Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The German-Syrian violinist Ashraf Kateb and the Russian pianist Mikhail Mordvinov, who lives and works in Berlin, gave two concerts earlier this week at the Goethe Institute and the German Embassy here.

The classical concerts highlighted the Arabic influence on European romantic music and the truly beautiful music composed by Arab composers. The first aim was exemplified by the Arabian song from Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, the second by two pieces by the Syrian composer Dia Succari.

The truly international programs included in addition works by Aram Chatschaturjan, George Gershwin, Astor Piazzolla, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy as well as a piece by Ashraf Kateb himself.

Ambassador Jörg Ranau explained: “With the concerts in the Embassy and the Goethe Institute we continue our series of cultural events, which are meant to be a forum for cultural dialogue and exchange. The biographies of the artists and the selection of pieces prove that music is a truly international art with many cultural references between the European and Arabic traditions.”