June 2013
6 posts
May 2013
8 posts
“We cannot say precisely when the musical penetration of East and West began, but one thing is certain: composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and others could not resist the fascination of the Orient. Thus elements of Turkish music, Persian poetry and Arabic storytelling found their way straight to the heart of European culture.”
—
Islam in European Classical Music
Nadja Kayali is a composer and music journalist living in Vienna. 2010 saw the premiere in Osnabrück of her opera Neda, which was inspired by the medieval Persian poet Nizami, but also makes reference to the Iranian protest movement.
“Aleppo, a flood of suffering, how much blood is shed in my country!
I wanted to sing the pain of my country,
With a broken heart I cry for my land and the children who have become strangers in their own country.” —
I wanted to sing the pain of my country,
With a broken heart I cry for my land and the children who have become strangers in their own country.” —
Artists exorcise demons of Syria crisis through art
“That’s the voice we want to hear in the Arab world, not the sound of cannons!” exclaimed Nancy Ajram, a star Arab singer and jury member, as Hamdan’s fellow Syrian competitor Farah broke into tears.
In Place of War: Egypt's artists after the Arab Spring
How did Egypt’s creative minds respond to the revolution. We ask six artists, and talk to the founder of In Place of War, a project that champions work born out of conflict.
James Thompson first had the idea for what would become In Place of War when he was working in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in 2000, during the civil war. Thompson comes from an academic and theatre background and was invited there by Unicef, which had received a request from Jaffna community workers for someone experienced in developing theatre programmes for young people.
For more info on In Place of War, see inplaceofwar.net. There will be a special event on 29 May at the Martin Harris Centre, University of Manchester, at which some of the featured artists will speak; get tickets at inplaceofwarstories.eventbrite.com
April 2013
10 posts
“
I was not afraid for a moment because I believe what I am doing is necessary, especially in view of the media blackout about many aspects of the revolution. From the outset I figured there are people dying in their homes, and if I were to die in the street or on the front lines, so be it. I faced death when I was hit with shrapnel from a regime artillery shell fired on Sheikh Saeed district in Aleppo on February 7th, 2013. It broke my leg but I am recovered now.
I survived many moments that were fraught with danger while I took photographs on the front lines, and during air strikes, mortar attacks and tank shelling.
” —When the Syrian conflict broke out in March 2011, Nour Kelzi, a schoolteacher from Aleppo, had no idea how the war would change her life.
Kelzi, who was 23 when the conflict began, started taking amateur photographs on the front lines with her mobile phone. This eventually led to a job with the international news agency Reuters, and her current status as a well-known chronicler of the Syrian revolution.
Kelzi began her work for Reuters under the pseudonym Zain Karam to protect her family, later reverting to her real name.She spoke to Al-Shorfa about her experience as a war photographer.
