Al Farabi Concerto is a series of concerts presenting works by exceptionally gifted composers from Kuwait, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Morocco and Algeria. The concerts are designed to promote the music of Arab composers, alongside that of their Western counterparts, through performances by the UK’s most acclaimed orchestras, soloists and conductors, in London’s most prestigious concert venues.

Al Farabi Concerto will establish high profile and enduring recognition for Arab contemporary classical music within international cultural circles—and also heighten recognition of these talented musicians within their own communities.

The Al Farabi series will begin in 2008, in London. Following the London series, the same programmes will be taken to festivals in European capital cities—Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, Amsterdam—and then, from 2009 onwards, to the homelands of the composers in the Middle East.

The concert series takes its name from one of the great Islamic philosophers and scholars, Abu Nasr al Farabi (870–950 AD), who wrote a major treatise on music and taught in Baghdad, Cairo and Damascus. Al Farabi lived at a time when Islamic musicians, theorists and philosophers were blossoming and Arab classical music flourishing in the caliphate of Baghdad.

The Al Farabi Concerto idea was born in 2004 when Oliver Butterworth, Professor at Trinity College of Music, London and Director of Musicstage Promotions Limited, realized that Arab composers were under-represented in international contemporary classical music circles. He began extensive research into works of contemporary Arab composers and came across many exceptionally gifted composers in the Middle East. All of these musicians deserve international exposure and recognition, and most are underappreciated in their own communities. The importance of rectifying this situation and reviving the ethos of Al Farabi in the modern Arab world, was recognized by corporate communications consultant Antar Nakshbandi, who is now Chairman and motivator in taking this project forward. The BMG Foundation, appreciating the value of this initiative, took on the series as a BMG Foundation CSR project.

The goal of Al Farabi Concerto is to give these musicians from the Middle East the international exposure they deserve, highlighting the high artistic achievement of contemporary Arab culture, and to create networks between artists of the East and West. The Al Farabi series will welcome the major artistic talents and achievements of the Arab peoples onto the world cultural stage.