Osman El-Mahdy (left) and Mohamed Shams (right)
The concert will include Beethoven's sonata no. 5 in F major, known as "Spring" sonata, Mozart's sonata in G Major and Schumann's sonata no. 1 in A minor, performed by Osman El-Mahdy on violin and Mohamed Shams on piano.
Osman El-Mahdy studied violin in Alexandria and then Cairo Conservatoires and chamber music at Geneva Conservatoire. He was a member of the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève and the Orchestre de Chambre du Jura (1985 - 1989), then Cairo Symphony Orchestra from (1989 - 1993), and finally Concertmaster of the Cairo Opera Orchestra from (1994 - 2005).
He performed with numerous ensembles in Egypt as well as in Russia, Syria, the Emirates, Japan, France, and Switzerland. El-Mahdy was a professor of violin and chamber music at the Cairo Conservatory until 2005. In1991, he founded the Cairo Opera House Quartet, an ensemble which performes regularily until date. From 1993 onwards, El-Mahdy has been a professor of violin at the Talent Development Center of Cairo Opera House, where he teaches Suzuki method.
Born in 1984, Mohamed Shams is one of the most talented Egyptian pianists of his generation. He graduated from the Cairo Conservatory and continued his studies at in the USA, at the Brevard Music (North Carolina) and then at the Catholic University of America. He was also enrolled in the Master’s Program at the Manhattan School of Music and is currently enrolled at the Artist Diploma program at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut.
Recepient of several awards, Shams played with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, the Cairo Opera Orchestra, the Cairo Conservatory Orchestra, the London Chamber Orchestra, Repertory Symphony Orchestra, Brevard Music Center Orchestra, The Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, and the University of Bonn Orchestra. Shams continues to enthrall audiences in Egypt and plays extensively in the United States, where above his concerts he is frequently features at the classical music radio programmes. He will make his Carnegie Hall debut in April 2015.
Programme:
Friday 2 January 2015, 8pm
Cairo Opera House small hall, Zamalek.
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