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Saudi Orchestra…Artistic Experience Raising National Music to International Horizons

Since February 2020, the Music Commission has worked to develop the infrastructure for musical culture in the Kingdom (SPA).
Since February 2020, the Music Commission has worked to develop the infrastructure for musical culture in the Kingdom (SPA).
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Saudi Orchestra…Artistic Experience Raising National Music to International Horizons

Since February 2020, the Music Commission has worked to develop the infrastructure for musical culture in the Kingdom (SPA).
Since February 2020, the Music Commission has worked to develop the infrastructure for musical culture in the Kingdom (SPA).

When a group of international musicians stood on the sidelines of the G20’s ministers of culture’s meeting in India to perform “Sur Vasudha”, celebrating the musical heritage of these countries, the head of the Saudi Orchestra appeared in their national garment and Arabic accent to partake in the song, which described the whole world as one family. From India, to France, Mexico, Jordan, and many other countries, the Saudi National Orchestra has played a universal musical language that connects people from around the world, and reminds them of what they have in common.

In every international event, with the participation of around 70 Saudi performers and instrument players, the National Saudi Orchestra and Choir perform a bouquet of folkloric, patriotic, and modern songs that highlight the Saudi musical culture, and the special products of the national music library.

The Saudi Orchestra led unprecedented international events in which it blended the diverse and rich Saudi musical folklore with the music of the hosting countries. On social media, fans shared some of the exceptional pieces the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir performed with other international groups, including the Carlos Chávez Orchestra at Mexico’s National Theater, where the audience genuinely applauded in appreciation of the great performance blending the two musical experiences.

An 80-year-old experience

The Saudi National Orchestra and Choir debuted as an early experience, in 1942, when Saudi Defense Minister, Prince Mansour bin Abdulaziz named renowned artist and one of the first Saudi composers, Tariq Abdul-Hakim to form a military music band, which became the core of an artistic journey that grew with time and helped create a unique Saudi musical identity.

Abdul-Hakim traveled to Egypt in 1952, to start the preparations for a Saudi orchestra. During his trip, he met with esteemed Arabic and Egyptian musicians, who helped shape his musical taste and journey. Back from his trip, which also included Lebanon, he started founding the first military music institute in the kingdom, and a musical group that paved the road for a prospering artistic era.

New phase and promising start

In 2019, in light of a rising momentum in the culture sector, the Saudi Culture Ministry announced the formation of the Saudi National Music Band, and the development of a professional team that represents the kingdom internationally, and promotes the Saudi music and musical heritage around the globe. The ministry chose the Saudi esteemed crooner, Abdel Rab Idris, who convoyed the Saudi music experience since its early days, to build the national team and teach different types of Arabic and international music, as well as supporting and promoting the music industry in Saudi Arabia, and spreading the national musical folklore around the world.

Following the revelation of a new cultural network in the kingdom led by the ministry of culture, which distributed the sector’s missions on 11 specialized commissions, the Saudi Music Commission launched in 2021 its own strategy to develop and support music in the kingdom in accordance with the Vision 2030. As part of its strategy, the commission has supported the outlets that facilitate access to the Saudi music product, enhanced the presence of the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir, an upgraded version of the Saudi National Music Band born in 2019.

Symbolic power and cultural identity

Maestro Imad Zaree said the National Orchestra and Choir represent the Saudi musical heritage on the international level, and provides a support system for the Saudi artists and musician in different fields. He also noted that the national band supports the local artistic movement with the discovery of talents and their qualification through specially-curated programs, as well as supporting the different art fields, promoting the Saudi heritage internationally, and boosting the goals of the Vision 2030, which defines culture, in its different categories, as a symbolic power, cultural identity, and economic addition.

Zaree, who led the National Orchestra and Choir in several international events, hailed the efforts of the ministry in setting plans that resulted in early accomplishments in international events. “We have seen the efforts of Culture Minister, Prince Badr bin Abdullah and their remarkable interest in supporting the foundation of the group and the development of its work. These efforts are manifested in the level of professionalism among the group’s members performing local and Arabic arts,” he added. This serves the interest of the Saudi art and artists, and helps spread the Saudi music experience to the world.

Thriving Saudi music and arts

Music has flourished in Saudi Arabia with many new experiences and entities created to develop the music sector and nurture promising talents. The sector has witnessed new initiatives and the opening of new music institutes for those wishing to develop their potential and engage in the new artistic phase.

Since February 2020, the Music Commission has been working on developing the infrastructure for a musical culture in the Kingdom, offering everyone the opportunity to learn music, as well as discovering, developing and empowering musical talents, spreading awareness of music culture, and establishing a sector that contributes to the domestic economy by creating jobs for both genders, live cultural performances, music recordings and amateur music education centers. The commission has also focused on reviving and documenting Saudi folklore and music performances to grow the national and social sense, developing the musical cultural identity of Saudi Arabia and promoting it regionally and globally, and emphasizing the kingdom’s leading position in the Arab and Islamic world.

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Culture

Iran's Vast Collection of Western Art, Much Long Hidden, Re-Emerges Despite High Tensions With US

A woman walks past a portrait of the leader of the American Indian Movement Russell Means, right, by American artist Andy Warhol, as she visits an exhibition titled Eye to Eye which showcases over 120 works by modern world artists as well as Iranian painters at Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, in Tehran, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman walks past a portrait of the leader of the American Indian Movement Russell Means, right, by American artist Andy Warhol, as she visits an exhibition titled Eye to Eye which showcases over 120 works by modern world artists as well as Iranian painters at Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, in Tehran, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Iran's Vast Collection of Western Art, Much Long Hidden, Re-Emerges Despite High Tensions With US

A woman walks past a portrait of the leader of the American Indian Movement Russell Means, right, by American artist Andy Warhol, as she visits an exhibition titled Eye to Eye which showcases over 120 works by modern world artists as well as Iranian painters at Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, in Tehran, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman walks past a portrait of the leader of the American Indian Movement Russell Means, right, by American artist Andy Warhol, as she visits an exhibition titled Eye to Eye which showcases over 120 works by modern world artists as well as Iranian painters at Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, in Tehran, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

As Iran faces increasing tensions with the West and turmoil at home, a new exhibition at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is displaying Western artwork including pieces not seen by the public in at least a decade.
The unveiling of the exhibition “Eye to Eye” has drawn numerous women, their hair uncovered, to the underground galleries of the museum in Tehran's Laleh Park. Their presence, while unacknowledged by authorities, shows the way life has changed inside Iran just in the last few years even as the country's theocracy presses forward with enriching uranium to near-weapons grade levels and launching attacks on Israel during the ongoing Mideast wars, The Associated Press said.
“The first feeling that came to me, and I told my parents, was that I can’t believe I’m seeing these works, which have always been kept far from our eyes,” said Aida Zarrin, a young woman at the museum.
“If such events are held here and we can see artworks like the rest of the world, it’s enough. They are really precious.”
The government of Iran’s Western-backed shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and his wife, the former Empress Farah Pahlavi, built the museum and acquired the vast collection in the late 1970s, when oil boomed and Western economies stagnated. Upon opening, it showed sensational works by Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Claude Monet, Jackson Pollock and other heavyweights, enhancing Iran’s cultural standing on the world stage.
But just two years later, in 1979, Shiite clerics ousted the shah and packed away the art in the museum’s vault. Some paintings — cubist, surrealist, impressionist and even pop art — sat untouched for decades to avoid offending Islamic values and the appearance of catering to Western sensibilities. Nearly everything is believed still to be there, though an Andy Warhol print of the empress was slashed during the revolution.
Today, the collection is likely worth billions of dollars. Even with Iran now cash-strapped under Western sanctions, officials with the museum have been able to advocate for keeping the collection, though there have been occasional trades in the past for items from Persian history. Those sanctions may increase under the next administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
As Iranian politics have thawed, re-frozen and thawed again, the collection resurfaces along with those changes.
Among the over 120 works being shown are ones from Picasso, Andy Warhol and Francis Bacon, along with celebrated Iranian artists. One of the Warhols, “Jacqueline Kennedy II,” is a silkscreen double image of the former US first lady in mourning after the 1963 assassination of her husband, President John Kennedy. Another Warhol portrait of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger also garnered attention from the cellphone photo snappers.
“A lot of these works are important works in the history of art, and that’s why this show distinguishes itself from others,” said Jamal Arabzadeh, the exhibition's curator. ”A lot of people with less exposure to art have discovered the museum for the first time. ... We are seeing a part of the community that are discovering art and the museum and see the potential of this place, and this is something to be proud of.”
The presence of Western art comes as Iran's government has long fought against items like Barbie dolls and depictions of cartoon characters from “The Simpsons.” Such Western influences have been deemed un-Islamic in the past and have been seen as part of a “soft” cultural war against Iran.
With a ticket costing the equivalent of 14 US cents, the exhibition offers a rare government-sanctioned event not involving the country's politics or Shiite religion.
Among the visitors were many women defying the country's mandatory headscarf, or hijab, law. Crackdowns over the hijab have slowed down after Iran's presidential election in July that elected reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, though individual cases of arrest continue to draw anger.
And for many, the cost of tickets to travel abroad given Iran's collapsing rial currency keep foreign museums out of reach.
“This is very attractive for art enthusiasts because not everyone can go and see museums abroad. It’s extremely exciting to see the works here,” said a woman who only gave her last name, Dolatshahi. “I had no idea I could see works by van Gogh and Picasso here.”