And why should you feel nervous when you are so well prepared and love to sing as much as the children from the Al-Farabi Academy? They felt right at home in our Musikclub before the concert  and were very curious to see what the Große Saal would look like with family members, and friends sitting in all the seats and everything bathed in atmospheric light!

"Rejoice my heart and sing to it melodies of love" says Umm Kulthum's "Efrah Ya Elby". But this "Thousand and One Nights" (Alf Layla wa Layla) is not only about romantic love (Bint al Shalabiya). Longing memories of beloved places lost through war and displacement also rise up in the music. With Fairuz, one dreams oneself "for the sake of love" to a place of security, which both children and adults long for.

Huge applause for the Al-Farabi children's choirs and singer Mais Harb, the Syrian-German band SYRIAB and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin conducted by Holly Hyun Choe!

Photos: Markus Werner