Solhi Al-Wadi
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Solhi al-Wadi (, ) (1934–2007) was an Iraqi-born musician,
conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...
,
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...
, educator and director, who lived most of his life in
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
, Syria.


Life

Solhi al-Wadi was born in
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
on 12 February 1934 to an Iraqi father and a
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
ian mother, who moved to live in Damascus, Syria, when he was a child. He went to Victoria College, a British boarding school in
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, Egypt, where he studied violin and composition at the local conservatory. In 1953 he was admitted to the
Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...
in London to pursue higher studies in music. In 1960, after graduating, Solhi al-Wadi returned to Damascus and began work on establishing serious music as part of the fine arts scene in Syria. In 1962 he founded the Arab Institute of Music and was appointed its director. He established relations with several foreign countries, especially the former
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, to be able to bring qualified teachers in all disciplines and instruments, to teach Syrian youngsters, who were interested in learning music. In 2004 the Arab Institute of Music was renamed the Solhi al-Wadi Institute of Music. In 1990, after years of negotiating with the Syrian Ministry of Culture and other necessary instances, he succeeded in fulfilling his dream of opening the High Institute of Music and Theater, which provides musicians, theater students and dancers in Syria with higher education, without needing to go abroad to study, and he was appointed its dean. He was also appointed professor of theory, history of music and music appreciation in this institute. At the same time, through al-Wadi's efforts, the
Damascus Opera House The Damascus Opera House (formerly Dar al-Assad for Culture and Arts) () is the national opera house of Syria. Inaugurated on 7 May 2004, it is located in central Damascus, on the Umayyad Square. History Damascus already had an opera house in ...
– Dar Al-Assad for Culture & Arts – was opened. He was proud of acquiring a German organ especially built for it. In 1991 another dream of Solhi al-Wadi's came true: the founding of the
Syrian National Symphony Orchestra The Syrian National Symphony Orchestra (, ) is the national symphony orchestra of Syria. Its home venue is the Damascus Opera House, and many of its members have been educated at the Higher Institute for Music in the same cultural complex on ...
, which gave its first concert under his baton in the same year. Soon invitations started pouring in from all over the world, and over the next few years al-Wadi took the orchestra to perform in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Spain, Turkey, Germany and the USA. And also al-Wadi himself was invited to conduct orchestras in several countries of the world. In 1995 Solhi al-Wadi conducted the first-ever performance of an opera in Syria, Purcell's ''
Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque music, Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncer ...
'', which was performed at the ancient Roman amphitheaters of
Bosra Bosra (), formerly Bostra () and officially called Busra al-Sham (), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Daraa District of the Daraa Governorate and geographically part of the Hauran region. Bosra is an ancient cit ...
and
Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...
for huge crowds of enthusiastic listeners. Solhi al-Wadi's immense overall activity, especially his administrative, teaching and performing duties, allowed him limited time for composing, but he cherished those moments when he could satisfy the great urge he had to express himself. He believed that he should contribute to the world of music by whatever means he was capable of. His works are performed enthusiastically by musicians in Syria and other countries. In addition to that he received throughout his artistic life commissions to compose music for Arabic films, something he accepted and fulfilled with pleasure, but even though incidental music brought him fame all over the Arab world, his compositions for chamber ensembles figure among his finest creative achievements. Solhi al-Wadi died on 30 September 2007 at home in Damascus. He never recovered from a brain hemorrhage which struck him down while conducting the Syrian National Orchestra in a concert on 27 April 2002.


Legacy

He single-handedly supervised the nurturing of a whole generation of talented young musicians. His combined role as an educator, director, conductor, and first-class mass-media communicator did not prevent him from continuously composing original music and re-orchestrating major traditional and folklore music suitable for presentation by a large orchestra or other ensembles.


Music

* Seven pieces for piano (1958–1965) * Fantasy for Two Pianos in B-flat Major (1962) * "Love Poem" for String Orchestra (1966) * Two Pieces for Violoncello & Piano (?) * Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 1 (1969) (Score missing) * "Dabké" – Dance for Symphony Orchestra (1970) * String Quartet No. 1 (Score missing) * String Quartet No. 2 (1974) * Trio for Piano, Violin & Violoncello, in memory of Dmitri Shostakovich (1975): *# movement *# movement *# movement *# movement * Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 2 in A Minor (early 1980s) * Concert Overture for Symphony Orchestra in C Major (1987) * Meditation on a Theme by Mhammad Abdel Wahhab "Hayati anta" for Symphony orchestra (1992) * Piece "-5" for Clarinet Solo (1999) * Song "The Mummy" for Soprano & Piano (2000) (Poet unknown) * Incidental and film music (spanning al-Wadi's creative life)


Awards

* 1995 Order of Merit, Syria's highest civilian award * 1999 honorary doctorate from The
Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan (), also known as Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory (YKSC) or Yerevan State Conservatory (YSC), is a state-owned college of music located in Yerevan, Armenia. The institute was founded in 1921 as a music st ...
(Armenia) * 2000 honorary doctorate from The Russian Academy of Arts and Sciences * 2001 Medal of Sts. Peter and Paul awarded by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
, during his Millennium Tour visit to Syria


External links


Digital Journal – Solhi Al-Wadi, doyen of Syrian classical music, dies at 75
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090603041545/http://www.syriansymphony.org/solhi.html Syrian National Symphony Orchestra – Solhi Al-Wadibr>Newsletter Of The Delegation Of The European Commission In Syria – Tribute to a Father
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wadi, Solhi al- 1934 births 2007 deaths Musicians from Baghdad Iraqi emigrants to Syria 20th-century Iraqi musicians Syrian composers Victoria College, Alexandria alumni Musicians from Damascus Iraqi people of Jordanian descent Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Syrian people of Iraqi descent Syrian people of Jordanian descent