Till Janczucowiz is the Director of Abu Dhabi Classics.
Till Janczucowiz is the Director of Abu Dhabi Classics.

Credible Classics



Sometimes it's like waiting for a bus. You wait and wait to hear a very special orchestra and then two come along at once. So it is with this year's Abu Dhabi Classics. Two of the world's finest orchestras from the same city will be making their Arab debuts in November and January.

It has taken three years of patience and planning to get the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Sir Simon Rattle and the Staatskapelle Berlin conducted by Daniel Barenboim here. Now they are both coming in the same season - part of an incredible programme of stellar musicians put together by the Classics director Till Janczukowicz and the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage - which also includes the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale dell RAI with the acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

"The third season is really the result of work that started when we were preparing the first season," explains Janczukowicz. "When we were planning the Abu Dhabi Classics for the first time back in 2008 we talked to the Berlin Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Neither of them could do it the first year, as these orchestras plan three or four years ahead. Now they are able to come, so we have a season that was planned three years ago.

"We are very lucky. When this sort of thing happens, you can't tell one of them they can't come because the other is also booked. We are thrilled and excited to have them both with two such illustrious conductors." The season opens on Wednesday at the Emirates Palace Auditorium with the Royal Concertgebouw conducted by Daniele Gatti performing Richard Wagner's Siegfried Idyll and Gustav Mahler's Symphony No 5.

Janczukowicz is particularly pleased that the orchestra, famed for its interpretation of Mahler's works, is opening the Classics during a year when the musical world is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth and the 100th anniversary of his death (1860-1911). "Traditionally, the entire Mahler cycle is played in one season, but that is in places like London where there are probably 60,000 people who regularly attend such concerts.

"Here in Abu Dhabi in our first Classics season, Zubin Mehta conducted Mahler's Resurrection Symphony. In the second season the New York Philharmonic played Symphony No 1 and now we have the 5th Symphony, the one with the lovely Adagietto for strings and harp that was made famous in the Visconti film Death in Venice. "The evening opens with a piece that Mahler especially loved and frequently conducted, the beautiful Siegfried Idyll, by his greatest musical influence, Richard Wagner."

The orchestra is giving a special concert for young people on Thursday morning, again featuring the Siegfried Idyll, composed by Wagner for his wife Cosima's birthday on Christmas Eve 1870 and first performed for her at the couple's Swiss country villa. It was written to commemorate the birth of their son Siegfried. Working with schools and colleges is very much part of the remit of the Classics and visiting musicians are asked to give talks and workshops with local schoolchildren and students. It's what sets the Abu Dhabi concert series apart from other music festivals.

"All the orchestras we are bringing do a concert on one night and something with the kids the next morning. They do special programmes with surprise pieces for the children, and it's an important part of the educational programme," says Janczukowicz. "What we are trying to do is to educate the generation that will be leading the country in 10 or 15 years time. The orchestras have been going to all sorts of schools, Emirati, American and British, but this year we have had even more enquiries from the Emirati schools. It takes time for this sort of thing to filter through. We send out letters to all the schools, but at first we only got so many responses. Now it's much better and there is a genuine and widespread interest.

"Last year, the Teatro de Fenice did a performance in Al Ain and about 120 Emirati women students from the UAE University attended. About 15 of them came backstage afterwards and they were so enthusiastic about the performance, saying they had never heard that kind of music before. They wanted to have their pictures taken with the musicians who are back for the third time this year. "It is also possible for music students to listen to rehearsals. This year, Yo-Yo Ma will be working with local musicians giving a masterclass. He is very interested in oud music and all kinds of folk music."

There is clearly a huge sense of pride at the achievements of Adach over a relatively short period of time. "It's a major achievement to start something new and see it consolidated in the space of three years. Adach is saying to the world 'we are here, we have our own culture, but we are interested in experiencing other musical cultures. We are open and we want a cultural dialogue. Adach has created something really special. Their vision was there right from the start when we were sitting there planning the first season.'"

It has not been an easy job during a period of financial global recession that has forced concert series organisers all over the world to focus on the core elements. Says Janczukowicz: "It's a period where everybody is reflecting what happens. On the concert scene internationally people are getting back to their roots and concentrating on the essentials. I spoke to a conductor recently and he said that people are going more to classical concerts. During a recession, when things are being cut, people want something more substantial. The effects of the recession are the same all over the world.

"I wasn't worried because we have maintained an amazing degree of quality every season. It's more a question of regrouping and re-evaluating. Some European countries are cutting subsidies to culture and the arts, but it is scientifically proven what music does to children, increasing their awareness and creative skills and putting the right half and the left half of the brain together and stirring the emotions.

"Everyone is cutting back, but what you are seeing is that the essence stays. If you look at cultural life in Europe you have two ways of doing it - one where it is subsidised by the government, or you go for the more popular crossover acts. Everywhere you go there are people who feel they can make big business and big money out of everything, but it doesn't work with art. Either you kill the art or you make bad business. We have to find a balance, and that is what we are doing here.

"It's very important to give people time to prepare for something and digest. You don't go to a classical music concert every night, although we do have people who come to every concert." This year's season sees one or two concerts every month from October to May, including those at the Al Jahili Fort during the Al Ain Classics Festival. "The venue at Al Jahili Fort is unique. Many musicians have marveled at it, and the Vienna Philharmonic suggested we have a chamber music concert in the courtyard. There are only 400 seats and no amplification, but they love it."

One reason for the success of the Classics is that is very much in line with government strategy for the development of culture and tourism. Plans are already underway for when the new Performing Arts Centre is due to be completed along with the Guggenheim and the Louvre museums. "There are big Verdi and Wagner anniversaries coming up," says Janczukowicz. "Cultural tourism has really started to take off. Every little tour operator who has been providing trips is now increasing the numbers of trips. The Classics series is a sustainable project with the government. Firstly, it's about promoting glamorous events; secondly, it's about education; and thirdly, it's about tourism," he adds.

Janczukowicz points to the success of established festivals such as Salzburg, founded in 1920, and heavily subsidised by the Austrian government. "The Salzburg festival receives subsidies of about €14 million (Dh71m), but brings back €215 million to the country from tourists who spend money in the hotels, restaurants and on concerts. It works in the long run, if you do it properly. Travellers to the UAE buy airline tickets and spend money here leaving on average about €2,500 in the country.

"We have hundreds of tourists coming for all the concerts. I also have to say a big thank you and much respect for the public of Abu Dhabi. All the orchestras, without exception, have remarked at how amazingly appreciative the audiences were. The musicians all felt that the public understood what they do. The feedback has been amazing. At every concert we've had eight to 12 ambassadors and people telling us that their husbands moved business trips because they don't want to miss concerts."

With hundreds of musicians to be accommodated and dates to be coordinated, organising a season of concerts requires meticulous planning and constant shuttling around the musical capitals of the world, speaking to conductors and soloists face to face. The past few months have been a whirlwind of meetings with trips to Washington DC to see Lorin Maazel and Daniel Barenboim; London, for talks with the BBC Concert Orchestra; then on to Turin to speak to the RAI orchestra.

"It's a lot of communication, seeing the artists in person and talking to them because we do not invite them just for a concert like other promoters. We ask them to work with schools and universities. It's about creating credibility. The first year it was all done on trust; now that the Abu Dhabi Classics are established, they all want to come back. "After three years it is a tradition, but compared to other concert series we are still young.

"What is unbelievable in Abu Dhabi is that in a short time you can achieve things that couldn't be achieved elsewhere. Looking back and sitting here talking about the third season, you think it's impossible that it all happened, that we have brought sustainability, regularity and great artists, and that it has become constant thing. "We opened the first season with the Bayreuth, and last season with the New York Philharmonic. This year, it's the revered Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam. Really, that's pretty amazing."

Tickets are available from timeoutabudhabi.com, and at the Emirates Palace hotel.

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Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

BABYLON
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Price, base: Dh1.2 million

Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 725hp @ 6,500pm

Torque: 900Nm @ 1,800rpm

Fuel economy, combined:  12.3L / 100km (estimate)

The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
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Du Plessis plans his retirement

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said on Friday the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia in two years' time will be his last.

Du Plessis, 34, who has led his country in two World T20 campaigns, in 2014 and 2016, is keen to play a third but will then step aside.

"The T20 World Cup in 2020 is something I'm really looking forward to. I think right now that will probably be the last tournament for me," he said in Brisbane ahead of a one-off T20 against Australia on Saturday. 

Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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Brief scores:

Kashima Antlers 0

River Plate 4

Zuculini 24', Martinez 73', 90 2', Borre 89' (pen)

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
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  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Hotel Data Cloud profile

Date started: June 2016
Founders: Gregor Amon and Kevin Czok
Based: Dubai
Sector: Travel Tech
Size: 10 employees
Funding: $350,000 (Dh1.3 million)
Investors: five angel investors (undisclosed except for Amar Shubar)

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

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MATCH INFO

Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')

Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

THE BIO

Age: 33

Favourite quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” Winston Churchill

Favourite breed of dog: All of them. I can’t possibly pick a favourite.

Favourite place in the UAE: The Stray Dogs Centre in Umm Al Quwain. It sounds predictable, but it honestly is my favourite place to spend time. Surrounded by hundreds of dogs that love you - what could possibly be better than that?

Favourite colour: All the colours that dogs come in

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

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Porsche Taycan Turbo specs

Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors

Transmission: two-speed

Power: 671hp

Torque: 1050Nm

Range: 450km

Price: Dh601,800

On sale: now

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

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Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

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No more lice

Defining head lice

Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.

Identifying lice

Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.

Treating lice at home

Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.

Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital

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The biog

Prefers vegetables and fish to meat and would choose salad over pizza

Walks daily as part of regular exercise routine 

France is her favourite country to visit

Has written books and manuals on women’s education, first aid and health for the family

Family: Husband, three sons and a daughter

Fathiya Nadhari's instructions to her children was to give back to the country

The children worked as young volunteers in social, education and health campaigns

Her motto is to never stop working for the country

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

Electric scooters: some rules to remember
  • Riders must be 14-years-old or over
  • Wear a protective helmet
  • Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
  • Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
  • Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
  • Do not drive outside designated lanes
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MO
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Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

Jewel of the Expo 2020

252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome

13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas

550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome

724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses

Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa

Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site

The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants

Al Wasl means connection in Arabic

World’s largest 360-degree projection surface