Syrian musicians triumph in the Elbphilharmonie
October 30, 2018
Turkish journalist Can Dündar and the Syrian Expat Philharmonic Orchestra were the protagonists in Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie on October 29. The event, hosted by Germany's Körber Foundation, was simply titled "Speech on Exile & Concert."
It began with a searing yet moving account of the experiences of exiled Turkish journalist Dündar, recounting the startling regression of his homeland into autocratic rule in only five years, and giving a moving account of exile in its outward, and most importantly, inward aspects: "Your exile begins the moment you reject the mainstream," he said.
Read more: Turkish journalist Can Dundar: Erdogan's opponents 'at risk everywhere in the world'
"New Life in Exile" is accordingly one of the three themes currently being focused on by the Körber Foundation, along with "Digital Literacy" and "The Value of Europe."
Dündar's speech came on the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic. It was also the day after regional elections ushered the immigration-hostile AFD party into the last of Germany's 16 state parliaments. Having seen his own country slide into totalitarianism on the back of populist ideas that have underpinned the rise of Germany's far right, Dündar issued a clear warning to his host country.
"If the AFD enters the government, they might send the migrants back, but you will end up as exiles in your own country," he told the Elbphilharmonie concert goers.
Read more: Germany: Immigration officials deny Turkish journalist Adil Yigit will be deported
Sad yet uplifting
It was not all grim politics however, as the speech itself and the subsequent performance quickly proved — especially when conductor Ghassan Alaboud commenced the poignant, endless melancholy of composer Suad Bushnaq's "The Borrowed Dress."
Then the pallette of emotions broadened with "My Beautiful Homeland," with composer Jehad Jazbeh also featuring on solo violin. The merry outbursts had an undertow of sadness that was reminiscent of Jewish klezmer music. Meanwhile, the theme of the evening – exile – seemed vividly evoked in "Passion," composed in 1975 by Dia Succari, that evoked a tender, dignified dance, or perhaps an endless trek.
Contributing to the monumentality of the experience was the acoustic of the "Kleiner Saal" (Small Hall) of the Elbphilharmonie, the trademark bumpy "skin" of its windowless walls magnifying the sound that came from a pared-down version of the orchestra. Reduced to strings, the ensemble easily filled the space aurally.
Read more: Out of brutality, beauty: The Syrian Expat Philharmonic Orchestra
Between tragic stories and sensual delights
One might initially have to overcome inhibitions to go to such an event. Syria today is associated with the unspeakable brutality of war, the suffering of millions of refugees within and beyond the country, along with hundreds of thousands of political asylum seekers in Europe. Yet the aftermath of hearing this mysteriously evocative music is a new curiosity, the listener wanting to know: what are the stories behind these pieces?
Orchestra founder and artistic director Raed Jazbeh explained to DW: "We are gold. In Syria, a country of 32 million people, there are about one hundred classical musicians. Here, in the Syrian Expat Philharmonic Orchestra, there are also about one hundred classical musicians. We are a precious resource."
If the war ended and some orchestra members returned to their native country, that wouldn't be the end of its work, says Jazbeh, but rather a new beginning, a new phase of networking, rebuilding and cross-fertilization of ideas.
Music that gets under the skin
The orchestra created a sound of rich diversity: In-between tones, tiptoing pizzicati and sighing dissonances packed into what sounded like a long, sad song characterize "Syriac Fantasy II," a 2018 composition by Wassim Ibrahim.
But the biggest ovations from the sold-out rows in the auditorium came following Mahmer Mahmoud's 2015 composition, "Roaming," for the oud – a kind of lute from the Middle East. It began with a solo sequence that was interrupted by a medical emergency somewhere in the hall. After restarting, the performance culminated in a dazzlingly virtuosic, jazzy sequence.
All of this gets under the skin. The listener doesn't have to go halfway to emotionally comprehend it, but instead finds oneself awash in feeling.
The unique symphonic sound might only have been born out of the catastrophic destruction of a country. These are not simply artists recreating sounds from an exotic place. Instead, the work with Syrian composers in exile is generating something new, a transmorphing of indigenous sounds into a symphonic context.
Read more: Artists After the Escape: Aeham Ahmad — When music saves a life
Above all, the Syrian Expat Philharmonic generates joyful creativity. The music recalls the feeling of the exiled person who, in Can Dündar's bittersweet yet exhiliarating words, has emerged from loneliness, separation, alienation and despair.
"It gives you the opportunity to leave established motorways in order to carve your own path and to discover skills you didn't know you had," the exiled journalist told the packed crowd.
"The tape over your mouth is gone, as are the shackles on your ankles and the blindfold for your eyes … Leaving your comfortable home to recreate yourself … Like diving into cold water, you may shiver first, but you feel invigorated, rejuvenated, fortified, liberated."