عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Culture

Saudi Arabia, France Discuss Boosting Cultural Cooperation

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
TT
TT

Saudi Arabia, France Discuss Boosting Cultural Cooperation

The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi flag. Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture Rakan bin Ibrahim Al-Touq has met with French Ambassador to the Kingdom Patrick Maisonnave to discuss boosting cultural cooperation between the two countries.

Al-Touq praised France's efforts to enhance existing cultural cooperation, commending the French Ministry of Culture's support for initiatives under the memorandum of understanding signed between the two sides in 2021. He highlighted the deep strategic partnership between the two nations across various cultural sectors, mainly film, heritage, museums, fashion, libraries, theater and performing arts, and visual arts.

The ambassador also praised Saudi Arabia's efforts to expand cultural relations with France in the service of both nations. He conveyed France's appreciation to Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan for his dedicated efforts to foster cooperation between the two sides.

Their talks focused on current cultural partnerships between Saudi Arabia and France, reviewing future opportunities and practical steps to promptly implement cultural cooperation and exchange.

The meeting was attended by the Ministry of Culture's Undersecretary for International Cultural Relations Eng. Fahd bin Abdulrahman Al-Kanaan.

Most Viewed

 
 
Culture

Chopin Waltz Unearthed after 200 Years

The birthplace of the Polish composer Frederic Chopin, May 7, 2010 in Wola, near Warsaw. (AFP)
The birthplace of the Polish composer Frederic Chopin, May 7, 2010 in Wola, near Warsaw. (AFP)
TT
TT

Chopin Waltz Unearthed after 200 Years

The birthplace of the Polish composer Frederic Chopin, May 7, 2010 in Wola, near Warsaw. (AFP)
The birthplace of the Polish composer Frederic Chopin, May 7, 2010 in Wola, near Warsaw. (AFP)

An unknown waltz by Chopin, written nearly 200 years ago, has been discovered in the vault of the Morgan Library and Museum in New York.

The score, on a card bearing Frederic Chopin's hand-written name, was found by a curator in the spring, the New York Times reported Sunday.

"I thought, 'What's going on here? What could this be?' I didn't recognize the music," curator Robinson McClellan told the paper.

He was at first unsure that the piece was actually Chopin's after photographing the score and playing it on a keyboard at home.

He conferred with an academic at the University of Pennsylvania who is an expert on Chopin, before the Morgan concluded the find was genuine after testing the ink and paper.

The penmanship was also found to match Chopin's, including the reproduction of a stylized bass clef symbol as well as doodling characteristic of the composer.

"We have total confidence in our conclusion," McClellan said.

The museum believes that the music is from between 1830 and 1835, when Chopin was in his early 20s.

The tune features a stark opening and was described by pianist Lang Lang as containing "dramatic darkness turning into a positive thing."

Chopin, who wrote mostly piano solos, died aged 39 in France in 1849.