Vienna Phil’s new concertmaster is a Muslim from a Christian town
NewsMore details are emerging from last night’s stunning appointment of Yamen Saadi, 25, as concertmaster of the Vienna State Opera and candidate concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic.
Saadi comes from a Muslim family in the iconic Christian town of Nazareth in the Galilee. He was taught at the Barenboim-Said Conservatoire and by the Israel Philharmonic concertmaster Chaim Taub. Playing an instrument borrowed from Taub, he won the Aviv and Paul Ben Haim competitions and was awarded scholarships by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation.
In May this year, he made his concerto debut with the Israel Philharmonic, stepping in for Leonidas Kavakos.
He now plays a Stradivarius, the ‘Ex Lord Amherst of Hackney, Ex Fritz Kreisler’ 1734 violin, loaned to him by Stephan Jansen on behalf of a member of the Stretton society.
In January he released a recital disc with Nathalia Milstein titled ‘Voices from Paris’. Today, he signed with Intermusica, the Londn-based management agency.
All this has happened at the speed of light. Some journalists refer to him loosely as ‘Palestinian’, but Saadi has never made a political statement. He holds an Israeli passport. What matters is that he is a rare talent, recognised in Vienna and set for great things.
What on earth has his religion got to do with anything? Is he a good musician that’s all that matters. He must be in order to have been given this post and the best of luck to him.
Oh come on Elizabeth, get serious. This is a massive and heartwarming story. Life for someone like Yamen, growing up in a Palestinian family in Israel cannot have been easy. I agree that he must be one hell of a musician to land this position. But it’s surely cause for celebration for his community. And a feather in the cap of the Barenboim/Said Conservatoire.
Being a Muslim or an Arab is relevant because there are more than a few on SD who often write off both as nihilists with no inclination toward western music. And now an Arab Muslim will be Concertmaster of the Weiner Staatsoper, fairly unprecedented of them. Also interesting because if I’m not mistaken, to this day the Israel Philharmonic doesn’t have a single Arab member.
Well, the IPO gave Yamen a big break by inviting him to step on for Kavakos. I wouldn’t be surprised if they also offered him a concertmaster post since they’ve just lost one to Cleveland.
Well, his ethnicity matters in that he belongs to a group that is often unfairly stereotyped and stigmatized. Like Marian Anderson when she became one of the first great Black opera singers, he is a barrier-breaker. He is also a magnificent musician. That performance of Elgar’s Salut d’Amour just melted me. Congrats, Vienna, you got yourselves a great young artist!
I have had a pleasure to play some Chamber Music with him last month in Jerusalem – wonderful violinist and musician!
And a very pleasant and humble man as well!
Congratulations to Vienna!
Another answer to “Can anything good come out of Nazareth”
Has not made a political statement, only his musical side is important. Indeed, good that he not russian or russian affiliated otherwise mister Lebrecht would not be so kind:)
Whatever other virtues he has, he plays the Elgar beautifully, but in the wrong key. Elgar wrote it in E, not D as it is played here, and after it was a hit, the publisher asked for an easier version to pocket even more sales. A WP concertmaster should be able to play it beautifully in E major!
What a beautiful liquid tone. Imagine that sound in the Missa solemnis, Brahms’s Symphony No. 1, or the Hermit Fiddler in Reger’s Vier Tondichtungen nach A. Böcklin.