Romantic Masters

The Concert

The UAE National Orchestra shares the genius of three great Romantic composers: a feast of sunny good humour, virtuosic artistry, and the expansive beauty of deep emotion.

The evening brings these composers to life through the lively melodies and playful contrasts of an opera overture, the expressive range and brilliance of a violin concerto, and the warmth and richness of a full symphony. From soaring violin melodies to a triumphant orchestral finale, the programme reveals the distinctive character of each work.

Three composers, three voices, and an evening that moves from playfulness to passion, from the expressiveness of a solo violin to the full breadth of the Orchestra.

The Music

The programme celebrates World Opera Day with Rossini's wittiest overture, written to introduce the hilarity of The Barber of Seville.

Stunning Hungarian violinist Júlia Pusker makes her UAE National Orchestra debut with the Orchestra's premiere performances of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. In it, Mendelssohn wrote a highwire act for a true star of the instrument, punctuated with a witty and quicksilver orchestral accompaniment.

The concert concludes with Brahms's sunniest symphony, his second, providing a great and joyous journey made under clear skies, and one of the summits of music for symphonic orchestra.

The Performers

Umberto Clerici conducts the Orchestra, with Júlia Pusker as the soloist in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor.

Programme

• ROSSINI Overture to The Barber of Seville

• MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E minor

•  Intermission

•  BRAHMS Symphony No. 2

Conductor Umberto Clerici

Performed by The UAE National Orchestra

Soloist Júlia Pusker, violin

UAE National Orchestra

The UAE National Orchestra (UAENO) is the official national orchestra of the United Arab Emirates, giving musical expression to the country's identity, heritage and ambition. It is led by Chairperson Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, alongside Managing Director Sheikha Alia bint Khalid Al Qassimi.

Rooted in heritage and tradition, and open to the world, the Orchestra brings Arabic and Western instruments into one ensemble of 70 musicians, supported by a choir of 30 singers. Its programmes bring established repertoire into conversation with new work, while giving composers and musicians space to shape an orchestral voice that proudly reflects the UAE.

At its heart is the shared experience of live music, inviting audiences of all ages and backgrounds to hear familiar works afresh, discover unexpected sounds and feel the energy of live performance. Its inaugural season brought together original compositions, reimagined classics, and world-renowned artists.

Season Two, Symphony On, carries that sentiment forward. Through new commissions, partnerships, training and mentorship programmes, UAENO is bringing Emirati stories and new sounds to the stage while developing the next generation of artists; so the music plays on for generations.