Daniel Hope (violin, viola), Sakari Oramo (cond), Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano), Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
(Deutsche Grammophon)
****
While we know composers of the past through their written works, it is hard to conjure up the worlds of great performers such as Niccolò Paganini or Ignaz Moscheles simply because there is nothing to prove their brilliance other than the anecdote and adulation of their contemporaries.
In Joseph Joachim’s case, we do have a few crackling recordings from the turn of the 20th century, by which time he was elderly and probably past his best. Yet this was a violinist who not only composed his own works but was also a huge influence on some of the greatest composers of the mid- and late-19th century, including Clara and Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Max Bruch.
Indeed, such an important figure was he that he was given free reign to amend and adapt the Bruch violin concerto that opens the album, No. 1 in G minor, to the extent that Bruch himself feared that listeners would believe the piece to have been composed by Joachim.
The young South African/British violinist Daniel Hope, fascinated by Joachim’s immense presence in the history of German Romanticism, has tried to bring together those works that reflect his influence the most – the Bruch, two Hungarian Dances by Brahms that Joachim regularly performed with the composer himself, and a Schubert Lied that had been performed by Joachim’s wife, the mezzo-soprano Amalie Schneeweiss (performed here by Anne Sofie von Otter).
Hope even taught himself the viola especially to play Brahms's Geistliches Wiegenlied, which had been reworked from a lullaby to celebrate the birth of Joachim's first child. The addition of a Romanza and a Notturne written by Joachim himself reveal the violinist as a tender, sensitive composer. Luckily, Hope's performances are just as tender, with none of the histrionics that sometimes accompany the Romantic canon, making this a genuinely interesting collection.
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Racecard
2pm Handicap Dh 90,000 1,800m
2.30pm Handicap Dh120,000 1,950m
3pm Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
3.30pm Jebel Ali Classic Conditions Dh300,000 1,400m
4pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
4.30pm Conditions Dh250,000 1,400m
5pm Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
5.30pm Handicap Dh85,000 1,000m
The National selections:
2pm Arch Gold
2.30pm Conclusion
3pm Al Battar
3.30pm Golden Jaguar
4pm Al Motayar
4.30pm Tapi Sioux
5pm Leadership
5.30pm Dahawi
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Tips to keep your car cool
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: SimpliFi
Started: August 2021
Founder: Ali Sattar
Based: UAE
Industry: Finance, technology
Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals