The rich melodic culture of Egyptian music from Dina El Wedidi is set alongside the harmonically sophisticated sounds of American jazz mixed with RnB and post-rock by Samora Pinderhughes. It’s an intimate, cross-boundary double bill, the first of two this [ ... ]
Abu Dhabi's new open-air venue Saadiyat Nights is winding up its three-month programme with two big names -- tomorrow night sees John Legend, tonight we get Sir Thomas Jones Woodward OBE. He's into his 80s now, but the voice is [ ... ]
The groundbreaking vision of the iconic Tunisian artist is spotlighted in a performance ranging from folk music to electronica via straight-up rock. Mathlouthi is a songwriter, composer, guitarist, and singer with an otherworldly voice that sounds equally at home in [ ... ]
The last gig in the inaugural three-month series at Abu Dhabi's new open-air venue Saadiyat Nights sees the uber-smooth multi Grammy award winner John Legend on the stage.
The UAE debut of the phenomenally successful Dutch violinist and conductor leading his Johann Strauss Orchestra, chorus, and a lineup of international soloists through a repertoire spanning classical masterpieces, waltzes, show tunes, and iconic songs from film, opera, and musicals. [ ... ]
A pioneer in reviving Islamic chanting heritage in modern arrangements and western harmony, El Tohamy is the son of the noted Sufi chanter Sheikh Yassin El-Tohamy. For this Abu Dhabi Festival concert he presents the world premiere of The Carpenter's [ ... ]
What looks like the largest and most ambitious concert yet – in nearly 60 years of performance – for Dubai Singers & Orchestra. Some 90 singers and a 60-piece orchestra will perform the seven-part requiem mass, one of classical music’s [ ... ]
Dubai Opera describes this as "a landmark musical event certain to leave an indelible imprint on the region's artistic tapestry". With allowances for hyperbole, the PR writer could be right; the MusicAeterna orchestra (and its associated choir) is been the primary [ ... ]
A second (and final) performance for the rather special MusicAeterna orchestra with its unorthodox Greek-born Russian conductor Teodor Currentzis. He founded MusicAeterna in Russia in 2004, when he was serving as principal conductor of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre [ ... ]
Bollywood Sufi from the pride of Rajasthan and his ensemble. Featuring “the finest musicians on an assortment of traditional instruments such as the dholak, harmonium, kartal, kamaycha, sarangi, morchang, bhapang, matka, tambura, bansuri as well as keyboard and saxophone”, we’re [ ... ]
The tenth anniversary of the Emirates Community Symphony Orchestra is being celebrated with a programme of crowdpleasers. Jonathan Grover conducts, the piano soloist for the Chopin is Jelena Matveyshaja. Entrance is free, just email ecsosymphony@gmail.com with the number of tickets [ ... ]
A programme of music by film composer Ludovico Einaudi, performed by the Kazakh chamber ensemble Tynda.Music.
ST-Duo are pianists Sofia Sakhnova and Antonina Luzko, multiple prizewinners in Russia and recipients of a special prize from Yamaha for Best Piano Duet at the 2018 Roma International Piano Competition. They will be playing an entertaining-looking programme, mostly arrangements [ ... ]
It's 200 years since Betthoven's Ninth premiered, and this performance by the Polish National Opera Orchestra with the Dubai Festival Choir under the baton of Patrick Fournillier should provide a suitable tribute to what is undoubtedly a masterpiece of Western [ ... ]
This is the Dubai stop on Eastas Tonne's current international tour, with one concert in each city – Yerevan, Tbilisi, Athens, Istanbul, Limassol, and Dubai. Born in Ukraine, he does not identify himself with any particular nation; he says that [ ... ]
Hayk Petrosyan’s Merci Charles project, initiated in May 2021, pays homage to Charles Aznavour through his iconic songs – more than 20 of them in this concert, with a jazz-flavoured interpretation delivered by the Armenian singer and his band (Vahagn [ ... ]
The second UAE concert for Hayk Petrosyan’s Merci Charles project, a tribute to Charles Aznavour through his iconic songs – more than 20 of them in this concert, with a jazz-flavoured interpretation delivered by the Armenian singer and his band [ ... ]
Diwali would seem an entirely logical extension for the Candlelight series of candle-illuminated musical events. So we're happy to flag up two free concerts for the Festival of Lights, with the plaza in front of Etihad Arena transformed into an [ ... ]
When it comes to the classical repertoire, you don’t get much more mainstream than Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. It seems dangerous, even perhaps sacrilegious, to tinker with this much loved, immensely popular music. But because it has been played so often [ ... ]
On its first ever concert in the UAE, the Seoul Philharmonic under the baton of Jaap Van Zweden is joined by the award-winning violinist Sarah Chang for Shostakovich’s Symphony No.5 in D minor. The programme also includes Beethoven’s Symphony No.5 [ ... ]
The latest in Berklee Abu Dhabi’s concert series showcasing different musical styles and genres. Headlining are Canadian singer-songwriter JP Saxe (soulful R&B-influenced pop: he's on the left in the pic) and Jordanian singer/composer /producer Aziz Maraka (on the right: he's [ ... ]
A second Abu Dhabi Classics concert for the Seoul Philharmonic conducted by Jaap Van Zweden, again featuring a stellar young soloist in Inmo Yang. They will play one of the most popular concertos in the solo violin repertoire, Bruch’s Violin [ ... ]
Top international pianist plus full orchestra and “special guests”plays Disney soundtracks – "a musical and visual experience of Disney’s most popular songs”. Lang Lang has been touring his take on Disney for some time – Disney has a 60-minute TV [ ... ]
... and not just The Snowman: the completely brilliant animated film will be shown with live on-stage musical accompaniment by the National Youth Orchestra under the baton of Jonathan Barrett, but they will also be playing a concert of traditional [ ... ]
The AlMultaqa Harmonic Orchestra blends African rhythms, Arabian melodies, and Sudanese pentatonic notes; this celebration of Afro-Arab culture and identity is realised through On the Brink, described as a "groundbreaking" composition that forges "a brave new path in orchestral music [ ... ]
A Mezzotono concert is always engaging, always interesting. They describe themselves as a small orchestra without instruments – just five voices, quality singing, and a unique style which blends vocal harmonies, beatboxing, and vocal percussion. They aim to cover many [ ... ]
Imperial Orchestra, described as "a modern-day symphony orchestra from St Petersburg" with 120 musicians on stage under the baton of Lev Dunaev, returns to the Coca-Cola Arena for a second concert of orchestral arrangements of well-known cinema themes – including [ ... ]
Does exactly what it claims – the Gulf String Quartet play 65 minutes of popular seasonal tunes by the light of several hundred flame-free candles. There are performances at 6pm and 8pm.
Accolades like "accomplished singer/songwriter" and "talented musician" are bandied about all too easily; Mary Gatchell really does seem to deserve them. Here's a partial CV: A graduate of NYU with a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Theory and Composition [ ... ]
The New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1972; the charismatic Japanese conductor, Yutaka Sado, has been the music director since 2023 and he conducts two concerts to open the 2025 Abu Dhabi Festival. In this first concert, star tenor [ ... ]
In the second concert for the 2025 Abu Dhabi Festival with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yutaka Sado, the orchestra plays Yasushi Akutagawa’s Triptyque for Strings and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5. The soloist is the young rising star Kyohei [ ... ]
A classical music concert for families with children the combines storytelling with live performance of the pieces by Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart and Tchaikovsky to explore the composer's palette of emotions. It's performed by the Baldaquin Ensemble, featuring cellist Petr Gladysh, a [ ... ]
The Baldaquin Ensemble – featuring cellist Petr Gladysh and violists Anna Larionova-Gladysh, Sergei Belozertsev, and Daria Kuchenova – presents a concert of French romantic crowd-pleasers: Debussy Clair de Lune arr for string quartet Debussy String Quartet in G mino Fauré [ ... ]
The uber-cool Pakistani-American singer (and songwriter, and producer) brings her latest – and very good – album Night Reign to Dubai. It's elegantly jazzy, earning a 2024 Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Jazz Album (she didn't win: it was a [ ... ]
Max Richter, a leading figure in contemporary classical music and top film scores (and something of a favourite with Dubai audiences), is touring his latest studio album In a Landscape – field recordings from his travels and from around the [ ... ]
Carl Orff's choral crowdpleaser gets the full production from Dubai Singers & Orchestra – some 120 singers accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra. It will be conducted by Dubai Singers' Music Director Jennie Lee-Foster, The performance will feature a trio of [ ... ]
A concert for Ramadan, featuring less well-known Ramadan songs from across the Arab world that celebrate the Holy Month with music that connects the past and present in an intimate and inspiring evening, performed by Layth Sidiq (violin/voice), Samvel Gasparyan [ ... ]
In Japanese, the word ‘kodo’ can have two meanings – it can be translated as ‘heartbeat’, the primal source of all rhythm, and in a different context it can mean ‘children of the drum’, which reflects the group’s desire to [ ... ]
A second performance for the Abu Dhabi Festival by this troupe of highly skilled Japanese drummers
The KNUA Symphony Orchestra have their Arab World Premiere with this Abu Dhabi Festival performance under the baton of Chung Chi-Yong, one of the country’s most celebrated conductors. For this evening, KNUA Symphony Orchestra the soloists the award-winning violinist Jaewon [ ... ]
This second Abu Dhabi Festival performance for the KNUA Symphony Orchestra is conducted by the Italian-Lebanese maestro Toufic Maatouk and features star soprano Jessica Pratt and top tenor Javier Camarena, singing arias and duets from Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini, Mascagni, Massenet [ ... ]
Violinist Yamen Saadi returns to the Abu Dhabi Festival with a lineup of exceptional young talent, playing alongside the violist Sara Ferrandez and cellists Kian Soltani and Pablo Ferrandez. Saadi, born in Nazareth, joined the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra at 11, [ ... ]
The Encore Performing Arts Series continues with the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) via its Senior Strings Camerata and Concert Band, with prizewinning soloists and Concerto Competition finalists. The Camerata will be conducted by the UAE-based conductor and composer Jonathan Barrett [ ... ]
"A celebration of jazz as a unifying force, bridging musical traditions from around the world". This year’s Jazz Night programme looks a particularly exciting one, and a fitting match for International Jazz day. The artists: Esperanza Spalding (USA) – Berklee [ ... ]
An evening to celebrate International Jazz Day and honour 85 years of Blue Note Records with classics from John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and more. The all-star ensemble is led by award-winning bandleader Peter Long and includes Peter Long [ ... ]
Presented by DCT Abu Dhabi, a five-week citywide series of jazz performances, education programmes and community events in the UNESCO Creative City of Music peaks with the now-traditional All-Star Global Concert. Led by iconic keyboardist Herbie Hancock and hosted by [ ... ]
A slightly belated World Jazz Day celebration in the form of a concert by Grammy Award-winning Egyptian oriental jazz pioneer Fathy Salama with a world premiere of his latest work. He will be joined by the noted bassist André Segone and [ ... ]
A tribute to the iconic Edith Piaf, led by the French-Lebanese singer Manel Mallat and directed by Kristian Abouanni. She is accompanied by an orchestra of 20 musicians, conducted by top film composer Danny Bou-Maroun, who has reimagined Piaf’s classics [ ... ]
A second and final evening for this tribute to the iconic Edith Piaf, led by the French-Lebanese singer Manel Mallat and directed by Kristian Abouanni. She is accompanied by an orchestra of 20 musicians, conducted by top film composer Danny [ ... ]
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