Monthly Newsletter
Of the
IRAQI National Symphony Orchestra (INSO)
Episode 11
September 2002
September 2002
The First Anniversary
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Dear Subscribers:
This INSO monthly-episode project is celebrating its FIRST anniversary this September. We would like to thank you for making it an interesting task through the year via your commentary, news and information. During this critical time in the life of Iraqis worldwide, these monthly episodes mount as a drop of hope and the willingness to continue and thrive without giving up. In an effort to continue this project complementary (without any sort of funding) and to further improve the quality of the information and news provided, as well as accommodating the writing/editing team's schedule and availability, I have decided to continue this project on a bimonthly basis. So the next episode will be emailed in November.
I wish you a pleasant and a relaxing fall.
Wafaa
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1. News
2. INSO's History by Wafaa Mahmood
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1. News
A chamber music concert has been scheduled for Tuesday October 22.2002 at 19.30 at the inner courtyard of the St. Salvadore Church, Wipplingerstr.8 in Vienna, Austria. The concert will feature J.Brahms's Clarinet Quintet op.115 in h-moll. Munir Allahwerdi, member of the writing/editing team and INSO will be performing on the clarinet. The string players: Carl Poldy and Reinhard Halsmayr-violins, Herbert Plass- viola and Otto Blecha- chello. FREE to the public. This group of chamber music players has been in existence for some 10 years. They have given concerts in Finland and in Vienna.
2. History of the INSO
by Wafaa Mahmood
The Music Institute was established in 1936. It was then when music lovers began to meet at the Institute to listen to classical music both live and recorded. Five years later, The Music Institute was renamed The Institute of Fine Arts whereby a Chamber Orchestra formulated. The Orchestra,which consisted of string instruments, gave its first performance, conducted by Hanna Petros, in 1941 at the Royal College of Medicine.
In 1948, The Baghdad Philharmonic Society was founded in affiliation with the Institute of Fine Arts. This Society, then, formed the Baghdad Philharmonic Orchestra, which was composed of volunteers. The Orchestra gave three performances; two in Baghdad at the hall of the Institute of Fine Arts and at the King Faisal Hall, and a third in Kerkouk (North of Iraq). In 1959 during the leadership of Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qasim, the Orchestra became officially known as the IRAQI National Symphony Orchestra (INSO). Before that year, all musicians used to perform on a volunteer basis. Due to Iraq's instability during the 1960s, the Orchestra was shut down a couple of times. In 1971, underthe presidency of the Baathist Ahmed Al-Baker, theINSO was resumed performing again and continued its activities till the present day. Since its establishment in the 1940s, the INSO has had twenty-two (Iraqi and foreign) conductors.The Orchestra did not just perform classical pieces by European composers, but had also played symphonic compositions by Iraqi musicians. Among them were Farid Allahwerdi, Munther J. Hafeth, Munir Bashir, Hanna Petros, Khalil Ismael, Beatrice Ohannissian, Agnes Bashir, Hussein Qaddouri, Mohammed Ra'oof and others.
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The INSO Writing/Editing Team:Munir Allahwerdi, Clarinet Player (INSO) [Austria]
Munther J. Hafeth, Composer, Musician (INSO) [IRAQ]
Nahla Jajo, Violinist, Architect (INSO) [IRAQ]
Andrew Jones, Violinist, Journalist [South Africa]
Beatrice Ohanessian, Composer, Pianist (INSO) [USA]
Bassim H. Petros, Cellist, Music Critic (INSO) [New Zealand]
Wafaa Mahmood, List Moderator & Concert Tour Organizer [USA]