Resuming the flow of symphony from what had turned out to be a fabulous season for Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO) having performed more than 50 public concerts until the summer break in June, three big concerts are now lined up for the first half of October.
Along with two special concerts – Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) to be screened with live accompaniment of the original score performed by QPO, and a live concert by master film composer Patrick Doyle; both in September – QPO’s programme is set to scale new heights in the coming months.
In Blue Danube and Other Orchestral Gems, on October 4 at 7.30pm at QNCC Auditorium 3, Conductor Tung-Chieh Chuang will join Hassan Moataz El Molla on rababa as they join the orchestra in performing Marcel Khalife: From Symphony of Return: Fourth Movement; Marcel Khalife: From Concerto for Rababa and Orchestra: Third Movement; José Pablo Moncayo: Huapango; George Gershwin: Cuban Overture; Attia Sharara: Arabian Suite; Georges Bizet: From Carmen Suite No. 2: Danse bohème; Edvard Grieg: From Peer Gynt, Op. 23: Morning Mood, In the Hall of the Mountain King; Mikhail Glinka: Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila; Hector Berlioz: From The Damnation of Faust: Hungarian March; Johann Strauss, Jr.: On the Beautiful Blue Danube, Op. 314; and Marcel Khalife: Salute. The tickets are priced QR125-175. 
Chuang and El Molla return on October 9 at 7.30pm at QNCC Auditorium 3, for the concert titled Scheherazade. The compositions they would perform are Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Op. 35; Carl Nielsen: From Aladdin, Op. 34/FS 89: Aladdin’s Dream and Dance of the Morning Mist; Chinese Dance; The Market Place in Isfahan; Negro Dance; Marcel Khalife: From Concerto for Rababa and Orchestra: Third Movement; and Camille Saint-Saëns: From Samson and Delilah: Bacchanale. The tickets are priced QR125-175.
Chuang is the celebrated winner of the International Malko Competition 2015 in Copenhagen. The 34-year-old Taiwanese conductor stood out amongst a large field of candidates to win this prestigious award. Previously, Chuang had already won a prize and the Audience Award at the Solti Competition in Frankfurt. He is also a winner of the Gustav Mahler Competition in Bamberg and the Jeunesse Musicales Conducting Competition in Bucharest.
According to the website kdschmid.de, “As a guest conductor, Tung-Chieh Chuang has recently conducted such orchestras as Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Tampere Philharmonic and Qatar Philharmonic. He worked with the 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic and conducted the Filharmonica G Enescu Bucharest, Oviedo Filarmonia, and Sønderjyllands Symphony Orchestra.”
In Fado, The Songs of Portugal, on October 12 at 7.30pm, at QNCC Auditorium 3, conductor Manuel Rebello teams up with vocalist Maria Ana Bobone, and the orchestra to perform a series of interesting compositions: Frederico Valério: Que Deus me Perdoe; Filipa Carvalho: Tudo isto é Fado; Popular: José embala o Menino; Frederico Valério: Fado xuxu; José Afonso: Venham mais; Armandinho: Melancolia; Caco Velho: Barco Negro; Pedro Caldeira Cabral: Danca; José Marques Amaral: Fria Claridade; Alain Oulmann: Com que voz; João Braga: Nome de Mar; Maria Ana Bobone: Auto-retrato; Popular: Senhora do Almortao; Popular: Zanguei-me com o meu amor; and Popular: Maria Faia. The tickets are priced QR125-175.
Maria Ana Bobone, fado singer and piano player, is one of the most accomplished artists in the Portuguese musical scene. After six records and performing constantly in Portugal’s major venues, she is a regular guest at numerous festivals and concert halls throughout the world, says the website Womex. “Her innovating approach has been sustained by a deep respect and knowledge of old traditions, working towards the development of fado’s musical language. This makes Bobone one of the most important and distinct artistic references of today.”