Latest news with #YoungEuroClassic
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Afghan youth orchestra: Resistance against the Taliban
AP file photo In August 2021, when the Taliban once again seized power in Afghanistan, the entire Afghan Youth Orchestra managed to flee to Europe. For the past four years, the young musicians of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM) have found a new home in Portugal and are now guests at the Young Euro Classic Festival in Berlin. "Making instruments and playing music is completely forbidden in Afghanistan," said Ahmad Sarmast, founder and director of ANIM. He said he was able to help 273 people associated with his music school flee Afghanistan. His Kabul school was then closed and the instruments were destroyed. "Listening to and playing music is a human right. The people of Afghanistan are denied this right," Sarmast told DW. "This has turned my country into a 'silent nation'." Young Euro Classic wants to preserve musical traditions But Afghan music lives on in exile, including at the Young Euro Classic. Hundreds of young musicians from all over the world perform at the annual international youth orchestra festival, with European and non-European orchestras and ensembles alike invited to participate. "The core of the festival remains symphonic music and how differently countries deal with this tradition of classical music," said project manager, Carolin Trispel. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Take a spoonful on an empty stomach and watch the fat go down the drain gofitlifeguide Click Here Undo Meanhile in the still young "Festival within a Festival' series, ensembles primarily perform music from their home countries and play traditional instruments from their cultures. "We are also interested in preserving musical traditions for the future and providing a platform for their further development," said Trispel. This year, in addition to Afghan musicians, ensembles from Bolivia, Indonesia, India, Gambia, and the indigenous Sami people of northern Scandinavia will also be participating. Forbidden music finds new voice Some of these ensembles play traditional music that was banned in their respective homelands. This includes the singing of the Sami people, known as "joik." This spiritual-sounding chant was prohibited from the 18th to the 20th century as it was seen as an expression of a non-Christian religion. "You often see this with indigenous peoples, that their own musical language was suppressed by colonization and the musical tradition was no longer allowed to be practiced," Trispel explained. The Bolivian ensemble, Dos pares de la Orquesta Experimental de Instrumentos Nativos plays old tunes from the Andes as well as new pieces composed especially for their traditional instruments. Meanwhile, the Azada Ensemble is an Afghan group within the youth orchestra that performs traditional music and dances. Their performances highlight the connection between humans and nature, as well as the beauty of the country and its music. Protesting Taliban social policy The Afghan Youth Orchestra was a guest in Bonn in 2023 as part of the DW Campus project at the Beethovenfest, along with Iranian musicians. "When we came to Bonn, the whole orchestra was not there, only part of it," said the orchestra's founder, Ahmad Sarmast. In Berlin, the entire orchestra's 51 members are now performing in the Young Euro Classic, and they will put on the final concert. "Every piece we play is in some way connected to the current situation in Afghanistan and the policies of the Taliban," said Sarmast. The songs performed by the Afghan Youth Orchestra deal with themes like social cohesion. "One song is a call to Afghan men to support oppressed women in their struggle for freedom and equality,' explains Sarmast. One well-known traditional piece is closely associated with celebrating the New Year in Afghanistan, but the Taliban have banned both the festival and the music — and destroyed countless musical instruments. "This has been celebrated in Afghanistan for thousands of years," explained Sarmast. "Playing this piece is a protest against the Taliban's destruction of cultural tradition in Afghanistan." 'Hope lives on' The last of the concert songs, which were arranged by Tiago Moreira da Silva, a young Portuguese conductor and director of the orchestra, is based on a well-known Persian poem about the return of spring — and the return of peace. Ahmad Sarmast quotes the Chilean poet and freedom fighter Pablo Neruda: "You can cut down the flowers and trees, but spring will always return, and you cannot stop freedom." The orchestra keeps in touch with its homeland via social media, and also by streaming their concerts. "Hope lives on," said Sarmast, who believes the day will come when the arts can flourish again in Afghanistan. "We want the Taliban to know that no oppressive regime in human history has ever managed to stay in power. And that will also be the case with the Taliban."
DW
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- DW
Afghan Youth Orchestra: Resistance against the Taliban – DW – 08/15/2025
Music is banned at home. But after fleeing the Taliban into exile, the Afghan Youth Orchestra is performing in Europe about loss, hope, and the power of music. In August 2021, when the Taliban once again seized power in Afghanistan, the entire Afghan Youth Orchestra managed to flee to Europe. For the past four years, the young musicians of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM) have found a new home in Portugal and are now guests at the Young Euro Classic Festival in Berlin. "Making instruments and playing music is completely forbidden in Afghanistan," said Ahmad Sarmast, founder and director of ANIM. He says he was able to help 273 people associated with his music school flee Afghanistan. His Kabul school was then closed and the instruments were destroyed. "Listening to and playing music is a human right. The people of Afghanistan are denied this right,' Sarmast told DW. "This has turned my country into a 'silent nation'." But Afghan music lives on in exile, including at the Young Euro Classic. Hundreds of young musicians from all over the world perform at the annual international youth orchestra festival, with European and non-European orchestras and ensembles alike invited to participate. "The core of the festival remains symphonic music and how differently countries deal with this tradition of classical music," said project manager, Carolin Trispel. Meanhile in the still young "Festival within a Festival' series, ensembles primarily perform music from their home countries and play traditional instruments from their cultures. "We are also interested in preserving musical traditions for the future and providing a platform for their further development,' says Trispel. This year, in addition to Afghan musicians, ensembles from Bolivia, Indonesia, India, Gambia, and the indigenous Sami people of northern Scandinavia will also be participating. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Some of these ensembles play traditional music that was banned in their respective homelands. This includes the singing of the Sami people, known as "joik." This spiritual-sounding chant was prohibited from the 18th to the 20th century as it was seen as an expression of a non-Christian religion. "You often see this with indigenous peoples, that their own musical language was suppressed by colonization and the musical tradition was no longer allowed to be practiced," Trispel explained. The Bolivian ensemble, Dos pares de la Orquesta Experimental de Instrumentos Nativos plays old tunes from the Andes as well as new pieces composed especially for their traditional instruments. Meanwhile, the Azada Ensemble is an Afghan group within the youth orchestra that performs traditional music and dances. Their performances highlight the connection between humans and nature, as well as the beauty of the country and its music. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Afghan Youth Orchestra was a guest in Bonn in 2023 as part of the DW Campus project at the Beethovenfest, along with Iranian musicians. "When we came to Bonn, the whole orchestra was not there, only part of it," said the orchestra's founder, Ahmad Sarmast. In Berlin, the entire orchestra's 51 members are now performing in the Young Euro Classic, and they will put on the final concert. "Every piece we play is in some way connected to the current situation in Afghanistan and the policies of the Taliban," said Sarmast. The songs performed by the Afghan Youth Orchestra deal with themes like social cohesion. "One song is a call to Afghan men to support oppressed women in their struggle for freedom and equality,' explains Sarmast. One well-known traditional piece is closely associated with celebrating the New Year in Afghanistan, but the Taliban have banned both the festival and the music — and destroyed countless musical instruments. "This has been celebrated in Afghanistan for thousands of years," explained Sarmast. "Playing this piece is a protest against the Taliban's destruction of cultural tradition in Afghanistan." The last of the concert songs, which were arranged by Tiago Moreira da Silva, a young Portuguese conductor and director of the orchestra, is based on a well-known Persian poem about the return of spring — and the return of peace. Ahmad Sarmast quotes the Chilean poet and freedom fighter Pablo Neruda: "You can cut down the flowers and trees, but spring will always return, and you cannot stop freedom." The orchestra keeps in touch with its homeland via social media, and also by streaming their concerts. "Hope lives on," said Sarmast, who believes the day will come when the arts can flourish again in Afghanistan. "We want the Taliban to know that no oppressive regime in human history has ever managed to stay in power. And that will also be the case with the Taliban."
The Herald Scotland
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Frankenstein faces the music on new Youth Orchestra tour
(Image: Jay Capperauld) NYOS, Scotland's national youth orchestra, is made up of 100 of Scotland's most prolific young musicians aged 14 to 22. This summer the orchestra will undertake its first international tour since 2015 visiting Perth, Liverpool and Saffron Walden before travelling to Berlin to represent Scotland at the Young Euro Classic festival. They will present a macabre and fantastical programme featuring the new Capperauld piece alongside work by Anna Clyne and Berlioz. (Image: NYOS) Capperauld's commission is the latest in a succession, all sharing a gothic sensibility, by the young composer, a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, who has, for the last decade, been himself 'galvanising' the world of classical music with his virtuoso compositions. What adds a fresh dimension to his latest piece is that the soloist will be Ryan Corbett, a BBC New Generation artist, who plays the accordion. (Image: Ryan Corbett) Capperauld, who is the Scottish Chamber Orchestra's Associate Composer and who was commissioned by His Majesty King Charles III to produce a new work for the Honours of Scotland Ceremony, says: "The accordion can be a deceptively difficult instrument to compose for because it is essentially a mini orchestra within itself. This offers huge scope and sonic options, but also makes it hard to pin the instrument down with compositional rules. 'I collaborated with Ryan Corbett throughout the process, trying out bits of material so that his identity as a performer is imprinted onto the piece, and I am also excited to be working with the young musicians of NYOS in bringing this musical monster to life. The young players are always so enthusiastic and genuinely interested in exploring new music with a fresh sense of curiosity.' Ryan, who has been hailed by composer Sir James McMillan as 'one of the most astonishing and surprising newcomers in Scottish music', who has won a string of accolades for his playing since being introduced to the accordion at the age of 11. The new work that he will be playing for the NYOS will have its world premiere in Perth Concert Hall on Friday, 1 August, followed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and the Saffron Hall in Essex, before making its international debut in Berlin, on 6 August. Tickets for the tour are on sale now. (Image: NYOS) The concerto, which was commissioned with support from The Richard Chester Creativity Fund, is written in one continuous movement that reimagines the Frankenstein story in a set of infernal dances through the nightmarish image of a chorus line of dancing dead frogs' legs. The accordion is shocked into animation by orchestral jolts, which set in motion an unfolding narrative of high-drama and macabre, tongue-in-cheek humour, with references to various musical dance forms, such as the tango, waltz, jig and tarantella. This is a challenging score for young musicians, but the orchestra has been likened by critics as 'hard-worn professionals' and is more than ready to thrill audiences with its performance. (Image: NYOS) The vision of NYOS is to provide access to world-class ensemble music-making for all communities in Scotland, and the organisation works with young musicians between the ages of eight and 25, providing music-making opportunities, inspirational orchestral experiences and advanced artistic and career skills development. Kirsteen Davidson-Kelly, CEO and Artistic Director of NYOS, said: 'This summer marks the first time since 2016 that the NYOS orchestra has performed outside Scotland, and the first time since our 2015 China tour that we have toured abroad. "We are looking forward to sharing this electrifying programme with audiences at home and further afield, offering our young people the chance to represent Scotland on the world stage.' The NYOS musicians are looking forward to performing at the festival in Berlin and sharing the new Capperauld concerto with audiences. (Image: NYOS) Aiden Macdonald, NYOS' principal viola, says: 'I have never been to Germany, so getting to perform there is an incredibly exciting opportunity. I love playing in this orchestra and I know that taking it abroad and performing the new commission will be an amazing experience for all of us.' Full details of the NYOS programme are available from
