If you have been sated on a diet world-class international orchestras, conductors and vocalists performing epoch-defining works by some of the greatest classical composers of the western world (I refer to Abu Dhabi Classics, which is taking its final breaths of the 2010 season this week), then it may be time to turn your attention to Sounds of Arabia. Now in its third year, the nine-day event, which started on Thursday and runs throughout this week until Saturday, presents a gloriously compact view of the Middle Eastern classical sound.
Its line-up of 14 artists from the region consists largely of emerging talent, but the week is also punctuated with performances by several of the Arab world's best-known musicians. Of the frenetic programme, several stand out: Wednesday sees the Syrian singer Sabah Fakhri, a modern-day champion of Tarab, take to the stage. On Thursday, the US-based MESTO (Multi-Ethnic Star Orchestra) will perform highlights from the 20th century Arabic classical repertoire, accompanied by the great Moroccan chanteuse, Karima Skalli.
And to sing us out, we have the fascinating-sounding Iranian Evening on Saturday, which will feature a group of young Iranian musicians accompanying words by the great 14th century poet Hafez with classical Persian "dastgah" music. The second part of the programme will see the percussionists Zarbang performing rhythmic sounds from Persian musical heritage, as well as the surrounding areas. It wouldn't be a music festival, though, without a series of talks and film screenings to accompany the performances.
Worth marking your diaries for is a screening on Wednesday evening of the film Sufi Soul: The Mystic Music of Islam, by Simon Broughton, in which the music journalist explores the various musical traditions at the heart of Sufism, and it shared roots in Islam and Christianity. And so to those last breaths of the classical music festival that has been doling out almost weekly music fixes since October last year, when it opened with the stellar New York Philharmonic and their performances of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 4 and Mahler's Titan Symphony No 1.
The final two performances feature an evening with Evelyn Glennie, one of the world's great percussionists, and the Best of British Gala, a night of rousing classics in the style of "Last Night of the Proms". Dame Evelyn Glennie is the Scottish percussionist who has had more than 100 works written for her and won countless awards. Much has been made of her role as the "world's first full-time solo percussionist".
Surely more interesting, though, is the fact that she owns around 1,800 percussion instruments. Catch her performance on Friday night. And then, of course, the flag-waving extravanganza that is the Best of British Gala is on Saturday night. All that shouting and waving may seem, to non-Brits, rather at odds with classical music's refined reputation; so this is likely to be a slightly more subdued affair than its Royal Albert Hall counterpart in London, where a rowdy crowd sing along to British classics including Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March (Land of Hope and Glory) and Rule, Britannia. Expect a stirring evening, nonetheless.
This week also sees a nice little trio of exhibitions opening at XVA gallery in Dubai, featuring works by the Dubai-based American artist Julia Townsend, as well as two newcomers, the Turkish-American conceptual artist Suzanne Kanatsiz and the abstract Sri Lankan artist Anoma Wijewardene.
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How it works
A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank
Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night
The charge is stored inside a battery
The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode
A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes
This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode
When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again
The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge
No limit on how many times you can charge
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.9-litre%20twin-turbo%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E536hp%20(including%20138hp%20e-motor)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E750Nm%20(including%20400Nm%20e-motor)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh1%2C380%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Test series fixtures
(All matches start at 2pm UAE)
1st Test Lord's, London from Thursday to Monday
2nd Test Nottingham from July 14-18
3rd Test The Oval, London from July 27-31
4th Test Manchester from August 4-8
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
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Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
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