Mazen El Bagir & Ensemble

For the past ten years, the Arabic Music Days have been an integral part of the Pierre Boulez Saal program, exploring the rich musical tradition of the Middle East in a variety of settings.

This season, the festival branches out in a slightly different direction. “We want to celebrate African culture in its Arabic dimension,” explains curator Naseer Shamma. “It’s an extension that is not defined by geography alone, but by a shared memory, by rhythms born from the earth, and by voices that have crossed time to remain alive within the human spirit.”

Shamma – who is not performing himself this year but returns in March for a solo recital – has invited five ensembles comprised of artists from various African countries whose musical identities are shaped by centuries-old traditions. “This is music that has passed from one generation to another,” he says, “not merely as preserved heritage, but as a living entity that breathes within us – changing, evolving, and affirming, time and again, that what emerges from the depth of the human soul does not die.”

In the second concert, Sudanese composer and oud player Mazen Al Baqer and his quartet perform original compositions that blend African tradition with contemporary improvisational freedom.