Don's Views and Reviews - The European-Egyptian Contemporary Music Society and the Egyptian Contemporary Music Ensemble

An exciting new development on the local musical scene is the creation of the European-Egyptian Contemporary Music Society (EECMS), and its spin-off, the Egyptian Contemporary Music Ensemble (ECME). CLEG first reported to you about these new institutions in late October, and now we have some interesting updates.

The EECMS has an ambitious agenda: to present often under-appreciated classical music of the 20th and 21st centuries to Cairo, with an emphasis, when possible, on living composers. Many of these works can be difficult, even to highly knowledgeable listeners, but there are also very intriguing works that are far more accessible to the average listener.

The ECME inaugural concert on 27 October 2010, at AUC’s Ewart Memorial Hall had an exciting array of contemporary pieces, some a bit difficult (at least to this listener), some very accessible, but all captivating. HW Henze’s “In Lieblicher Blaue” (1958) was perhaps the most atonal and difficult work, but even hearing it for the first time its meaning and structure began to emerge. Schoenberg’s “Five pieces for Orchestra” (1909) had even more interest – and it is a work readily available on CD. Most compelling, at least at first listen, was the most modern piece, GF Hass’ brand new “Trio ex uno” (2011) which started with medieval type polyphony and then explored fascinating new directions. The ECME musicians (mostly Egyptians, although some based in other countries of the region or Europe) played these unfamiliar works with great sensitivity and understanding.

An excellent feature of the ECME program was the introductory talk by Dr Christian Meyer from the Schönberg Centre, Vienna, Austria who introduced the composers and the context of their works, highlighting special aspects of both the composition and performance. We hope that this is a tradition that will be continued!

A less happy feature of the inaugural concert was the venue. The cavernous Ewart Memorial Hall is not the best place to launch contemporary chamber music. Even Mozart or Schumann might have difficulty filling that hall! Why not AUC’s Oriental Hall, a far more intimate venue?

But back to the future plans of EECMS. Tentatively scheduled for 9 March 2011 is a Swiss Contemporary Music program, focusing, naturally, on works by Swiss composers, and those who worked in Switzerland. More details will be provided closer to the event. But most interesting, I believe, is that the EECMS plans to draw upon and develop the rich tradition of Egyptian music, with all of its various strands (Arabic, Coptic, Islamic, even Pharaonic). As ECMS Artistic Director Sherif el Razzaz says “There is a great tradition of music in Egypt, with fantastic composers whose works are little known to the public. But often their technical skills are not developed; with these skills and the right exposure we are convinced they could reach international audiences”

The showpiece event for the emphasis on local composers will be the Alexandrina Biennale II in 2011, under the coordination of the ECMS. This festival, combined with the Cairo Contemporary Music Days, follows the successful first Biennale in 2009 presented in cooperation with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) and Cairo Opera House (COH). The Biennale is structured around a series of concerts presented in Cairo and Alexandria by renowned international ensembles. An accompanying series of workshops, seminars and composition development sessions will bring together visiting and local musicians, students and composers for closer interaction and collaboration. The festival Academy activities will be based in Cairo at The American University Cairo (AUC) and the Cairo Conservatoire. New works by Egyptian and other regional composers will be performed. Commissions for new works will be competitively awarded. The “Arabic Composer in Focus” for 2011 is Saed Haddad, a Jordanian presently resident in Germany, who exemplifies the goal of blending the traditional Arab musical culture with contemporary techniques and structures.

ECMS has far more in store for next year. CLEG will continue to follow with great interest their musical journey and will keep you posted about their upcoming events once I get the details.