| Artist | Rami Khalifé |
| Duration | 70 min |
| Program lines |
Roots & IdentityMakers reveal how they deal with questions of origin, identity, colonialism, gender and historical events.
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A delicate and inventive dialogue between a pianist and his instrument
LOST/Return to Beirut is right in between a motion picture and a documentary, with a powerful piano performance. Pianist Rami Khalifé returns to his country of origin: Lebanon. In LOST/Return to Beirut, he rediscovers the country he had to leave as a child due to the war. Filmmaker François Rousseau accompanies him and films the return of Rami to Lebanon.
Especially for the film a piano from Rami’s childhood was lifted on a building under construction near Byblos. It creates a beautiful scene wherein Rami plays the piano with a magnificent view over Beirut and the Mediterranean Sea. Rousseau captures the clear moments wherein Rami brings his music about his childhood home.
This concert is organised in collaboration with Multicultureel Jongerengeluid.
Rami Khalife was born in September 25,1981 amid the rough and tumble of civil war in Beirut, Lebanon. While best known for his re-envisioning of the classics, Pianist Rami Khalife, who graduated from the prestigious Juilliard school of New York, was featured as a soloist alongside some of the world’s most prized orchestras including Globalis Orchestra, Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Belgium and the Philadelphia chamber orchestra, Orchestre national d'Île de France, just to name a few.
Rami Khalife’s work is as eclectic as it is bold, ranging from improvised concerts, recording a Prokofiev concerto to performing with his father Marcel Khalifé. He also composed contemporary works for orchestra, producing soundtracks for films and documentaries, only to switch it all up with his classic electro group AUFGANG. His body of work includes several piano and orchestral pieces, a requiem, a cello concerto and several orchestral pieces including Tunnel to the Moon, all of which, he premiered with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. He was also commissioned by the Philadelphia chamber orchestra to write his new piece Stories.
Korzo Zaal