Art & Culture

Her poetry is greatly influenced by that of legendary Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani. She is clearly and strongly inspired by the simple language used by the late Syrian poet; a language that he once said, “was like bread, accessible to any ordinary person.” Both of them adore Damascus and were born in the same ancient neighborhood of Ma’zant al-Shahm. She does not deny the influence of Nizar’s powerful poetry, but indicates that she feels more inspired by Syria’s other literary giant, Omar Abu Risheh. Razan Ayaso is a talented poet living in Great Britain, with an aching heart left behind in Damascus. With three books to her name, the prolific young woman insists on making a difference, but laments not being recognized or supported by her native Syria. She knows where she stands today and understands perfectly well where she is heading, ten years from now.

The son of Syria’s Pavarotti sings music both new and different... to say the least

Anas Abu Qaws will be the first to tell you he’s arrogant. After all, he believes that, in a couple of years, he’s going to be an Arab pop star.
“I’m sure I’ll make it,” said Abu Qaws, sitting at the piano in his music studio, which he calls “the castle.”

Here, at this musty lair, packed with candles, clutter and a menagerie of instruments, the 32-year-old, with a mane of glossy curls and hiking boots, says he uses music to find himself.
Jazz. Gothic rock. Opera. Piano. Drums. Oud. Abu Qaws’ musical mediums of expression are as varied as the list of bands and performers with whom he’s jammed.
One of those performers is Sabah Fakhri, one of the Middle East’s most beloved and popular chanteurs. Fakhri, who is planning to open a singing institute in his native Aleppo, is best-known for his revival of traditional Arabic music, particularly the styles of “muwashahat” and “qudood.”
He also happens to be Abu Qaws’ father, a fact that explains a lot about why Abu Qaws seems so defiantly confident. He’s had to be.

A committed conductor

After a successful career teaching at universities and in secondary schools in the US, the same desire to travel and explore that prompted him to live and work in France for a year made him want to do something different, resulting in his arrival in Lebanon. “When AUB made its offer, I thought it would do for the short term,” Meers recollects. “When I got here, though, I fell in love with living in Lebanon, and with working with the students and the other musicians in the area.”
AUB has much to offer the ambitious: Assembly Hall, a main lecture space at the university, is one of the best performance halls in the region, with all the acoustic advantages a former chapel has to offer, and the organ is an instrument that is unique in the Arab world. Most of all, Meers has found that the diversity of the student body has given him a great deal to work with. “One of the biggest perks of working at AUB is getting to interact with students from very diverse academic backgrounds, because there is no specialized music department,” he explains. “Music professor Reem Deeb and I work in the Fine Arts and Art History department, but the department is expanding, and I hope music at the university expands with it.”

Smiling can usually do wonders for people; they make excellent first impressions. Muthana Subh is good at doing just that; enchanting those who meet him with a warm smile and strong handshake—making them love him, without even knowing who he is. This young man, who is originally from Palestine, is one of the rising young directors in Syria. Rising from peek to peek, his works are being currently broadcasted on Arabic television to millions of viewers around the world, forcing everybody—young and old—to recognize him as one of the finest young directors in the Syrian art world.

Underneath layers of his strong personality, and the eternal sparkle in his eyes, lies agony, however, at a homeland occupied, which he has never seen “except on maps.” Mirroring the hopes and ambitions of the Palestinians, Subh is a revolution in his own right—not in politics, but in television drama. He started his career alone, working his way to the top with established directors like Hatem Ali in 2006, and today, only two years later, has left his fingerprints all over the art scene in Damascus.

Oscar-nominee and Hollywood star Anne Archer speaks exclusively to FW:

She walked the red carpet, raising eyebrows from Tokyo to Los Angeles, and was nominated for an Oscar Academy Award for her role in the 1987 thriller “Fatal Attraction.” She shared the screen with some of the legends of the 20th century; Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, and Danny DeVito. Beautiful, impassioned and dedicated to a cause, Anne Archer is by far more substance than looks (although she excels in both).

Her first film was in 1970, opposite Jon Voight in “The All American Boy.” She was one of the finalists for the classic “Superman: the Movie” alongside Christopher Reed, and in 1987, became an international name for her memorable role in “Fatal Attraction,” playing the wife of an unfaithful Michael Douglas. The film earned her an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress. She later played the physician wife of CIA agent Jack Ryan in two films based on Tom Clancy novels, 1992’s “Patriot Games” and 1994’s “Clear and Present Danger” opposite Harrison Ford. Not known for provocative roles, Archer accepted the leading role of Mrs. Robinson, including its nude scene, for London’s West End stage production of “The Graduate,” for which she received outstanding reviews. From her home in Beverly Hills, she spoke to FW: magazine about her baby project, Artists for Human Rights, which has started in the US, Mexico, and South Africa, and plans on coming to the Arab World.

In July of 1944, a car carrying Asmahan, the renowned Syrian singer, and a female friend of hers crashed into the Nile after the driver lost control. Without doors in the back where the women were sitting, both got stuck and drowned. Though Asmahan’s life was short, however, her influence on Arabic music is still felt 54 years following her death. With the story of Asmahan, the reader glimpses not only aspects of the cultural and political history of Egypt and Syria between the First and Second World Wars, but one can touch upon the change in attitude in the Arab world toward women as public performers on stage.

Asmahan’s style of interpretation has enriched Arabic song by opening up to the music of the Western World, but with keeping the coherence and difference between the two types of music. The mastery she displayed when interpreting an Arabic song in the classical manner such as “leïta lilbarraqi aïnan”(If only the lightening had eyes) was equaled by “ya tûyûr”(Oh, birds)in a style influenced by Western technique. Her mastery is truly acknowledged by the fact she did not disturb in the least Arabic listeners.
Asmahan descended from a great clan in the mountains of Syria but broke free from her traditional family background. She left her husband, and became a public performer, a role frowned upon for women of the time. Television drama critics in Egypt hold an almost unanimous view that the Syrian series “Asmahan” by the Tunisian director Shawqi al-Majiri is a technical marvel, and attracted high numbers of Arab television viewers. The series was shown on more than 10 Arab channels during the 30 days of the holy month of Ramadan.

If this is a story, then it describes two cities that are completely different from each other.
What makes me speak of them together, if there is nothing to compare? Because I’ve created the common link of having lived in both of them, immersed myself in their spiritualities, and practically tasted their histories.

Islamabad, where bushes used to grow and snakes used to crawl; the gods of the countryside got tired in Mount Olympus, otherwise known as the civilized cosmopolitan city Karachi, and decided to inhabit this land.
First they sent metallic birds to shower seeds all over.
When the land became green they developed it precisely as they should, with every aspect intricately planned.

Security has always preoccupied the Damascenes.
Their narrow streets and alleys have been throughout history surrounded by high walls and gates, to protect them from invaders.
Men defended the city with arms, while women, children, and the elderly retreated behind the security of the high walls of Damascus.
The gates of Damascus are one of the treasures of Arabic and Islamic architecture.

Showcasing the best of their countries’ talents, Italy and Syria join forces to put together a concert celebrating both their cultural accomplishments.

As Damascus is celebrated 2008 as the Arab Capital of Culture, and Rome celebrates 150 years of the composer Giacomo Puccini’s birth (1858-1924), both cities have united to make one distinguished event; The Gala Puccini, performed by the Syrian Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) at the Opera House, and conducted by Nahel al-Halabi.