KARACHI: The four-day music festival 2014 organised at the National Academy of Performing Arts having the theme ‘Bridging cultures through music’ began on Thursday evening with a tarana in raga malkauns presented by the academy’s faculty member Intezar Husain and the celebrated Leipzig String Quartet.

It seemed that the German group (Stefan Arzberger, Tilman Buning, Ivo Bauer and Matthias Moosdorf) had had a reasonable rehearsal of the raga with Intezar Husain and tabla player Waqas Gulab which became more evident when the vocalist and the quartet synchronised nicely every time the scale was sung. However, it would have been better if the sound of the microphones placed for the singer and the tabla player were turned on a notch up.

The highlight of the evening was the German musicians’ splendid rendition of Mozart’s B-flat major quartet in four movements dedicated to J. Hayden. They were true to the notes, as they should have been, but at the same time their performance painted a clear picture of the genius of the composer.

Their second piece, German composer and conductor Felix Mandelssohn’s opus 44 no 1, was no less remarkable. He was introduced to the audience by a band member as someone belonging to the Romantic era, hence a great deal of philosophical leaning and romantic overtones in his compositions. And that’s what the audience got to hear. The intense, occasionally subtle, and dramatic flow of the whole piece was beautifully presented, and even the uninitiated enjoyed it thoroughly.

The last performance in the programme was an item called musica senza confini (music without borders) in which Napa’s students (singers), tabla player Waqas Gulab and sitar player Nafees Ahmed performed alongside the Leipzig String Quartet, an east-west fusion, something that has become a rather routine presentation whenever international musicians collaborate with the academy’s faculty and students. All of them did a good job.

It was disconcerting to hear mobile phones ringing in the middle of a performance that required utmost concentration and continuity of momentum on the part of the German musicians. It’s been quite a few years since Napa is holding these festivals. It would serve them good if they asked ushers to request the audience to switch off their mobile phones or put off their ringers before stepping into the hall.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2014