Abu Dhabi Festival to continue its record of bringing the world’s greatest classical music

stars to Abu Dhabi with a recital by worldwide superstar pianist, Lang Lang

UAE’s foremost annual celebration of arts and culture to welcome Orchestre de Paris in

celebration of France as Abu Dhabi Festival 2016’s Country of Honour

(Abu Dhabi, UAE: 01 September 2015): Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation today

announced prestigious headline artists set to grace the stage of the 13th edition of Abu

Dhabi Festival in April 2016. Recognised as the UAE’s foremost annual arts and culture

event, and building on the Festival’s reputation as a world-class platform for classical

music in the Middle East, Abu Dhabi Festival 2016 (ADF16) will welcome exceptional

pianist Lang Lang, heralded by the New York Times as the ‘hottest artist on the classical

music planet’. ADF16 will also welcome France’s most famous symphony orchestra,

Orchestre de Paris, as it celebrates France as its Country of Honour.

“Year after year, the Abu Dhabi Festival seeks to uphold, explore and celebrate the

values of the UAE that traverse the humanitarian, the cultural and the intellectual. The

Festival, which embarks on its 13th edition in 2016, is one of ADMAF’s main pillars and

eloquently reflects a steadfast commitment to the continuing socio-economic

development of the cultural sector, to the ongoing engagement and participation of

Emirati citizens in the arts, and to the rising rates of cultural tourism in the UAE.” said

H.E. Hoda Al Khamis-Kanoo, Founder of the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation.

“The Abu Dhabi Festival works in line with the vision of the Abu Dhabi Government,

seeking to reaffirm the capital’s global profile as a destination for creativity and a

meeting place for the civilizations of the world,” the Founder added. “As the

inauguration of Louvre Abu Dhabi approaches, the Festival welcomes France as the 2016

Festival Country of Honour, which will highlight the strength of bilateral cultural

relations as well as the spirit of creativity shared by both countries, particularly in the

fields of arts and music.

As always, the Abu Dhabi Festival aspires to boost the creative abilities of Emirati

citizens of all ages, alongside nurturing audiences for the arts across society while

maintaining its pioneering contribution to social development and national unity.

And by encouraging all to join the quest for knowledge that is led by the educational

and civil society institutions of the UAE, together we can be part of a national

renaissance that shall not only benefit ourselves but our children too,” the Founder

concluded.

Furthering the Festival spirit that brings together the greatest artists from both the East

and the West in the heart of the UAE, ADF16 will welcome one of the world’s greatest

classical music stars: Chinese pianist, Lang Lang. Captivating and charismatic, and known

for his virtuoso technique, spectacular showmanship and flamboyant energy, Lang Lang

will grace the ADF16 stage with a recital that includes pieces by Tchaikovsky, Bach and

Chopin.

ADF16 will also welcome Orchestre de Paris to the Festival stage under the baton of its

acclaimed Music Director, Paavo Järvi, for two sublime concerts as part of the Festival’s

celebration of France. The first will feature the critically acclaimed soloists Xavier Phillips

(cello) and Thierry Escaich (organ) and works by three giants of French classical music,

Berlioz, Lalo and Saint-Saëns. The second will feature the virtuoso violinist Sergey

Khachatryan and pieces by two of the most revered composers of all time, Tchaikovsky

and Sibelius.

Tickets for Lang Lang (Thursday 14 April at 8pm, Emirates Palace Auditorium) and

Orchestre de Paris (Friday 15 and Sunday 17 April at 8pm, Emirates Palace Auditorium)

will be announced alongside the complete Festival programme in early December.

Please watch http://www.abudhabifestival.ae for details.