The Amal Duo, of Arab origin, presents a concert for the first time in CDMX

The name Amal, of Arabic origin, means “hope” or “aspiration”. The Duo Amal, founded in 2008 by soloists Bishara Haroni (Palestine) and Yaron Kohlberg (Israel), will open its concert on Sunday 22nd, at the Blas Galindo Auditorium, in d, precisely with Amalnumber of his inspiration.

What is Amal? Kohlberg answers: “It’s a special piece that we wrote together with a friend. A kind of improvisation based on the tunes of the national anthems, where the music speaks, not the words.” Haroni elaborates: “We once explored the national anthems of many countries for fun. We found that most of the ones we looked at were written in a major key, the only two that were in a minor key were the Israeli and the Palestinian one, which is more of a national song. They fit together surprisingly well, so we started playing with the idea of ​​improvising a bit. Then, we wrote the piece. It came out of the need to satisfy our creative instincts. Since we liked it so much, we shared it with the public.”

The Amal Duo was born out of a peace concert the pianists performed in Oslo, Sweden. “Bishara and I met as teenagers in Jerusalem and studied with some of the same teachers. When I was invited to play at the Oslo concert, I thought it would be a good idea to have Bishara because I knew him as a great pianist. Since we sensed such good energy and response from the audience, we thought maybe we wanted to do it on a regular basis.”

Every concert that Duo Amal gives could be taken as a powerful statement. However, “when we play it is about the music. We love working together, and music is what matters most to us. We are not the kind of people who make statements. We are normal people who focus on positive things, although in today’s world sometimes that becomes a kind of statement.”

Kohlberg adds: “We just want to do our thing, we don’t try to teach anyone anything. At the end of the day, people have their own views and opinions. We focus on the music and that is our best statement. For us as human beings and musicians, it doesn’t matter where you come from or where you come from. That’s the power of music.”

The first performance of the Amal Duo as such in Mexico City is part of a tour that also includes Campeche and Brazil. Apart from Amalthe program of En Blanco y Negro will include: Fantasy D.940the Schubert, Scaramoucheby Milhaud, Mother Gooseby Ravel, Concertinode Shostakovich, Adagio of Spartacus y Sabre Dance of Gayanehthe last two by Khachaturian, whose transcriptions were made especially for the pair.

The program combines works “loved” by both, and which they have performed many times, with others new to them, as is the case of Mother Goose. Among the favorite pieces, stands out Fantasy D 940, who have played together for many years on different stages around the world. “Every time we get together and perform it, the angle is always a little different, of course, that depends on the room and the piano. It is a work that we are excited about.”

With careers spanning more than two decades, “it is no longer the same as when we were in our twenties and we tried to get as many job opportunities as possible. We have managed to build a good career as Duo Amal, with an internationally recognized name. Currently, we accept projects that matter to us and we say no to those that do not fit what we are looking for at the moment. We do not care if we only see each other for one or two projects or tours a year, because it is always a great pleasure,” they agree.

What do they feel when they play together? Do sparks fly? For Haroni, “every time it’s different. Sometimes it’s emotional to see just one tree, other times you don’t mind seeing the whole forest.” According to Kohlberg, the “spark” is representative of “the friendship we’ve had for many years. We enjoy being in each other’s company. I’ve been looking forward to this tour for a long time because it will allow us to be together, play and enjoy ourselves on and off stage.”

The Amal Duo will perform on Sunday 22nd at 1:30 pm at the Blas Galindo Auditorium of the National Arts Center, at 79 Río Churubusco Avenue, Country Club neighborhood.