Egypt, Germany, Japan, Korea, Netherlands
Painting of “Mounir Canaan”
from the personal collection.
Interview with Ralph van Raat
Ralph: Yes Actually this is my first time in Egypt but Michael was here two years ago.
Michael: Yes, I was here two years ago and I have Egyptian friends who told me about the Biennale so I said if it possible I’ll talk with Ralph, he is the perfect element for this festival.
Ralph: I studied Musicology so I heard oriental music, Egyptian music but sure not contemporary, although the Biennale was the occasion to hear and know the Egyptian contemporary music and it’s really interesting specially of Rageh Daoud and I like also Mohamed Saad Basha, his way of mixing the modern western music with the Egyptian traditional music. We can say he puts an Egyptian flavor which conform with it.
Ralph: I am happy to participate to this first Biennale in Egypt, we have the habitude that contemporary music is always in Germany, France, USA so when I have this occasion to come to the Middle East to share in the inauguration of this kind of art, of Course I am happy, personally because the Egyptian music does not reach easily Holland, we are in the ignorance there, so we want to know what happens here and you give us the occasion.
Ralph: I respect enormously this kind of music that I heard in the opening night, a lot of excellent composers like Gamal Abdel Rahim, Nahla Mattar, Ramz Sabry and of Course Mohamed Saad Basha . but we want to hear many more Egyptian composers, it might be interesting to have a CD with all of the participants in the Biennale, as Biennale selection or something like this, or diffuse it in You Tube.
About the music, I expected compositions more surrealistic, very different from the normal, something like the music of Nahla Matter, very technical, but most of other works were more in the Egyptian flavor, like I said before, and I like it and I hope to hear more of it. Some countries imitate the model of modern music, but here they take the elements of the contemporary and mix it with the traditional and it becomes original.
About the Biennale, this is the first time, it’s very normal if the audience was not very large, it motivates us to keep trying, it could get bigger, we have to continue to reach a larger audience. First time we have to try and learn. And I am looking to come back next time to talk about new thing, to know new composers.
in cooperation with Cairo Opera House
