Africa Unite
The east and central African states of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda could be described as tailored for integration. These three astoundingly beautiful countries share numerous ethnic, cultural, economic and geographic similarities. Among these commonalities, the three enjoy that most valuable ingredient for smooth integration; language. All of them have English and Swahili as joint official languages.
Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya have a combined population of 106.4 million and an aggregate land area of 1,763,000 square kilometers. The largest is Tanzania with Uganda the smallest. Per capita incomes range 800 USD in Tanzania 1200 USD in Kenya and 1900 USD for Uganda. The three neighbors established the East African Community (EAC) on November 30, 1999, in Arusha –Tanzania. Prior to the EAC, the members had long cooperated in various regional instruments. These include:
* Customs union between Kenya and Uganda – 1917 with the then Tanganyika joining in 1927
* East Africa Common Service Organization – 1948-1967
* The first East African Community – 1967 – 1977
* East African Cooperation – 1993-1999.
The dynamo among these economies is Kenya as it has a relatively better developed infrastructure and a mature free market system. Kenya’s economy is currently growing at 5.7%. Uganda and Tanzania are also enjoying robust economic progress with growth rates of 5.3% and 5.8% respectively.
CHRISTOPHE SIMONET PLAYS LATE BRAHMS
It’s not exactly ingratiating music, most of it. After all, a composer obviously doesn’t need to plead with himself for a hearing: this is Brahms musing with Brahms, just that. (At least to start with: later, perhaps much later, Clara might join them, and Theodor Billroth, and ...)
But why the fuss? Why bother with a short cut to the ineffable, a lifeline first thrown 116 years ago, and thus neither state-of-the-art nor particularly venerable? Well, nowadays, indeed for the whole of the latter half of that century, in the USA popularity stakes, Brahms’ orchestral works, his symphonies, overtures and concertos, etc., rank second only to You Know Who’s. When such a successful orchestral composer addresses us privatissime, via his tried medium, the one he has made peculiarly his own from the beginning, the arguments for paying attention become overwhelming. The early and middle period works for solo piano, typically four- or five-movement sonatas and big sets of variations, are too long to combine in one programme. But the later solos are shorter.
Thus it was natural for last Monday’s solo pianist Christophe Simonet to choose from among the late works: the only early Brahms in his programme was the illustrative portrait, dated around forty years before the music. So, given this chance and blessed with such an illustrious interpreter and guide: how did we fare? Did we really manage to leave our headaches at work, even to forget our loved ones listening at our sides, and centre down in the twilight to consider thirteen of the most absorbing, closely reasoned miniatures in the repertoire?
The darkened Russian Embassy theatre was a good start. The festive candles were a nice touch. The work titles, firmly generic, were of no use at all, of course. The young composer’s friend and mentor, Schumann, often provides evocative names – not to mention Liszt and the Frenchmen to come. Brahms no, never. Thoughtfully, tonight’s soloist saw to it that we could consult the tempo indications, given a little Italian and good eyesight. Useful, too, were M. Simonet’s own programme notes, read out to us in the introductory remarks. As far as they went, that is: there was still room for a lot of individual effort on our part. Providentially, this effort seemed to be forthcoming, judging by the pregnant pauses before the enthusiastic applauses. And by the fact that no-one fell into the clapping trap set us by our wily cicerone, with his oh so justified extra respect’s pause before beginning op.118/6.
I have no space, here, to mention the many felicities of the evening’s exciting collaboration. Both composer and performer came out extraordinarily well, I felt. Before I go on to sum up, let it suffice to explain the point I’ve already broached above, the clapping trap.
We’ve just enjoyed the rich, calm affirmation which concludes the F major Romanze, the penultimate piece in op.118 and the eighth of the thirteen in the programme. One piece further on, with only four to go, op.119 will begin, after a miniscule interval, with a solitary treble F sharp. One of the more easily appreciable of M. Simonet’s many felicitous touches is the respect-filled wait which he inserts, already now, before what is effectively the same note, the initial treble G flat of op.118’s concluding Andante, largo e mesto. The respect is due to what the consensus recognises as perhaps the finest of all the late pieces, this E flat minor Intermezzo; it’s certainly one of the most gripping. The wait, mother of all agogic accents, picks out what follows as mattering, as prime time. The G flat heads a snaky subject coiling around and around and around only three pitches; the adventures of this sinuous but slender idea in the course of the next few minutes can only be adequately described, I submit, in herpetological terms. The whole piece, in M. Simonet’s impassioned interpretation, richly justified its reputation. ...
Now to attempt a summing up of M. Simonet’s achievement this evening. We had: distinctive, courageous and pioneering programming; transparent playing; thoughtful interpretations, not too personal, not too idiosyncratic. No epoch-making discoveries – after more than a century, it’s perhaps a bit late for those! But also, thank goodness, no extraneous add-ons, no attempts to gild the lily by exaggeration in any parameter. I hope this doesn’t sound too negative, a case of virtue willy nilly, by namby pamby dodging of vices. It is not, emphatically not, meant that way! Afterwards, a fellow Brahmin confessed to having missed something in the evening’s interpretations. I look forward to finding out, in later conversations, exactly what. For me, anything over and above what we actually got would have risked settling, arbitrarily, for a single reading, a single universe, and ruling out so many others. Or, to put it another way: it would have been a flagrant case of the performer usurping a vital part of the listener’s rôle, doing some of my work for me. As some sort of justification for this my preference for performing understatement, I may remind my readers of a well documented tendency on the part of the composer himself, even when playing other people’s music, towards reticence in expression (see for instance Hanslick’s review of Brahms’ first Viennese concert. And he will hardly have become less reticent with the years!).
Just before we retired to our tasty and unusually plentiful and varied refreshments there were consolation prizes for those who were not filled to their brims with Brahms: three encores. For those who were, they may have been found a touch irrelevant. But with such a musical pianist, who might never come our way again, and who is committed to playing French music at his only other scheduled appearance in Addis Ababa, and who has such a nice hand with Schubert and Chopin, who are anyhow such capital composers, and who belong into the bargain in the right moderate Romantic tradition – what to do? (Enjoy them, of course.) And I imagine the offerings, for AHMSG, benefited accordingly: to be honest, I fear late Brahms is not the ideal stimulus for filling collection plates.
The turnout was good, considering the fact that, in season, Monday night is Motleys night, and that this was Ginny’s first rehearsal after her return. Definitely an unfortunate choice of day for such an important recital. But we must presume that there were even more pressing reasons for avoiding the other evenings. And choir members will surely join us all at the Sheraton on Friday. In any case, such an inspiring visitor must be persuaded to return!
Bravissimo! And our best thanks, too, to the Ambassadors’ Spouses, who arranged everything!
© Brian Willson 20080413
Piano recital
raises funds
By our staff reporter
A benefit concert hosted by the Ambassadors and Heads of Mission Spouses Group, AHMSG, and held at the auditorium of the Russian Embassy on April 17, 2008 has raised over ETB 35,000. The concert by French pianist Christophe Simonet was a formal evening of fine music and attended by an enthusiastic audience which was unstinting in its generosity.
It is recalled that 2007s AHMSG diplomatic bazaar raised a record ETB 850,000 which was earmarked to support local NGOs assisted by the Group. The funds raised at the concert will be channeled for projects dealing with children, women, the elderly and the disabled according to the AHMSG, which also express its appreciation to all those who contributed to the benefit fundraiser.
‘One-day’; an exhibition hits the Czech embassy
By Abiy Demilew
The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Addis Ababa will launch an exhibition by artist Girmachew Getenet, entitled one-day, as of Sunday, 20 April 2008.
According to Girmachew Getenet and the embassy’s statement, introductory comments will be made by Ambassador Koen Vervaeke, Head of the EU Delegation to the African Union.
Born in Addis Ababa in 1980, Girmachew Getnet started painting at a very young age, beginning with portraits of friends and teachers at school. He then realized what was going to be his main interest for a number of years; according to his profile compiled by the embassy.
He graduated from Addis Ababa University Fine Arts School in 2001 and founded the first art studio in Addis Ababa, “Habesha Art Studio,” together with four friends.
He participated in both group and individual exhibitions at the Alliance Françoise, Goethe Institute and International Community School in Addis, as well as youth projects with UNICEF and Speak Africa! In addition he took part in regular art endeavours in Germany, Ethiopia, the USA and Sweden. He has also collaborated with a number of interior design projects and drama set designs, including the Heber Traditional Ethiopian Restaurant and multi media ventures with Zoma Contemporary Art Centre.
Girmachew was invited in August 2005 by Johannes Gutenberg-University in Mainz (Germany) to organize the exhibition “Wall and Canvas” that showed contemporary art and traditional wall paintings from Ethiopia. In 2007 he was invited to the Ethiopian Millennium celebrations by the Grassi Museum for Ethnography, Leipzig (Germany). There he exhibited his works under the title “Bado Bota” (Free Space). He also conducted a workshop for children and adults at the same museum.
His short experimental films have been screened at different places including the TV channel OK in Germany and several short film festivals in Ethiopia and Germany.
At the moment the artist paints and holds exhibitions in Germany and Ethiopia. For the future he plans to share his artistic works and his experimental films with other countries. The current exhibition will continue at Gallery DOXA in the Czech Republic, and in Sweden. The artist stress, “I have one nationality but my work is universal”.
Prolific style of creative art studio and exhibition
By Addis Mulugeta
On Thursday 17th of April, 2008, artist Zerihun Seyoum inaugurated a studio called the Embassy of Ideas and opened an art exhibition titled, Naïve Eyes, to be open for about one week. Zerihun has already achieved considerable success in Ethiopia, with 14 exhibitions including at the National Museum, Goethe Institute and the faculity of Technology at Addis Ababa University and abroad has exhibited at Expo 2004 in New York, Watatu in Kenya and the University of Applied Art and Science in Schwabisch Hall, Germany.
There were about 41 unique painting with various different style of prolific style of painting presented during the occasion. Various distinguished and invited guests attended the ceremony and appreciated his creative work and contribution in the development of Ethiopian arts. He is a well equipped young artist with full confidence about his studio which is also his residence, a kid’s center and a place where art merges with perception, where artists could explore and exhibit and where children can learn about the transformative power of art.
According to the artists who attended the occasion, it was stated that the construction of this unique studio has given encouragements to other artists. These new studio is stylish, and an art in itself. The furnishings are made of bamboo.
“Art should be accessible to anyone. I want to make of this studio a real platform of expression, an embassy of ideas where everyone can find his space”, says Zerihun.
Zerihun added that people have to develop the admiration of what the artist is doing and have enough confidence in their own nation’s art.
‘Sile Fiker’
By Lekbir Taffesse
Director: Yonas Berhanemewa
Producer: Amleset Muchie
Duration: 120min
Type: Romance/ Drama
‘Sile Fikir’, a feature film, premiered Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at Edna Mall. Most of the actors in this film are well known by most of Ethiopian movie fans, and the combination of those very familiar actors made the film of very high-quality. Among the main actors are Amleset Muchie, Sebo Pawlos, Alemayehu Taddesse and Meron Teshome. The production of the film took about 2 years to produce and has cost the producers around 500,000 birr.
The film mainly circles around a couple and the challenges one has to face while in love. The audience was intrigued by the plot.
The story starts off with a couple who are head over heel in love despite their parents and also friends wishes too. They live together as a married couple without the formal celebrations of an Ethiopian wedding. Both have agreed to let go of their family expectations and pursue their love for each other even if it means being cast out by their families. Wengel (played by Amleset Muchie) is in love with her husband Mintesnot (played by Sebo Pawlos) but Wengel’s adopted sister (played by Meron Teshome) has always had a desire for her sister’s husband so that she would do anything to get him.
However, Wengel being unaware of her sister’s agenda, tells her secrets that she never even told her husband. Using this information the sister tries to drive the couple astray. Meanwhile, Wengel’s best friend Yared (played by Alemayehu Taddesse) tries to help Wengel to pursue her dream of playing the piano. He loves and cares for Wengel the same way that she does even though her husband was not a fan. And Wengel’s husband out of jealousy, starts to have an affair with her sister. Wengel finally found out the nasty truth about her husband’s affair with her sister. This left the audience in disappointment and suspense of what the next act would be. But after six years it was shown that Wengel has finally forgave her husband and they went on to have a son.
The ending was the one thing that made the film seem a little unpredictable and was a surprise to some in the audience. Sile Fiker shows that love has a great power that can never be broken no matter what difficulties might arise.
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