Description
The 23rd Bahrain International Music Festival takes place between 9th and 14th October 2014. Leona Lewis kicks off the Festival with a fabulous concert that promises to blow audiences away! Below is the full line up of events and a short bio of all the Music Festival's class acts!
9th October 8PM - Leona Lewis @ Bahrain National Theatre
With a career spanning eight years, Lewis is the best selling act to have emerged from The X Factor, with over 20 million albums sold worldwide, as well as being the British female solo artist with most weeks at number one in the United Kingdom. Lewis has won two MOBO Awards, an MTV Europe Music Award, an MTV Video Music Award and two World Music Awards. She is also a six time Brit Awards and three time Grammy Award nominee. Lewis is famed for her expansive four octave mezzo-soprano vocal range, power, technical control and use of the falsetto register. Aside from her musical career, Lewis is a philanthropist and an animal welfare campaigner for World Animal Protection.
Ticketing announcements to follow shortly!
10th October 8PM - Carminho @ The Cultural Hall
Carminho- Raw, unbridled passion defines the essence of Carminho, Portugal’s brightest new star. The 29-year-old singer’s first album, Fado, was a burning statement of intent and a celebration of the powerfully emotive music of her homeland.
Coming from a family of musicians, she listened to her parents’ records and witnessed the gathering of fado singers in her house from a very early age. Then, as a teenager, she began to sing in the Taverna do Embuçado – essential grounding for her eventual 2011 debut recording, named album of the year by Songlines magazine which said that she “has a voice both beautifully translucent and stunning in its emotional charge…it’s impossible not to break when in the presence of this remarkable performer.”
After Carminho starting performing concerts all over the world, the release of her second album Alma (which means “soul” in Portuguese) portrayed a woman growing in spirit and talent. Critics have hailed her interpretation of this genre, as though “each word has the weight of a lifetime attached to it, each verse pulled straight from the gut.” Combining traditional fado songs, resurrected from dusty old tavernas, with her own compositions and new arrangements of works by such greats as Fernanda Maria and Vinicius de Moraes, and perfectly complemented by her tender, emotive voice which soars over the feisty tunes of acoustic Spanish guitars.
Entrance is FREE!
11th October 8PM - Chamber Orchestra Vienna Berlin @ The Cultural Hall
The smooth elegance and nobleness of the velvety string sounds of the Viennese, and the captivating and passionate brilliance of the Berliners wind soloists combine to form the celebrated Chamber Orchestra Vienna – Berlin. This decade-long cooperation between the Vienna and Berlin philharmonic orchestras creates a unique refined classical sound that ranks among the very best in the world.
These two giants and traditional competitors in the classical music world came together under the initiative of famed English conductor Sir Simon Rattle, whose wish to conduct a common concert of the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for his 50th birthday united both orchestras for the first time. This experience surprisingly turned out to be so positive that it had to be continued; The Chamber Orchestra Vienna – Berlin was thus born.
The orchestra represents the essence of their parent orchestras, and its musicians seek to combine chamber music-like delicacy and symphonic force in their repertoire. The principle aim and philosophy of this formation is to achieve a unique creative exchange with exciting experiences for both audiences and musicians.
Since its formation, the creative force of the Chamber Orchestra Vienna – Berlin has been directed by Rainer Honeck, a violinist and concert master of the Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera since 1984 and concert master of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra since 1992, who acts as its primarius and Artistic Director. (as per the Ministry of Culture's website)
Entrance is FREE!
12th October 8 PM - Aicha Redouane @ The Cultural Hall
The nicknames bestowed upon Aicha Redouane are seemingly endless, but all point to the extraordinary singing talent; a talent she utilizes to recreate a bygone era of Arab music. The Moroccan-born French-raised chanteuse is a naturally adept singer, having mastered several musical genres and flavors, from Moroccan Berber songs to Western jazz and blues to classic Arabic tarab.
Before immigrating to France, Redouane practiced traditional folk songs as a child with her grandmother at her village in the Atlas Mountains, and has dedicated herself to spreading the enchanting musical heritage of the Middle East region to all corners of the world.
She is joined in this noble quest by Habib Yammine, a Lebanese musician, professor, and renowned Arabic music authority living in France who specializes in Arabic rhythms. Since the mid-1980’s, the pair have endeavored to revive and promote Middle Eastern maqam style of song and music through their group, Al-Adwar, touring extensively around the Middle East, Europe, and North America in various venues and festivals.
Redouane and Yammine are especially known for their renditions of famous Sufi spiritual poems by such luminaries as Rabia Al-Adawiyya, Ibn Al-Farid, Ibn Arabi, Al-Hallaj, and Al-Buri, producing several critically acclaimed albums in this genre. (as per the Ministry of Culture's website)
Entrance is FREE!
13th October 8 PM - Bastian Baker @ The Cultural Hall
Swiss crooner Bastian Baker’s artistic destiny took shape as a 15 year old armed with just a guitar and a pen, which he used for his first attempts at songwriting. He released his first single “Lucky” in 2011 charted in Switzerland and music producers took notice of his pop-folk style. His debut album, Tomorrow May Not Be Better, released soon thereafter, firmly established him as a rising young pop star, and won him "Best Breaking Act" award at the Prix Walo, Switzerland’s official music awards.
Over the past couple of years, Baker toured intensively, performing hundreds of concerts at prestigious venues such as the Montreux Jazz Festival, Paleo Festival, Francofolies de la Rochelle, and Olympia of Paris, and opened for such legends as Elton John, Bryan Adams, Johnny Hallyday and Mark Lanegan.
Despite of his relatively young career, he has already garnered many accolades, including three Swiss Music Awards in just two years. His much anticipated sophomore album, Too Old to Die Young, draws from the human and artistic experience gained by the artist as a professional musician. Baker collaborated with numerous artists in this musical opus, including percussionist and drummer Fergus Gerrand (Sting, Madonna), guitarist and keyboardist Ken Stringfellow (R.E.M.) and bassist David Levy (Chris de Burgh), and was mixed by Mark Plati, a legend who worked the likes of David Bowie, The Cure, and many and others. (as per the Ministry of Culture's website).
Entrance is FREE!
14th October 8 PM - Macadi Nahhas @ The Cultural Hall
A champion of freedom and human dignity, Jordanian singer Macadi Nahhas occupies a unique status among singers in the Arab world with her blend of classical and traditional songs which revive the heritage of the golden era of Arab music. Hailing from Madaba, a city famous for its gardens and water springs, her political and intellectual home environment helped her hone her talent and cultivated her artistic choices from a very young age.
A graduate of the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music, Nahhas was heavily influenced by the Rahbani School of music. Like her hero, legendary singer Fairuz, she is blessed with a distinguished supple voice and commanding stage presence, and a frequent performer in cultural events and national celebrations in Arab and foreign countries.
Perhaps her most renowned music production is perhaps the Iraqi folklore album titled “Kan Ya Makan” in 2004, for which critics praised her as one of the best non-Iraqis who ever sang in the Iraqi dialect. Her latest album is a reflection of our daily lives, and serves as an affirmation of the essential role Arab youth play in building nations and reviving the deep-rooted Arab culture. Macadi composed some of the tunes while the rest were conceived by other talented Arab musicians. (as per the Ministry of Culture's website)
Entrance is FREE!
Plenty to look forward during the week-long festival, book your calendars!