composed in 0111# it was performed for the first time that ni"ht The piece is well written and orchestrated and built around three principal motives Mar&ed by obvious romantic traits# the music is lyrical and reminiscent of the 3erman style of the late nineteenth century# with some Mahler and Aa"nerian sounds# especially in the orchestration( almost all the instruments seem to be involved all the time# which creates some moments of heaviness in the te+ture !owever# the sound of the orchestra remained in "eneral a balanced one with a successful distribution of the orchestral wei"ht amon" the different families of the orchestra The 'rench repertoire constitutes definitely the predilection domain of the 'rench "uest conductor >urin" rehearsals# *8ris had spo&en e+tensively to the orchestra members about the characteristics of 'rench music of the early 01th century# namely >ebussy and 4avel# so tells me the harpsichordist and celesta player Naturally# this "ave the players some si"nificant insi"ht about what to emphasi=e and underline in their performance 7way from the heavy 3erman orchestrations of the same period# >ebussy favored li"ht and ethereal te+tures# probably the mar&in" characteristic of 'rench music durin" "a elle #po$ue The two pieces are simple and deprived of any harmonic and structural complications and >ebussys orchestration reflects closely the simplistic colors evo&ed by ,atie by an economy of selection of orchestral instruments consistin" of a small contin"ent of woodwinds# horns and divisi strin"s Capturin" in performance the spirit of the score was a challen"e successfully met by the conductor( the different colors in te+tures in both "ymnopBdies and the subtle nuances of sounds and dynamics were faithfully communicated to the audience leavin" them with an impression of va"ue melancholy# mysticism and e+oticism Die Moldau# ne+t in pro"ram# is probably one of the most favorite pieces in the 4omantic musical repertoire with "reat nationalistic influences The listener follows the path of the Moldau 4iver all the way from its source in the :ohemian forest until it reaches the 3erman .lbe 4iver# whilst e+periencin" a host of si"hts and sounds alon" the ban&s of the river that flows throu"h *ra"ue The music is lyrical and flowin" with an orchestration that showcases 3ermanic influences The introduction of the 4iver theme by the violins supported by the ripplin" fi"ures in the low strin"s was inspirin" from the start# veiled with a scent of :ohemian nature !orns and trumpets sounded well synchroni=ed in the huntin" scene while the peasant dance# hi"hli"hted by the e+a""erated staccato fi"ures played by the violins and woodwinds was reminiscent of a rustic fol& tune The nymphs in moonli"ht scene was beautifully and mysteriously portrayed by the lon" notes of the double reeds The river flowin" in the ,aint 9ohns rapids was interestin"ly reflected in the a"itated dialo"ue between brass and woodwinds buildin" to a clima+ then dyin" out until the re-e+position of the ma-estic river theme in Ma-or played by the whole orchestra followed by the fadin" away of strin"s at the end *8ris rendition of the music was characteri=ed by a meticulous wor&# aimin" directly at what is essential# without drownin" in unnecessary details

4avels olro came to close the performance on a festive tone *recise synchroni=ation# virtuosity but mainly tension and dynamism were the conductors final recipe for a concert that will end in a feast of sounds depicted by different instrumental combinations with a te+ture that becomes "radually dense until its e+plosion in a bath of sounds performed by the entire orchestra( a memorable moment that was followed by a storm of applause from a satisfied public who hailed a conductor who &nows how to choose meticulously his pro"rams The course was e+tremely important in for"in" a deep understandin" of the main styles from the 1;th century up to the contemporary period# as well as helpin" understand the social and political factors behind the creation and transformation of artistic tastes and the intimate relation between all forms of artistic e+pression in a "iven period# especially music and paintin"# an understandin" valuable to the formation of every musician whoCs serious about his 7rt

>ear *rofessor 4udolph# Dour opinion of my wor& durin" this semester is a testimony that cannot but ma&e me feel proud# especially comin" from you ICd li&e to than& you for a fruitful term where your fle+ibility# valuable feedbac& and clarity of e+planations were only to ma&e our learnin" e+perience a successful one Than& you a"ain and I wish all the success in your future pro-ects and courses 'adi @allab