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En una ciudad como Dubai, donde el paradigma de la música clásica occidental representa el exotismo de una cultura distinta, el visitante experimenta estos choques culturales durante la decimocuarta edición del Festival Internacional de Música InClassica, dirigido por el filántropo Konstantin Ishkhanov, que tuvo lugar en la ciudad de los Emiratos Árabes entre el 6 y el 21 de abril, con la presencia, entre otras, de una formación española, la orquesta Franz Schubert Filharmonia.

In this episode of Cult, we’re in Dubai at InClassica, where international orchestras and soloists gather for two weeks of classical performances and new works by composer Alexey Shor. The 14th edition of the InClassica International Music Festival took place in Dubai, bringing together renowned soloists, orchestras, and conductors from around the world. Over 16 concerts, the event highlighted both classical masterpieces and works by composer-in-residence Alexey Shor, whose 55th birthday was marked during the festival.

Asentado en Dubai desde 2021, coincidiendo entonces con la progresiva apertura de los escenarios durante la pandemia, el Festival InClassica ha dado un salto importante con la edición de este año 2025, en la que han contado con dos orquestas residentes: la Franz Schubert Filharmonia y la Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Today’s episode is a little bit different. This is an impromptu in-person interview pianist Denis Kozhukhin that we managed to squeeze in at the InClassica festival in Dubai. We talked about his hopes for humanity and how music plays a part in it, the role of competitions and advice for musicians in making the most of them even if they don’t win, reconnecting with audiences, and the challenge of being able to appreciate art when it is instantly accessible

Dubai’s famous Palm Jumeirah, the world’s largest artificial island (visible from space it is so huge), was built entirely on sand imported from the Sahara, as engineers determined that the local sand had the wrong consistency for construction purposes. Also imported are Dubai’s multifarious Western cultural events, many of which take place in the 2,000-seat Opera House that opened in 2016 (a long time ago by Dubai’s fast-paced standards). One of these events is the annual InClassica International Music Festival.

Today, I‘m talking with composer Alexey Shor at the InClassica festival in Dubai, where he is the composer in residence. We talk about what it looks like to be a composer in the modern world, the benefit of long term composers residencies, getting started on YouTube, and the power of focusing on what the audience wants.

Is it even possible to propose a more glitzily glamorous-sounding event than the InClassica International Music Festival in Dubai? Always a vibrant-sounding mix of rising and major international soloist talent, which for the current 2025 edition includes violinist Maxim Vengerov, pianists Mikhail Pletnev and Denis Kozhukhin, and cellist Gautier Capuçon. For host venue, the huge, sleek, dhow-shaped, palm-tree-surrounded Dubai Opera, one of this architecturally-bonkers city’s genuinely elegant buildings, nestled right beneath the Burj Khalifa and overlooking the famous fountains. And when you’re lucky, the latter’s lights-and-music spectacles coincide with concert interval time, making it two shows for the price of one. 

The city of superlatives is a symphony of triumphs – and now classical music is in the Dubai spotlight once more. The 14th annual edition of the InClassica International Music Festival runs from April 6-21, dedicated to composer-in-residence Alexey Shor, whose 55th birthday is celebrated throughout the festival programming. The series of concerts at Dubai Opera form the world’s biggest classical music observatory, where exceptional young talent meets some of the genre’s most established and famous musicians.

He will perform alongside the prestigious Franz Schubert Filharmonia, led by acclaimed French conductor Lionel Bringuier, in a concert that blends classical masterpieces with contemporary brilliance. Maxim Vengerov Live in Dubai promises an evening of masterful artistry, powerful storytelling, and timeless music in one of the city’s most elegant cultural venues.

Gil Shaham, uno de los violinistas más destacados del siglo XXI, se presentará en el marco del 14º Festival Internacional de Música InClassica. Junto a la Franz Schubert Filharmonia y el director de orquesta español Tomàs Grau, el músico estadounidense-israelí ofrecerá una selección de obras que van desde los compositores clásicos hasta los contemporáneos. El concierto titulado ‘American Virtuosity: Gil Shaham’ tendrá lugar en la Ópera de Dubái el lunes 14 de abril y será transmitido en vivo a través de Euronews.