The pianist and composer Abdel Rahman El-Bacha performed on Saturday a concert in France. The proceeds will be donated to those of Beirut's neighborhoods which were destroyed by a terrible explosion on August 4. He hopes that his music will contribute to “expelling the devil of sadness” and will give people the strength to reunite and rebuild.
The explosion, which was caused by large amounts of ammonium nitrate being stored in Beirut’s port without the necessary precautions being taken, killed more than 180 people, injured around 6,500, and destroyed large parts of the city. “An earthquake causes suffering and death, but it is a force of nature, and man can do nothing to prevent it,” Bacha told the French press during a party he hosted to support Lebanon.
” We may think that war is the worst thing that could happen, I believe what happened in Beirut is much worse .”
Bacha, born in Beirut 61 years ago, added: “It is negligence. It is corruption that caused innocent people to lose their lives and half of a historic city to be destroyed or mutilated.”
Bacha said that he was attached to Beirut, which he had left at the age of sixteen to study at the Higher National Conservatory of Music in Paris. Subsequently, he would perform concerts all over the world, either alone or with the French National Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra or the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
“Beirut is imprinted in my heart,” he said. I have discovered the world through its light.” Bacha noted that “music has always been important to the Lebanese”. He says that many are replaying the song “Li Beirut" (For Beirut), in which Fayrouz expresses her love for the city and its sea while regretting it “has come to taste like fire and smoke.”
Bacha adds, “When Chopin expresses grief and despair, he brings you to life, and he drives away the demons of your despair with the power of beauty. Here lies, the genius of music. Sad tunes do not make the listener sad; rather, give him his strength back."
On Saturday evening, the Bacha performed several pieces accompanied by cellist Astrige Siranossian in Gord. The 200 tickets proceeds will go to charity organizations that are helping Beirut residents buy building materials to repair their homes. The Annahar newspaper website broadcasted the concert to viewers in Lebanon.
Bacha hopes that his music contributed to “comforting” the Lebanese. “If music cannot stack stones on top of each other, it will create the will to unite to stack stones,” and rebuilding a Lebanon where “all citizens have equal rights, and everyone can live with the dignity he deserves.”
