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Khaleej Times
7 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
300-year-old violin to star at UK classical music festival
One of the most valuable violins in the world, crafted three centuries ago and once owned by composer Niccolo Paganini, is to be played at a top UK classical music festival. The violin, known as the Carrodus, is one of only around 150 made by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu known to have survived down the centuries, and was acquired by a philanthropic group for $20 million in June. It was crafted in 1743 in Cremonia, northern Italy, and will be played for the first time as part of the BBC Proms by South Korean violinist Inmo Yang. The violin once owned by Italian virtuoso Paganini will be seen on August 28 at London's Royal Albert Hall. "I can't believe how lucky I am to have this instrument. This is easily one of the greatest instruments ever made," Yang, who is also making his debut at the Proms, told AFP. "I feel a duty to take good care of the instrument and make a beautiful sound, so that people know that it's worth playing these instruments rather than having them in a vault in a museum." The Stretton Society, a network of philanthropists, patrons and sponsors that has loaned the violin to Yang, seeks to acquire rare and valuable instruments to lend to the world's leading musicians. Guarneri was one of the most important violin makers of all time, alongside Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari, said the society's co-founder Stephan Jansen. Whereas Stradivari made instruments for the Church and the nobility, Guarneri's violins were made for musicians, and they became renowned for their deep and sonorous tones, Jansen said. "Inmo is one of the finest musicians of his generation," Jansen told AFP. The instrument's sound is also "quite unpredictable", he said, and "this kind of capricious nature really gives more liveliness to the piece". "Thinking that Paganini used this instrument is kind of spiritual, and I think people also want to hear Paganini's music played on his own violin," Yang added.
Khaleej Times
a day ago
- Khaleej Times
Social media hit Ilona Maher takes women's rugby onto new plane
Ilona Maher transcends women's rugby, giving it a profile outside of the sport in the way that Mia Hamm did for women's football. Now the stage is set at the women's World Cup in England for the American to spark even more interest. The 29-year-old phenomenon has attracted over eight million followers on social media, not only through her sporting exploits but also for her promotion of body positivity. She played a pivotal role in the USA women's team winning a first ever Olympic medal, beating Australia in the third-place playoff in Paris last year. On the back of that achievement, Maher featured in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition and appeared in the US version of hit TV show "Dancing with the Stars", finishing runner-up. The Maher-fuelled improvement of the USA team attracted the attention of American investor Michele Kang who donated $4 million to help develop the USA Women's Rugby Sevens Team over four years. In another sport, Kang owns the Lyon women's football team, the eight-time European champions. Maher's days in Paris were not just spent playing rugby but also attracting even more followers with her pithy social media posts. She compared life in the Athletes' Village to a reality TV show, in one humorous posting saying she was there "looking for love", to which her friend replies: "No you are here to play rugby." In more reflective mode in Paris, she told the Bleacher Report one of her goals was trying to reassure "girls" that playing sport did not take away their "girliness". "What we're trying to show is the beauty that in sports you can be a badass on the field, you can be a beast on the field, but also be a beauty," she said. "It's really important for me because I want girls to see what their body is capable of. "It's not just to be looked at, objectified, but it's strong and it's fast, and it's brilliant." Maher, who through her body positivity push has become a brand ambassador for a deodorant and a skincare product she co-founded, revels in her global popularity and being "America's sweetheart." "I love when people call me that because I feel like I'm maybe not the image you would have of a sweetheart in some sense of the word,' Maher told CNN in January this year. "I'm honoured." Maher, who hails from Vermont, may be extrovert and cheerful but she keeps her ego in check by showing appreciation to those women sports stars who paved the way for her. Hamm, her fellow American and a groundbreaking football superstar of the 1990s and early noughties, a two-time Olympic and World Cup winner, features high on the list. "I remember in our gym we always had a poster of Mia Hamm, and that was always cool to look up to her," Maher told the Bleacher Report. Closer to home, though, she is part of a tight-knit family unit, with her father Michael, a keen rugby player who introduced her to the sport, Netherlands-born mum Mieneke and sisters Olivia and Adrianna. Elder sister Olivia has a considerable social media presence herself. From her father Ilona not only learned about rugby but also a crucial life lesson when he defended her at a softball event. One of the other dads complained that Maher's pitches were unhittable but he was put in his place by Maher senior. "I think that was the first moment of being told to never tone it down," she told CNN. "Because that dad over there … wanted me to tone myself down so that it could be easier for (his daughter). "But that's not the world, is it? The world isn't going to tone down for you." Instead Maher has upped the ante and the fruits for women's rugby have been plentiful as New Zealand legend Portia Woodman-Wickliffe told AFP. "Having someone from America with that American market who is very confident, loves rugby, loves supporting women's bodies, someone as vocal as that is amazing for us," Woodman-Wickliffe said. "We need to capitalise and follow her as much as we can."
The National
a day ago
- The National
Palestinian artists Alaa Shehada and Sami Abu Wardeh win awards at Edinburgh Fringe
Stories of Palestinian resistance and life under Israeli military occupation have won awards at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. Palestinian artists Alaa Shehada and Sami Abu Wardeh were among the winners recognised for their solo productions at one of the world's largest arts festivals. Actor and writer Shehada won the Fringe First award, organised by Scottish newspaper The Scotsman, for his solo show The Horse of Jenin. Comedian Abu Wardeh received the Heart Award for Palestine: Peace de Resistance as part of the Besties – awards run by Scottish arts publications and theatre partners. Both shows are being staged at the Pleasance Dome, with the festival to end on August 25. In The Horse of Jenin, Shehada traces the story of a horse sculpture once found in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. The structure, built in 2003 using wreckage from an Israeli attack a year earlier, was a symbol of resistance for Palestinians, before Israeli forces used a bulldozer to remove it in 2023. Throughout the 70-minute set, Shehada weaves in personal stories, humour and tragedy to reflect on what became of the remains of the horse and the loss of his childhood friend Ahmed in the West Bank. In its review, The Scotsman praised Shehada's exuberant performance while hailing the show as 'a terrific tale of Palestinian life, laughter and tragedy under unimaginable pressure". Shehada welcomed the award on Instagram, saying the show's theme has never been more urgent. 'The show tells a story that has always mattered, and never more so," he said. "As the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank continues, and the occupation of Palestine persists, we must keep amplifying Palestinian voices, preserving culture and advocating for justice, freedom and an end to the violence." The critical acclaim, bolstered by the award, has led to additional performances being scheduled during the festival, including extra shows on August 22 and 23. Irish-Palestinian comedian Sami Abu Wardeh also received an accolade for Palestine: Peace de Resistance, a stand-up show weaving character sketches and physical theatre as it examines whether comedy is a viable form of resistance. Inspired by his life as a Palestinian born in exile, the show merges barbed political satire with absurdist elements such as hand puppetry and outlandish caricatures. In awarding the Heart Award at the Besties, Louis Cammell, deputy editor of Fest magazine, which co-runs the award, described the show as 'passionate, epic and very funny". Abu Wardeh took to social media to announce his victory: 'Winner! Bestie Award for Heart. Thank you to everyone who made this possible.' The Edinburgh Festival Fringe traditionally takes place every August across the Scottish capital and features more than 3,000 productions.
