Bitter-sweet symphony

Philipp Maier is a man with a mighty mission — to create an internationally acclaimed philharmonic orchestra that the UAE can be proud of.

If his vision is met, it promises to be the seed for something magical and provide a significant contribution to the country's cultural scene.

When you meet Maier, the UAE Philharmonic resident conductor, artistic director and CEO, his passion for his craft is plain to see. For him, it's a labour of love — an invigorating, albeit painstaking, endeavour that promises spectacular results.

The orchestra has already wowed the public with a string of successful concerts, including a sell-out show in Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace and performances at the opening of Dubai Festival City, the Irish Festival, DIFC's Season of Arts, the Al Ain Festival and Jazz Meets Mozart.

Reviews have ranged from pride to surprise, Maier says. “People write in saying things such as ‘We are so proud that the UAE has its own orchestra' to ‘What a wonderful concert'.''

But the orchestra hasn't had an easy ride since its beginnings as the Dubai Philharmonic two years ago.

Crippling performance fees and red tape have hampered the orchestra from really taking off.

“You don't want to know what a mission it is to put a concert on in Dubai,'' Maier says. “First you need to get a letter of no objection from the venue. After that you need to go to Tecom [the Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority] for a no-objection certificate.

"Then you need to get your tickets printed, which is where the difficulty crops up. DTCM [Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing] charges a 10 per cent fee for each ticket that is printed — whether we sell them or not.''

Rules that stifle

Regulations also require the orchestra to hire six security guards — three of whom need to be able to speak Arabic. “I don't know how the orchestra would pay for that because we don't have any money,'' Maier says. “It's just ridiculously complicated.

“On top of that, every member of CID security checks for every orchestra member at a cost of Dh850 per musician. With an average orchestral performance having 65 to 70 musicians, this means that whoever wants to book us for a private event not only has to pay for the orchestra and the security guards, they also have to pay an extra Dh60,000 fee for these security checks.

“Nobody really knows the facts because the rules are changing all the time.''

With positive press coverage of the UAE Philharmonic Orchestra around the world, Maier sees the orchestra as something of a cultural milestone for the UAE.

“It's carrying the name of the UAE. As a cultural entity we are admired all over the world,'' he says.

“But unfortunately that's not being recognised here. It's being made impossible to stage a concert. With no money and no funding, we can't play,'' Maier says. “What we need is an exemption from the performance fees.''

With performances in Dubai stifled by red tape, the UAE Philharmonic has concentrated its efforts on the capital.

“In Abu Dhabi none of these problems exist. It's so easy there. We get a lot of support from Emirates Palace. They are fantastic. They say, ‘If our venue is available, you can have it'. People are a lot more knowledgeable about these things in Abu Dhabi.

"They have the Abu Dhabi classics and the Al Ain Festival, so they have a much better understanding. With a performance tonight in Abu Dhabi and another scheduled for Dubai tomorrow, the plan was to have a full season of public concerts.

“Unfortunately the Dubai concert had to be shelved owing to the weighty fees and severe performance restrictions.

“The plan was to do many public concerts — a symphony season and on top of that educational programmes and crossover [Arabic music, symphonic rock and classical music] shows,'' Maier says.

The UAE Philharmonic Orchestra has come a long way since its birth as the Dubai Philharmonic in December 2006. “There was quite a hype about the fact that there was now a local orchestra,'' he says.

“We had a lot of enquiries and did a lot of corporate work. [But] again we didn't do enough public concerts.''

After an outstanding show at Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace, the decision was made to change the name of the orchestra from Dubai Philharmonic to UAE Philharmonic.

“We played in Abu Dhabi as the Dubai Philharmonic at Emirates Palace and it was a super success. It was totally full — all 1,200 seats. We played quite a progressive programme and I was a bit worried that people wouldn't be interested.

"But they were very interested. After that success — and because there was no support from Dubai — I had a feeling that people in Abu Dhabi had a lot more understanding about all of this. So we decided to change the name of the orchestra from the Dubai Philharmonic to the UAE Philharmonic,'' Maier says.

Driven by passion

Musicians travel to the Dubai rehearsals from all over the UAE — including Al Ain and Abu Dhabi. “[The players] are motivated by the fact that I am offering them an interesting programme,'' Maier says.

“When I arrived in Dubai there wasn't anything like this. So I thought, ‘How can I get people interested in an orchestra'. I said, ‘OK, let's put on interesting concerts and interesting programmes and prove to the musicians that I actually know what I'm talking about.' That got people interested. Word got around and more and more members came.''

And there is another more important factor that makes the musicians passionate about the orchestra. “They believe in the cause,'' Maier says. “Most of the people believe in the vision.''

At last count, Maier says there were 28 nationalities in the UAE Philharmonic. “It's very representative of the UAE society. An orchestra for me is a reflection of a society. It's a perfect medium to build bridges between cultures and do cross-cultural projects. We play everything from Arabic music to symphonic rock, to pure classical. Every society in the world has an orchestra. “In the UAE we have some great opportunities for classical music-lovers — especially now in Abu Dhabi.

“In Dubai I read a story recently that said it's becoming a hub for pop stars who want to triple and quadruple their performance fees. They get ridiculous amounts of money — like [a reported] $26 million for Madonna to perform for an hour and a half.

“Unfortunately the music scene in Dubai has become all about money. That is a genuine problem. No matter what kind of culture you're talking about, it can't be purely based on money. For any form of culture to blossom, it has to have a philanthropic element,'' Maier says.

Despite the struggle, Maier feels that giving up a lucrative career as a pilot for Lufthansa to run the orchestra was the right thing to do.

“I'm passionate about the orchestra and I love music. It's a wonderful achievement to conduct a concert and for the musicians to be happy. That is my biggest reward — to convince people about the beauty of the works we perform.

“Hopefully [in five years] we'll be at the point where we are a full-time professional orchestra with employed musicians. [Right now] my life would be made much easier if I could get an official mandate saying, ‘Go ahead and make this a proper orchestra'. That can only come from the government.''

The UAE Philharmonic Orchestra will perform with
opera singer Maria Gluck tonight at the Emirates Palace,
Abu Dhabi.