InClassica International Music Festival

If you love what music can provide to your soul and senses, you will not want to miss this year’s edition of InClassica International Music Festival, taking place at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena. This year’s music festival is one of the highlights of the city’s cultural agenda, where international artists will gather to perform classical works belonging to the world’s most renowned music composers.

InClassica - 20 days of live music with 20 different concerts scheduled at the Coca-Cola Arena in City Walk - will be running until the 10th of March.The event helps foster international cultural values and friendship by giving fundamental relevance to culture and bringing classical music to its highest level of excellence.

Globalisation of music and the interchanging between cultures is important to strengthen the connection in the world of arts and to share in the same ideals that reside at the heart of culture worldwide.

This year marks the 12th edition of the festival, and the line-up that brings together the cream of classical music performers to Dubai is getting bigger and better. The list features impressive young talents as well as seasoned famous musicians who will carry you to great lengths of spiritual pleasure and moments full of musicality and magic. Prepare to be inspired by the ineffable joy that music brings to us and expand your horizons with 30 days’ worth of classical pieces.

Grand Opening

The Grand Opening of InClassica took place on Sunday 12th February with a programme packed full of lead acts featuring the Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra, led by Italian conductor Massimiliano Caldi and Japanese violinist Fumiaki Miura. The concert opened with Max Bruch’s most popular musical compositions and moved on to exhibit the evocative style of Alexey Shor’s contemporary works with Phantasms for Violin and Orchestra. The Kazakh State Symphony Orchestra further continued with a love-themed Fantasy Overture of Tchaikovsky’s beloved Romeo and Juliet, famous for transcending the realms of classical music throughout the years. Closing the night of the Grand Opening were Johannes Brahms’s Hungarian Dances No. 1 and No. 5 which took a great variety of instruments and ensembles to arrange, lending the night a truly memorable performance..

Leading Artists and Dazzling Concerts

As the sun goes down each evening over Dubai’s City Walk, InClassica’s stars will be coming out to fill the Coca-Cola Arena with the sound of music. The many talented musicians, composers, and conductors who have gathered in the city for this year’s festival have flown in from all corners of the world, for the love of music. And the language they speak is a universal one.

One of the prominent figures at this year’s music festival is conductor Massimiliano Caldi who stands out for his linear directorial style and orchestra conducting. His erudite expertise extends to symphonic music, operetta, and ballet, as well as his contribution to the revival of 19th-century opera.

Another soloist attending this year is Japanese artist Fumiaki Miura who started playing the violin at the age of three. He completed his studies at the Vienna Conservatory under Professor Pavel Vernikov’s guidance and ever since has been delivering some impressive performances with Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia, Julian Rachlin, and the Poznan Philharmonic.

The highly awarded violinist has won many trophies for his talents, including First Prize at the 2009 Hannover Violin Competition and Second Prize at the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition for Young Violinists in 2006.

The festival’s programme will feature a French Piano Paradise night on Sunday 19th February, where Italian conductor Gianluca Marcianò will lead the National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan to a premium performance on the night. Marciao has been rightfully praised by The Sunday Times for his theatrical and idiomatic conducting, and he is the founder and Artistic Director of Chelsea Opera Group as well as Al Bustan Festival in Beirut.

The French Piano Paradise will see prestigious artist Nikita Mndoyants hitting some sublime piano notes and seducing the audience with his technical prowess and precision. Nikita Mndoyants trained in Moscow at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory and has performed on many stages including Carnegie Hall, and Tchaikovsky Hall.

Evening of British Glory Descending upon City Walk

On the 1st of March, the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra will bring an inspirational and exciting classical music performance to Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena, under the talented eye of conductor Marios Papadopoulos. A remarkable ensemble, the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra prides itself in providing exceptional musical experiences, bringing new and engaging interpretations to well-known works from the classical repertoire. Papadopoulos has enjoyed fame both as a pianist as well as a conductor. In 1998 he founded the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra whose Music Director he has been ever since.

Dubbed “Opera’s coolest soprano” by New York Times Magazine, Danielle de Niese will also take to the stage on the 1st of March, to add glamour and stagecraft to the British Night at Dubai’s InClassica. A multi-faceted soprano, the Australian artist made her professional debut at the age of 15 with the Los Angeles Opera. Her career got off to a prestigious start when she was asked to perform the lead role in the Met's production of Maurice Ravel's “L’Enfant et les Sortilèges”, and Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, 2007. Her singing is truly delectable and her talent and presence spill across the eyes as well as the ears of the audience.

Savaria Symphony Orchestra Brings a Hungarian Night to Dubai’s InClassica

Performing at this year’s InClassica Music Festival on the 23rd of February is the Savaria Symphony Orchestra led by Chief Conductor Gergely Madaras, who has been leading the orchestra in his native Hungary since 2014. The symphony orchestra has a solid repertoire including classical and romantic compositions, as well as contemporary works. Madaras is currently Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège.

Soloist artist Roby Lakatos will deliver an eclectic performance on the night as a classical master of his violin. Extremely versatile, Lakatos is a multifaceted talent, equally adept to perform across a broad range of styles and compositions. His artistic personality and talent extend to jazz performances, classical music, and folk compositions. He is often referred to as a Gypsy violinist and universal musician, composer, and arranger with brilliant technique.

City Walk - Dubai’s Emerging Arts Hub

Designed by Meraas, City Walk has grown to be one of Dubai’s most beloved shopping and dining destinations. Modern, chic, and exciting, the community is only minutes away from the buzzing Downtown and Dubai Opera, where the InClassica festival was held last year. Home to Coca-Cola Arena, City Walk is fully anchored in Dubai’s art scene, hosting an annual calendar of jam-packed events, concerts, festivals, and shows. The vibrant neighbourhood is within walking distance of the Opera District in Downtown and Burj Khalifa, both the venues of choice for promoting world-class shows, culture, and local talent.

The InClassica event in City Walk will further engage people with classical music, bringing to Dubai a most distinguished ensemble of reputable composers, pianists, and musicologists. For those who appreciate and value the depths of classical music, the festival will be a beacon of light and a celebration of the mesmerising universe of sound.

Open your ears. Get listening and enjoy.