Don’t let the music stop: Lebanon’s Philharmonic Orchestra’s fight to survive

Since its establishment, the LPO has performed at all major Lebanese festivals. (LPO)
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Updated 08 July 2021
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Don’t let the music stop: Lebanon’s Philharmonic Orchestra’s fight to survive

  • At its peak, the orchestra had some 100 members, both Lebanese and foreigners
  • As the crisis accelerates, several musicians have decided to seek pastures new, leaving behind an orchestra that has won accolades for its artistry

DUBAI: It’s hard, almost unimaginable, to find a Lebanese state or private institution not reeling under the burden of the country’s severe economic and financial collapse.

The Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra, the only one of its kind in the small Mediterranean nation, is no different.

Founded in 1998 by the former President of the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music Walid Gholmieh, the orchestra has found itself weaving through a crisis that the World Bank has said will possibly rank among the world’s three worst since the mid-nineteenth century.

The arts organization is one of Lebanon’s only state-sponsored cultural institutions with the ministry of culture paying the salaries of its members, while local and international donors contribute for anything from music stands to the purchase of instruments.

Its expenditures are part of the Ministry of Culture’s budget which has continued to drop over the years.

The ministry’s budget was slashed to LL44 billion in 2021, down from LL48 billion in 2018. At the current market rate, that’s around $2.5 million.

Over a 21-month period, Lebanon’s currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value, pushing more than 60 percent of the population below the poverty line as food insecurity soars and businesses shut down.

“Our biggest problem currently is financial and the struggle to retain our foreign musicians,” Lubnan Baalbaki, the permanent conductor of the orchestra, told Arab News.

Baalbaki, who hails from a family of artists, has been the chief conductor of the orchestra since 2012.

His father is a painter while his siblings have also left their mark on the world of music and art.




Baalbaki studied the violin at the National Conservatory, followed by musicology studies at USEK University. Later in Europe, he specialized in conducting. (Prestige)

Now, however, he along with the other musicians that he leads, are facing an uphill battle.

“Their salaries, which are similar to local musicians, range now between $150 and $200,” Baalbaki, who earned a Ph.D. in the ‘psychology of conducting’, said.

When first conceived, the orchestra was just composed of Lebanese, making it a chamber orchestra that was comprised of around 50 musicians. In order to fulfill his aspirations of turning it into a philharmonic orchestra, Gholmieh had to expand his horizons and attract foreign musicians skilled enough to play uncommon instruments like the trombone and double bass.

“These instruments, such as the French horn, are only played by foreigners because we simply don’t have them in Lebanon,” he said.

At its peak, the orchestra had some 100 members, with foreigners sometimes outnumbering local musicians. Now, the orchestra is comprised of some 70 members, split equally between foreign nationals and locals.

“Unfortunately, foreign musicians are barred from working other jobs according to the employment law, unlike their Lebanese counterparts,” Baalbaki said.

Despite the financial distress, Lebanese musicians can play at private events, both locally and abroad, to secure additional sources of revenues, he explained.

As the crisis accelerates, several musicians have decided to seek pastures new, leaving behind an orchestra that has won accolades for its artistry, hosted countless international guest conductors and morphed into a national symbol of unison.

“We still have at least one musician for almost every instrument, but the ensemble has been thinned out,” the young maestro told Arab News.

The classically trained violin and lute player has also expressed concern about his musicians taking up other offers or abandoning the industry completely.

“Like school teachers, our musicians go on their summer break now and there’s a big concern that some of them will simply not report back,” Baalbaki said. 

If that’s the case, the ensemble will find itself in a severe predicament, Walid Mousallem, the interim director of the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music, told Arab News.

“Their monthly wages are barely enough to pay the rent of their homes,” Mousallem said, highlighting the importance of retaining European musicians in order to preserve the musical diversity of the ensemble.

“At the end of the day, a local musician can fall back on his family’s support, something that a foreigner cannot do,” Baalbaki added.

Before the first signs of the economic crisis began showing in late 2019, Lebanon was considered a cultural and financial hub that was able to draw skilled foreigners with higher salaries, housing and transportation benefits compared to their home countries.

But after coming for the money, they stayed for the country’s charm.




In terms of the musicians comprising the orchestra, sectarian quotas, for once, do not apply, Baalbaki said. (LPO)
 

“A lot of them have a strong affinity for this country after being here for many years,” Baalbaki said.

Now, however, like many of the country’s disappointed youth, they are faced with the prospect of leaving Lebanon in search of a decent living.

“Without financial support, it’s hard to imagine that some of them won’t leave despite their love for Lebanon,” Mousallem said.

Prior to Lebanon’s house of cards tumbling down in the immediate aftermath of mass protests that kicked off in late 2019, the orchestra was a staple of Lebanon’s once vibrant music scene.

Throughout any given season, which ran from September until July, the orchestra would play between 30 and 33 concerts that were mostly free to the public, Mousallem said.

These included breathtaking performances in the renowned Roman temples of the Bekaa in Baalbeck and in a 200-year-old Palace in Beiteddine, Chouf, among countless others.

But nationwide social unrest because of a broken banking system that wiped out life savings, rising food insecurity and soaring inflation made it almost impossible to arrange performances.

The COVID-19 pandemic also forced concert halls to remain closed.

“Since September 2019 we’ve held around 10 or 11 concerts, including two this past June,” Mousallem said.

To make matters worse, the National Higher Conservatory of Music - which oversees the orchestra - has been without a permanent director since its former chief Bassam Saba died after contracting COVID-19 in December 2020.

In line with Lebanon’s power-sharing system, which distributes state positions among certain religious communities, the director of the conservatory must be a Christian Orthodox.

Almost seven months after Saba’s death, a new director has yet to be appointed as politicians wrangle over the top job.

“I’m not a Christian Orthodox so I can’t be the permanent director,” Mousallem said.

“Music is the last place where sectarianism should be involved,” Baalbaki added, noting the scarcity of qualified individuals that can take on this monumental role.

“We don’t have the luxury of picking from a pool of thousands of musicians from every sect. Lebanese musicians are already scarce,” he said, calling on policymakers to stop interfering in the affairs of the conservatory.

Without a permanent director, key decisions to safeguard the orchestra cannot be taken, according to Baalbaki.

Despite these almost insuperable obstacles and nonexistent governmental support, both men remain hopeful in benefactors recognizing their plight.

“We’re under threat yet fighting tooth and nail to safeguard the orchestra and the conservatory, as losing them would be a tremendous loss to Lebanon and its culture,” Mousallem, who has been serving in an interim capacity, said. 

The conservatory is currently in talks with the European Union and foreign ambassadors in a bid to shore up financial support, the scholar, who holds a Ph.D. in political philosophy, said.

“Can you imagine that a country like Lebanon doesn’t have one single national theatre?” Baalbaki finally pointed out in disbelief.


Couples tie the knot during a festival on an Amsterdam ring road

Updated 21 June 2025
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Couples tie the knot during a festival on an Amsterdam ring road

  • “It just seemed like super fun idea,” Lisowska said
  • “It’s a nice party we didn’t have to organize,” said Iozzelli

AMSTERDAM: Securing a coveted slot to exchange wedding rings on Amsterdam’s usually traffic-choked ring road seemed like a good omen for Zuzanna Lisowska and Yuri Iozzelli’s future life together.

“It just seemed like super fun idea,” Lisowska said. “And, you know, statistics were on our side. There were 400 couples who wanted to do it, so we feel really lucky to have been chosen.”

Friends and total strangers cheered and clapped as they told each other “I do!” as part of a day-long festival on parts of the A10 highway that circles the Dutch capital closed to traffic for the day.

“It’s a nice party we didn’t have to organize,” said Iozzelli.

Their only regret was not being able to bring their pet rabbit. “It was too hot,” Lisowska said after exchanging rings with Iozzelli.

The city that is known for partying said that some 600,000 people tried to get access to the ring road festival last month when more than 200,000 free tickets were made available.

Curious city folk, from parents pushing strollers to students and grandparents, stopped to watch the weddings and enjoyed the one-off opportunity to see the road without the usual cacophony of cars.

Among them was communications student Kyra Smit.

“It’s really fun because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” she said. “It’s so fun that you can say to people, wow, I’m married on the rings, so I really like this.”

The day was packed with events from music performances to readings, meetups and a fun run, shortened because of the heat. Organizers even placed a temporary forest of more than 8,000 trees on the blacktop.

The municipality laid on extra water taps and places where revellers could slap on sun block as temperatures soared to 30 degrees Celsius (86F) and upwards on the road surface.

The city’s official birthday is Oct. 27, reflecting the first time a variant of its name was used in an official document, and is staging celebratory events in the year leading up to that date. The festival on the ring road is the biggest so far and gave Amsterdam residents a new view of their ring road.

“It’s quite strange because normally you drive here and now you’re walking, so that’s a totally different situation,” said Marjolein de Bruijne, who works close to the A10.


Indians stretch, breathe and balance to mark International Day of Yoga

Updated 21 June 2025
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Indians stretch, breathe and balance to mark International Day of Yoga

  • Yoga is one of India’s most successful cultural exports after Bollywood

NEW DELHI: Tens of thousands of people across India stretched in public parks and on sandy beaches Saturday to mark the 11th International Day of Yoga.
The mass yoga sessions were held in many Indian states, where crowds attempted various poses and practiced breathing exercises. Indian military personnel also performed yoga in the icy heights of Siachen Glacier in the Himalayas and on naval ships anchored in the Bay of Bengal.
Similar sessions were planned in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.
“I feel that yoga keeps us spiritually fit, mentally fit and helps us manage stress. That’s why I feel that people should take out at least 30 minutes every day for yoga to keep themselves fit,” said Rajiv Ranjan, who participated in an event in the Indian capital of New Delhi.
Yoga is one of India’s most successful cultural exports after Bollywood. It has also been enlisted for diplomacy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has harnessed it for cultural soft power as the country takes on a larger role in world affairs.
Modi persuaded the UN to designate the annual International Day of Yoga in 2014. The theme this year was “Yoga for One Earth, One Health.”
Modi performed yoga among a seaside crowd in the southern city of Visakhapatnam city, and said “Yoga leads us on a journey toward oneness with world.” Amid a checkerboard of yoga mats covering the beach, Modi took his spot on a mat and did breathing exercises, backbends and other poses.
“Let this Yoga Day mark the beginning of Yoga for humanity 2.0, where inner peace becomes global policy,” he said.
As Modi has pushed yoga, ministers, government officials and Indian military personnel have gone on social media to show themselves folding in different poses.
In capital New Delhi, scores of people from all walks of life and age groups gathered at the sprawling Lodhi Gardens, following an instructor on stage.
“Yoga for me is like balancing between inner world and outer world,” said Siddharth Maheshwari, a startup manager who joined the event.


Netherlands returns 119 looted artifacts known as Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

Updated 20 June 2025
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Netherlands returns 119 looted artifacts known as Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria: The Netherlands on Thursday returned 119 artifacts looted from Nigeria, including human and animal figures, plaques, royal regalia and a bell.
The artifacts, known as the Benin Bronzes and mostly housed in a museum in the city of Leiden, were looted in the late 19th century by British soldiers.
In recent years, museums across Europe and North America have moved to address ownership disputes over artifacts looted during the colonial era. They were returned at the request of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
During the handover ceremony in Edo State, Oba Ewuare II, the monarch and custodian of Benin culture, described the return of the artifacts as a “divine intervention.” The Benin Bronzes were returned at the request of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
The restitution is a testament to the power of prayer and determination, the monarch said.
The Dutch government is committed to returning artifacts that do not belong to the country, said Marieke Van Bommel, director of the Wereld Museum.
Olugbile Holloway, the commission’s director, said the return of 119 artifacts marks the largest single repatriation to date and that his organization is working hard to recover more items looted during colonial times.
Nigeria formally requested the return of hundreds of objects from museums around the world in 2022. Some 72 objects were returned from a London museum that year while 31 were returned from a museum in Rhode Island.
The Benin Bronzes were stolen in 1897 when British forces under the command of Sir Henry Rawson sacked the Benin kingdom and forced Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, the monarch at the time, into a six-month exile. Benin is located in modern-day southern Nigeria.


Napoleon’s iconic bicorne hat and personal treasures expected to fetch millions in Paris

Updated 20 June 2025
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Napoleon’s iconic bicorne hat and personal treasures expected to fetch millions in Paris

PARIS: After Hollywood’s “Napoleon” exposed the legendary emperor to a new generation, over 100 relics — which shaped empires, broke hearts and spawned centuries of fascination — are on display in Paris ahead of what experts call one of the most important Napoleonic auctions ever staged.
His battered military hat. A sleeve from his red velvet coat. Even the divorce papers that ended one of history’s most tormented romances — with Josephine, the empress who haunted him to the end.
Two centuries after his downfall, Napoleon remains both revered and controversial in France — but above all, unavoidable. Polls have shown that many admire his vision and achievements, while others condemn his wars and authoritarian rule. Nearly all agree his legacy still shapes the nation.
“These are not just museum pieces. They’re fragments of a life that changed history,” said Louis-Xavier Joseph, Sotheby’s head of European furniture, who helped assemble the trove. “You can literally hold a piece of Napoleon’s world in your hand.”
From battlefields to boudoirs
The auction — aiming to make in excess of 7 million euros  — is a biography in objects. The centerpiece is Napoleon’s iconic bicorne hat, the black felt chapeau he wore in battle — with wings parallel to his shoulders — so soldiers and enemies could spot him instantly through the gunpowder haze.
“Put a bicorne on a table, and people think of Napoleon immediately,” Joseph said. “It’s like the laurel crown of Julius Caesar.”
The hat is estimated to sell for at least over half a million dollars.
For all the pageantry — throne, swords, the Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honor — the auction’s true power comes from its intimacy. It includes the handwritten codicil of Napoleon’s final will, composed in paranoia and illness on Saint Helena.
There is the heartbreakingly personal: the red portfolio that once contained his divorce decree from Josephine, the religious marriage certificate that formalized their love and a dressing table designed for the empress. Her famed mirror reflects the ambition and tragedy of their alliance.
“Napoleon was a great lover; his letters that he wrote are full of fervor, of love, of passion,” Joseph said. “It was also a man who paid attention to his image. Maybe one of the first to be so careful of his image, both public and private.”
A new generation of exposure
The auction’s timing is cinematic. The 2023 biopic grossed over $220 million worldwide and reanimated Napoleon’s myth for a TikTok generation hungry for stories of ambition, downfall and doomed romance.
The auction preview is open to the public, running through June 24, with the auction set for June 25.
Not far from the Arc de Triomphe monument dedicated to the general’s victories, Djamal Oussedik, 22, shrugged: “Everyone grows up with Napoleon, for better or worse. Some people admire him, others blame him for everything. But to see his hat and his bed, you remember he was a real man, not just a legend.”
“You can’t escape him, even if you wanted to. He’s part of being French,” said teacher Laure Mallet, 51.
History as spectacle
The exhibition is a spectacle crafted by celebrity designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, famed for dressing Lady Gaga and Pope John Paul II.
“I wanted to electrify history,” Castelbajac said. “This isn’t a mausoleum, it’s a pop culture installation. Today’s collectors buy a Napoleon artifact the way they’d buy a guitar from Jimi Hendrix. They want a cabinet of curiosities.”
He’s filled the show with fog, hypnotic music and immersive rooms. One is inspired by the camouflage colors of Fontainebleau. Another is anchored by Napoleon’s legendary folding bed. “I create the fog in the entrance of the Sotheby’s building because the elements of nature were an accomplice to Napoleon’s strategy,” the designer said.
Castelbajac, who said his ancestor fought in Napoleon’s Russian campaign, brought a personal touch. “I covered the emperor’s bed in original canvas. You can feel he was just alone, facing all he had built. There’s a ghostly presence.”
He even created something Napoleon only dreamed of. “Napoleon always wanted a green flag instead of the blue, white, red tricolore of the revolution,” he said, smiling. “He never got one. So I made it for Sotheby’s.”


Trump shows off giant new flagpoles, boasts of them as ‘the largest you’ll ever see’

Updated 19 June 2025
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Trump shows off giant new flagpoles, boasts of them as ‘the largest you’ll ever see’

  • At 27 meters tall, the flagpoles are nowhere close to the world’s tallest, including one from Jeddah

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump took time out Wednesday from deliberating on whether to bomb Iran to unveil two huge new flagpoles that he claimed are among the best in the world.
Trump, 79, saluted as a giant Stars and Stripes flag was raised on one of the 88-foot (27-meter) poles in a brief ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.
The billionaire real estate tycoon, who built his career on brash displays of wealth, said he was personally paying for each of the $50,000 poles.
And he could not resist some nationalistic hyperbole about the size and quality of the new additions.
“This is about the largest you’ll ever see,” Trump told reporters. “These are the best poles anywhere in the country — in the world actually.”eeeeee
The poles are, however, 12 feet shorter than originally advertised by the White House, which said when it announced Trump’s plan in April that they would be 100 feet tall.

They are also nowhere close to the world's tallest flagpoles, including Saudi Arabia's (561-feet (171-meter) high Jeddah Flagpole, which was completed in September 2014, this was previously the world record holder for several years.

Trump also said the pole on the South Lawn — the famed expanse of grass with a vista that leads to the Jefferson Memorial — was “very far” from where Marine One lands, when asked if it could cause any issues for the helicopter.

WORLD'S TALLEST FLAGPOLES

1. Egypt's Cairo flagpole (New Administrative Capital, Cairo: 201.952 meters (662.57 feet) - completed in December 2021.

2. Azerbaijan's National Flag Square flagpole 2 (Baku, Azerbaijan): 191 meters (626.64 feet) unveiled in August 2024.

3. Saint Petersburg Flagpoles (Saint Petersburg, Russia): 175 meters (574 feet) - unveiled in June 2023.

4. Jeddah Flagpole (King Abdullah Square, Jeddah): 171 meters (561 feet) - completed in September 2014.

5. Dushanbe Flagpole (Dushanbe, Tajikistan): 165 meters (541 feet) - completed in May 2011. 6. Kijong-dong Flagpole (Kijong-dong, North Korea): 160 meters (525 feet) - Built in 1982, this flagpole held the record for the tallest for many years.

( Source: Google Gemini compilation)

The second flagpole was being installed on the North Lawn at the front of the White House.
The giant flags are the latest part of Trump’s sweeping makeover of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue since he returned to power in January.
The Republican is paving over the famed Rose Garden and has blitzed the Oval Office with gaudy gold decorations. He also has plans to build a new ballroom.
For the flag-raising ceremony, Trump was accompanied by a group including Charles Kushner, the new US ambassador to France and father of Trump’s son-in-law.

Kushner, a real estate executive who spent time in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2004 to tax evasion, among other crimes, was pardoned by Trump in 2020, near the end of his first term.

Trump’s eldest daughter Ivanka in 2009, served as the president’s adviser during his first term, notably on conflict in the Middle East. The Middle East overshadowed the debut of Trump’s new flagpoles, with the president facing a series of questions from reporters about whether the United States would join Israel’s airstrikes on Iran.
“I may do it, I may not do it,” Trump said when asked.