All Events and Concerts
The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra opens with a blaze of brass with Dukas’ ceremonial Fanfare and Gabrieli’s magnificent Canzona, works that showcase the full splendour of the orchestra’s wind and brass sections. Mozart’s turbulent Symphony No. 40 follows, one of his most emotionally charged works, before the concert culminates in Beethoven’s irresistible Symphony No. 7. A work so driven by rhythm and energy that Wagner himself called it “the apotheosis of the dance.”
ARTIST:
Joo Young Oh, concertmaster
PROGRAMME:
Paul Dukas: Fanfare pour précéder La Péri
Giovanni Gabrieli: Canzona Septimi Toni No. 2
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550
Intermission
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
An evening devoted entirely to Mozart, one of music’s most enduring voices. The concert opens with the sparkling Overture to Le nozze di Figaro, followed by the First Horn Concerto performed by QPO’s acclaimed horn soloist Peter Davida. The concerto is a work of elegance and wit that showcases the horn at its most charming. The evening closes with the beloved Haffner Serenade, a sweeping and joyful work that captures Mozart at his most celebratory.
ARTISTS:
Peter Davida, horn
Joo Young Oh, concertmaster
PROGRAMME:
Wolgang Amadeus Mozart:
Le nozze di Figaro: Ouverture, K. 492
Concerto No.1 for Horn & Orchestra in D Major, K. 412 & K. 514
Intermission
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Serenade No.7 in D major, K. 250
ARTISTS:
Toufic Maatouk, conductor
Dave Monaco, tenor
Joo Young Oh, concertmaster
PROGRAMME:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
Le nozze di Figaro: Ouverture, K. 492
Don Giovanni, K. 527: “Il mio tesoro intanto”
Così fan tutte, K.588 – Overture
Gioachino Rossini:
Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), Overture
L’occasione fa il ladro: D’ogni più sacro impegno
Zelmira “Terra amica”
Intermission
Vincenzo Bellini:
Norma Overture
I Capuleti e i Montecchi, “Ah! di Capellio… l’amo tanto”
Giuseppe Verdi: La Traviata: Prelude to Act I
Gaetano Donizetti:
Don Pasquale: Povero Ernesto
La fille du régiment – “Ah! Mes amis”
Led by Austin Chanu with Concertmaster Joo Young Oh, this programme moves from Mozart’s sharp wit to Bartók’s full-throttle orchestral color.
Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro Overture kicks things off in a rush of energy, bright, fast, and instantly likeable. His Flute Concerto then brings a lighter, more lyrical mood, featuring QPO’s Aleksandr Haskin as the soloist.
After the interval, Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra takes over with bold rhythms, vivid sound, and one standout moment after another across the whole ensemble, ending in a huge finale. This is an evening that should not be missed!
ARTISTS:
Austin Chanu, conductor
Aleksandr Haskin, flute
PROGRAMME:
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet – Fantasy Overture
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major, K. 314 (285d)
Intermission
Béla Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
Under the baton of Elias Grandy, QPO welcomes James Zijian Wei, winner of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, for one of the most electrifying works in the repertoire: Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Famous for its power and sheer virtuosity, it pairs towering piano writing with an orchestra in full bloom, intimate one moment, thunderous the next.
After the interval, the mood shifts to Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen Suite; bright, lyrical music drawn from his beloved opera, full of color, rustic dance energy, and flashes of tenderness, an ideal counterpart to Rachmaninoff’s intensity. Concertmaster Joo Young Oh leads the orchestra throughout this wide-ranging program.
ARTISTS:
Elias Grandy, conductor
James Zijan Wei, piano
Joo Young Oh, concertmaster
PROGRAMME:
Sergie Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30
Intermission
Leoš Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen (Das schlaue Füchslein) – Suite
Conductor Elias Grandy leads an evening of color, rhythm, and Nordic drama, with Concertmaster Lionel Schmit and pianist Sonja Park.
Debussy’s Prélude à L’Après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) opens in a haze of sound that’s atmospheric and instantly transporting. Ravel then takes center stage with his brilliant Piano Concerto in G major, where Sonja Park moves from jazz-tinged sparkle to a slow movement of suspended lyricism.
After the interval, Sibelius’s Lemminkäinen Suite brings four cinematic tone poems drawn from Finnish legend: mysterious and stormy, with some of the composer’s most unforgettable orchestral writing.
ARTISTS:
Elias Grandy, conductor
Sonja Park, piano
Lyonel Schmit, concertmaster
PROGRAMME:
Claude Debussy: Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun)
Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major
Intermission
Jean Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22
Conductor Elias Grandy leads a powerhouse programme that pairs a showpiece for violin with one of the most thrilling symphonies ever written, with Concertmaster Joo Young Oh.
Sibelius’s Violin Concerto is music of ice and fire with haunting lyricism and a solo part that feels both fearless and intensely personal. Taking the spotlight is Luka Faulisi, a rising star on today’s concert scene, bringing virtuosity and intensity to one of the repertoire’s most iconic concertos.
After the interval comes Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3 “Organ Symphony”, a true crowd favorite. From dark, dramatic beginnings to its famous final surge, it builds into a monumental climax as the organ enters in full force, played by Aydan Alakbarova in an unforgettable finish.
ARTISTS:
Elias Grandy, conductor
Luka Faulisi, violin
Aydan Alakbarova, organ
Joo Young Oh, concertmaster
PROGRAMME:
Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47
Intermission
Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 (“Organ”)
ARTISTS:
Hossein Pishkar, conductor
Rony Moser, clarinet
Lionel Schmit, concertmaster
PROGRAMME:
Carl Maria von Weber:
Der Freischütz Overture
Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74, J.118
Intermission
Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Maurice Ravel)