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Beethoven and more 2011 podcast #35: Patience, perseverence, idealism

October 14, 2011

A piece of sound painting symbolizes the character of the Iraqi people and gives a sense of the grandeur of that often misunderstood nation.

https://p.dw.com/p/12sNX
National Youth Orchestra of Iraq rehearing in the Beethoven Hall in Bonn
National Youth Orchestra of IraqImage: DW

Mohammed Amin Ezzat
Desert Camel (commissioned by Deutsche Welle)
National Youth Orchestra Iraq
Members of the German National Youth Orchestra
Conductor: Paul MacAlindin
MP3 recorded on October 1, 2011 in the Beethoven Hall Bonn by Deutsche Welle (DW)

33 young Iraqi musicians met for the first time in 2009 during a two-week summer academy. The National Youth Orchestra of Iraq received support from the Kurdish government in Iraq and the British Council but exists most importantly on the strength of the musicians' own enormous dedication. Most of them are self-taught and receive instruction from tutors abroad via internet live stream. Some actually have to justify their musical hobby to friends, family and neighbors skeptical of Western music.

Deutsche Welle and the Beethovenfest continued the youth orchestra project at the 2011 Beethovenfest. After a rehearsal phase in the Iraqi city of Arbil and two weeks in Bonn came the Campus Concert. The program included "Desert Camel" by Mohammed Amin Ezzat, an Arab-Iraqi composer living in Baghdad.

Ezzat is Principal Ponductor of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra. He sums up his new composition in these words: "Desert Camel is a dramatic work telling the story of a camel and its mate. He is like a desert ship because of his patience, courage and his ability to withstand the open desert... There are no barriers between him and the rest of the world in his struggle to survive."

Author: Rick Fulker
Editor: Suzanne Cords