Cultural diplomacy was on the programme on Monday at Emirates Palace.
The debut Middle Eastern performance by the European Union Youth Orchestra, as part of the Abu Dhabi Festival, had the fanfare of a diplomatic summit.
Before the orchestra took the stage, Androulla Vassiliou, the European commissioner for education, culture, multilingualism and youth, addressed the auditorium in a recorded video message, where she praised the festival for “its commitment to the role of culture in a complex globalising world”.
This was followed by a troupe of Emirati youth performing the local dance Harbiya.
The European Union Youth Orchestra’s two-hour performance, however, confirmed that they were more than ambassadors of music.
The 118-piece orchestra, conducted by the Russian-born Icelandic maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy, was a force to be reckoned with, with an uncompromising programme consisting of composers such as the Russians Mikhail Glinka and Sergei Rachmaninoff and the Czech Antonin Dvorák.
With the orchestra made up of 14- to 24-year-olds, the pieces chosen reflected the ensemble’s vitality and attention to detail.
The energetic opener, Glinka's Overture: Ruslan and Lyudmila was a showcase of the ensemble's string section.
Ruslan’s exuberant character was effectively portrayed by the sprightly violins, while the high cellos were more contemplative and lyrical in their rendering of Lyudmila.
The French cellist Gautier Capuçon then came on for a scintillating take on one of the world's most famous cello concertos, Dvorák's Cello Concerto in B minor.
The highlight was the adagio section, a deeply lyrical movement where Capuçon’s mournful notes were augmented by flutes.
The second half of the concert belonged to Ashkenazy. The conductor has helmed many performances of Rachmaninoff with several of the world’s leading orchestras – and before that as pianist – and coaxed an incredibly detailed sound out of the European Union Youth Orchestra.
The hour-long Symphony No 2 in E minor was heavy going as it moved from its muscular second movement to a reflective clarinet section in the third before concluding in an energetic percussion finale.
“I felt the concert was very well received. The audience was extremely generous and I feel deeply proud of the orchestra,” said the European Union Youth Orchestra’s chief executive, Marshall Marcus.
“I felt they expressed all the power, commitment and expertise – which is what we are trying to achieve by bringing all these young musicians together.”
sasaeed@thenational.ae
