Chamber Music February 26, 28 March 4, 5, 6, 16

Choir February 24, 27 March 2, 12, 17, 23, 24

Concerto Symphonic February 19, 21, 23 Orchestra February 19, 21, 23 March 23, 25, 27 Flamenco March 20, 22 World March 10, 14 Lecture Piano Solo March 11 February 22 March 13, 18

Recitals March 28

Lyric & Opera March 8, 23, 25, 27

Gianluca Marcianò, Music Director of the Al Bustan Festival

Gianluca Marcianò has conducted innumerable Italian Op- eras in Europe and China. A workaholic, he is always on the move. In 2012 he conducted The Magic Flute in Long- borough Festival, Madama Butterfly, I Puritani and Magic Flute at Grange Park Festival, Tosca and a major new pro- duction of Turandot in Oviedo. Gianluca will conduct Handel’s Radamisto and a concert of Mozart concertos in Tbilisi, La Traviata in Minsk, Un Ballo in Maschera in Lviv, three concerts with the Azerbaijan Chamber Orchestra in Baku. He is also the Musical Director of the Tbilisi Opera House. Opening night / TUESDAY 19 & THURSDAY 21 FEBRUARY

Only concertos, two singles and one double!

Anna Tifu, violin. Boris Andrianov, cello The Al Bustan Festival Orchestra- Pan European Philharmonia Dir. Gianluca Marcianò Italian violinist Anna Tifu, has been collecting awards worldwide. She plays a violin made by Carlo Bergonzi in Crémona in 1739, known as Mischa Piastro, on loan from the Associazone Pro Ca- nale of Milan. She has been the face of Alitalia during their 2011 advertising campaign. Russian cellist Boris Andrianov won the Tchaikowsky competition in 1992. “He is extraordinaryily talented and musical, plays from the heart”, Los Angeles Times. “Never did the cello sound so beautifully as in his hands”. WAZ Dortmund, Germany

An extraordinary privilege is to be able to listen to these two great string players separately in Elgar and Brahms and then to listen to them again playing together the Brahms double concerto.

Brahms, violin concerto Elgar, cello concerto Brahms, double concerto opus 102 FRIDAY FEBRUARY 22

Piano Supernova

KHATIA BUNIATISHVILI piano

Already a legend.. Khatia will be playing a Chopin and Liszt program of her choice. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23

Shimmering Concertos

Francesca Dego, violin, José Bustani, piano The Al Bustan Festival Orchestra- Pan European Philharmonia Dir. Gianluca Marcianò The exceptional talent of Francesca Dego-who’s been playing since the age of seven - will light up the stage with the Sibelius violin concerto. José Maurizio Bustani returns seven years after his first concert in Lebanon. He loves what he plays and knows how to communicate with the audience. The Grieg concerto is one of his favourites. His second Act is being the Ambassador of Brazil in Paris.

Shubert Unfinished Symphony Sibelius, violin concerto in D minor op 47 Grieg, piano concerto in A major Op 47 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 24 / 19:00 / St John Marc Church, Byblos

Passion and Resurrection

Stile Antico Stile Antico is an ensemble of young British singers, now established as one of the most origi- nal and exciting voices. Their recordings received awards including Diapason d’Or de l’année and the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, and have twice attracted GRAMMY nomina- tions. The group has toured extensively with STING.

Music fom 15th to the 17th century

St John Marc, Byblos TUESDAY FEBRUARY 26 Österreichische Bots chaf t Beirut Austrian Embass y Beirut Viennese Delights

Wiener Kammersolisten After their outstanding performances in 2006 and 2009, the Austrian Weiner Kammersolisten return to celebrate this year’s anniversary and provide a plethora of musical delight.

J.S.Bach, from the Well Tempered Klavier Book II, arrangement for string quartet by W.A.Mozart W.A.Mozart, Quintet for clarinet and string quartet in A major, K581 J.Brahms, Quintet for clarinet and string quartet in B minor op 115 WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 27 / St Louis Cathedral, Beirut

Angelic Voices Embassy of Armenia

Geghard Choir of Armenia

The Geghard ensemble consists of eight female singers. The program of the ensemble con- sists of Armenian medieval sacred monodies, classical arrangements of Armenian tunes and folk songs.

J.S.Bach, from the Well Tempered Klavier Book II, arrangement for string quartet by W.A.Mozart W.A.Mozart, Quintet for clarinet and string quartet in A major, K581 J.Brahms, Quintet for clarinet and string quartet in B minor op 115 THURSDAY FEBRUARY 28

Playing with Perfection

Gautier Capuçon ,cello Jérôme Ducros, piano Gautier Capuçon takes you with his cello to an- other frontier! “The lightness of his touch and the consistent clarity of his bow strokes are quite admirable” Gramophone He is accompanied by the accomplished pia- nist Jerome Ducros. Both musicians will take you through the heavenly music of Beethoven, Brahms and Grieg.

Beethoven, Variations in E minor Brahms, sonata in E minor Grieg, Sonata

FRIDAY MARCH 1

MOZAAART IN AFRICAA

MoZuluArt An innovative performance that sees three singers from Zimba- bwe fusing their African rhythms with the classical music of Mozart. Accompanied by expert musicians from the Vienna Symphony or- chestra, the result is astonishing. SATURDAY MARCH 2

A stroll around Italy

Il Coro del Lunedi

Thirty two choristers from Rome visit Lebanon for the first time.. They sing together every Monday music from Italy’s diverse regions. MONDAY MARCH 4 Österreichische Bots chaf t Beirut Austrian Embass y Beirut Above the clouds

The Vienna Wind Ensemble Five established musicians from Vienna, with their wind instruments, play to their heart’s content their most favourite pieces of music.

Mozart: the Magic Flute overture KV620 / Beethoven: adagio and allegro, Fur die spieluhi Ibert: trois pièces brèves / Dvorak: Slavonic dance no 10 op 46/10 Denes Agay: five easy dances / Bizet: extracts from Carmen Onslow: blaser quintet / J. Strauss: ferienreisen op 133 TUESDAY MARCH 5

Four beautiful musicians play beautiful music

Opus X Lone Madsen, clarinet / Tatia Sharangia, piano Mila Dimitrova, violin / Samira Dayyani, cello OPUS X are 4 beguiling women from 4 corners of the world; all highly acclaimed clas- sical soloists with a shared desire to create beautiful music, leading you on a journey into the unexpected. Together they’re a musical force with virtuosic performances that touch the heart and soul. Produced by Grammy Award Winning Steven Epstein, their first album promises to enchant audiences across the globe. Opus X ‘s most recent performances were in Las Vegas at the Smith Center and on PBS television in the US.

Piazzola Brahms Mozart Morricone WEDNESDAY MARCH 6

An Eye for Talent

Hrachya Avanessyan, violin Narek Haknazaryan, cello Oliver Poole, piano Three young, rising talents who provide energy, optimism and dynamism. Violinist Hrachya Avanessyan “will undoubtedly become of the great names on the classical music scene” Nordschleswiger Cellist Narek Haknazaryan has been said to “project intensity from the moment he took the stage” N.Y. Times Pianist Oliver Poole has been described by the press as “Phenomenal” and “outstanding”.

J.Brahms, trio op 101 in C minor L.V.Beethoven, “Ghost” trio, op.20 no1 F.Schubert, trio op 99 FRIDAY MARCH 8

Wagner in Love

Helikon Opera Company Das Liebesverbot Cond. Vladimir Ponkin Interpreted by the Helikon Opera Company, Wagner’s Comedy, “A Ban on Love” is a flamboyant opera comedy, written by Wagner when he was 21; it includes some outrageous scenes. The story is that a German Viceroy in Palermo decides to ban love; he bans the carnival and puts all the city’s lovers in jail. This causes the people to revolt and as with all comedies, all is well that ends well.

Das Liebesverbot SATURDAY MARCH 9

Wagner Unleashed Wagneromania

Helikon Opera Company Wagneromania Cond. Vladimir Ponkin The most popular Wagner tunes for manic Wagner worshipers

From the operas: Rienzi, Die Feen, Das Lievbes- verbot, Der Fliegende Holländer, Tannhäuser, Lo- hengrin, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger, Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, Götterdämmer- ung, Parsifal SUNDAY MARCH 10 / Upon invitation to the Friends of the Festival World Premiere La Maison du Poète

Remembering Ghassan

A production by Roger Assaf MONDAY MARCH 11 / 18:30 / Crypt of St Joseph Jesuit Church

VERDI and WAGNER

The Festival Lecture

Peter Conrad To celebrate the 200th anniver- sary of Guiseppe Verdi and Rich- ard Wagner, Peter Conrad will draw surprising parallels between these two great composers. TUESDAY MARCH 12 / St George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Beirut

Apotheose

Helikon Opera Choir Cond. Valery Kirianov Rachmaninov Vespers WEDNESDAY MARCH 13

My Kingdom for a piano

Oliver Poole, piano

Oliver Poole is one of the world’s most exciting up-and- coming pianists. “A Master of the piano.” says the BBC. “He is spectacular”

J.S.Bach, the Goldberg Variations R.Wagner, The Walkyries Rachmaninov, Preludes and Etudes Poole Altitude G.Gershwin, Rhapsody in blue THURSDAY MARCH 14 World Premiere Memory of a lost Chant

Men Choir of Mezwej Ensemble Joël Versavaud, saxophone Claudio Bettinelli, percussion Zad Moultaka pays tribute to the universe of the Bushmen, an ancestral culture that was decimated by colonization. Zad explores their language, their archaic imagination and their transformation. Five singers, a saxophonist and a percussionist, will take us to this wonderful exploration of the old human. SATURDAY MARCH 16

No introduction needed..

Salvatore Accardo and the Orchestra da Camera Italiana There are few more prestigious names in the classical music world than that of Maestro Salvatore Accardo - a legendary violinist who has had one of the most illustrious careers. One of the highlights at this year’s Al Bustan festival.

F.Kreisler, 5 pieces / N.Paganini, La Campanella G.Rossini, Sonata in C major / B.Britten, simple Symphony SUNDAY MARCH 17

Our home made choir

The Al Bustan Festival Choir Edward Torikian, choirmaster

The Al Bustan Festival Choir will be singing a selection of choruses from Verdi’s op- eras with a touch of Wagner. MONDAY MARCH 18

Leave it to Boris!

Boris Berezovsky, piano Who else?

WEDNESDAY MARCH 20, THURSDAY MARCH 21 & FRIDAY MARCH 22

It’s flamenco time!

Paco Peña: QUIMERAS

Quimeras tells the story of a group of mi- grants who have come to Spain from Af- rica in search of work. This is the marriage of both traditional Spanish and African music and dance, described as “breath- takingly beautiful“ (Daily Telegraph) The dance- by turns , flamenco and high energy African movement - is superb. “Daily Telegraph”

SATURDAY MARCH 23 / St Joseph Jesuit Church

G.VERDI REQUIEM

Cristina Nassif, soprano Nino Surguladze, mezzo Dario Shmunck, tenor Michele Bianchini, bass The Choirs of The Antonine University, Notre Dame University, National Conservatoire, Toufic Maatouk o.a.m. , Fthr Khalil Rahmé choirmasters, The Tbilisi State Opera Orchestra Dir. Gianluca Marcianò

MONDAY MARCH 25 / St Joseph Jesuit Church

G.VERDI REQUIEM

Joyce El Khoury, soprano Nino Surguladze, mezzo Dario Shmunck, tenor Michele Bianchini, bass The Choirs of The Antonine University, Notre Dame University, National Conservatoire, Toufic Maatouk o.a.m. , Fthr Khalil Rahmé choirmasters, The Tbilisi State Opera Orchestra Dir. Gianluca Marcianò WEDNESDAY MARCH 27

Verdi Gala Concert

Cristina Nassif, soprano Joyce El Khoury, soprano Martina Zadro, soprano Dario Shmunck Cristina Nassif Nino Surguladze, mezzo Dario Shmunck, tenor Ozren Bilusic, baritone The Tbilisi State Opera Orchestra Dir. Gianluca Marcianò

Joyce El Khoury Martina Zadro

Louisa Miller Il Corsaro Rigoletto Otello Aida Nino Surguladze Ozren Bilusic Traviata Tickets on sale at:

The Festival Box Office Hotel Al Bustan Tel: (04) 972 980/1/2 (03) 752 000/6 • Opening hours: 10.00 a.m to 8.00 p.m

Librairie Antoine at the following branches: • ABC Achrafieh: (01) 218 078 ; (03) 890 713 Opening hours: 10.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m.

• ABC Dbayeh: (04) 521 684 ; (03) 890 657 Opening hours: 10.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m.

• Beirut Souks: (01) 999 650 ; (03) 890 673 Opening hours: 10.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m.

• Hamra: (01) 341 472 Opening hours: Weekdays from 8.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. Saturdays from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Booking online: www.albustanfestival.com

For further information, contact the Festival Office at Hotel Al Bustan: (04) 972 980/1/2 ; (03)752 000/6

For detailed prices please refer to the booking form attached.