Award-winning Violinist Stella Chen Performs at InClassica Concert

InClassica 2021 is the biggest and most ambitious music festival to ever take place in the Middle East, welcoming a staggering 37 world-renowned soloists, 7 celebrated orchestras and 12 leading conductors to Dubai for a 30-day celebration of sublime musicianship, world-class performance and international collaboration. InClassica is pleased to present the biggest names in classical music today, featuring performers from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas, for an unrivalled programme of phenomenal concerts taking place at the Dubai Opera and Coca-Cola Arena. The festival features a range of music from distinguished historical European composers, as well as works from the event’s Composer-in-Residence, Alexey Shor. 

Last night at InClassica

Fascinating Insights of the Great German Masters
Coca-Cola Arena

Johannes Brahms used a theme he attributed to Joseph Haydn to show his own mastery of form and give himself the opportunity to experiment with symphonic structures. Inspiration is also essential to Alexey Shor's music. His Concerto for violin and orchestra Phantasms is a spectacular, melodious bravura piece that proves why Shor's compositions are appreciated by top orchestras and famous soloists like Stella Chen who played the violin in this concert. The four-note opening motif of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No 5 is, without any doubt, known all over the world even by those who do not particularly like classical music. Listening to Mahler's adjustments of Beethoven's symphony provides fascinating insights into the performance practice of Mahler's time and is a truly rewarding experience.

Stella Chen
 - How did you enjoy the performance? “I loved it. I always get so nervous, but after the pandemic it’s more gratitude, so every time I get onstage I’m so happy to be there and see people.”
 - How did it feel to be performing Alexey Shor’s Phantasms in a different venue, orchestra and conductor following your appearance at the Symphonic Middle East Festival in June? “I never get bored of playing the same piece, absolutely not. There are endless things to discover, and a different audience, different people and a different situation.”
- How was the experience working with the orchestra and conductor? “It was fantastic, they’re so quick and Maestro Francis doesn’t miss a beat, frequently switching between German and English, and he remembers everything — it’s really great.”
 - About the venue, how did it feel acoustically in the space? “It was a little bit scary as it is such a big space...but it felt pretty good and I had a very supportive orchestra.”
 - How was everything from an organisational perspective? “Absolutely perfect. Smooth sailing all the way.”

Michael Francis
 - How was your experience of the concert? “For us it was a very enjoyable concert. We enjoyed the atmosphere of the hall and how the people responded, it was very nice and very warm; they were a wonderful audience. It was a pleasure for us. It was the first time that we got to play Beethoven in the Mahler arrangement so that was enjoyable for us to have fun with that as well.”
 - How did you find the venue and the hall itself? “Well it’s clearly a hall designed as an arena but I think they did a very good job of turning it into something in which the music still sounds good. It’s not designed for classical music but they did a good job of arranging it so that it has a very respectable acoustic.”
 - Can you tell us something about your collaboration with Stella Chen? “It went extremely well. She’s an extremely gifted musician and she drew out the very best of the music in the right way; I thought she brought a real personality to it, and I look forward to working with her again. The work she played - Shor’s ‘Phantasms’ - seemed very appealing; people really enjoyed listening to it and I thought it was very well received by the audience”
 - How did everything go from an organisational sense for you? “Very very well. We’ve been very well looked after by everyone here. My congratulations to them all.”

Quotes From Those in Attendance: 

“It was a really great concert, I’m a big classical music fan but I hadn’t heard the work by Alexey Shor before so that was really nice to hear as well.” — audience member
“I play violin myself so it was wonderful to hear Stella Chen! She’s simply incredible!” — audience member
“It’s interesting that the concert was here in an arena...I wasn’t sure what to expect at first to be honest, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Great night.”  — audience member 

Tonight at InClassica*

Poetic Inspirations
Coca-Cola Arena

When Karl Adolf Suckow translated Lord Byron's dramatic poem Manfred into German, he thought of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy as the ideal composer for his words. Eventually, Robert Schumann was to become the composer of an incidental music based on the translation that was inaugurated in 1852, under the baton of Franz Liszt. Also, Ernest Chausson's Poème was inspired by poetry, as the title clearly states and gives the soloist, Anna Tifu, the opportunity to show the expressive qualities and romantic colours of her violin. For the finale of the concert, Michael Francis and the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz have chosen Johannes Brahms's Symphony No. 1 – a truly personal milestone that contributed to finding new paths after Beethoven's titanic oeuvre.

• Anna Tifu
• Michael Francis
• Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz

*Full details (including quotes from performers and attendees) will be available tomorrow. For any enquiries regarding tonight’s performance, please contact us.

Organised by the European Foundation for Support of Culture and SAMIT Event Group, the 2021 Edition of the InClassica International Music Festival is currently underway, with daily concerts taking place until the 26th of September. For more information or to book tickets, please visit the official website at inclassica.com.