Solhi Al-Wadi
The Doyen of Classical Music in Syria

The first time I ever visited Solhi al Wadi in his Abu-Rummanah house in Damascus was at one summer evening in 1978. There, I met for the first time his wife Cynthia, and his daughter Diala.

That evening left an ever lasting impression on me, and opened a new chapter in my life that left quite a remarkable influence on my character and personality. I was 19 years old at the time.

In a medium-sized living room, walls covered with paintings (Kayali, Muddarres, and Arna’oute), shelves overloaded with LP discs, a grand black Steinway piano, and a few pets around, made a very distinctive and cosy ambiance. We drank wine, chatted about books and history, Solhi recited his favourite poem (Dylan Thomas’ Fern Hill), Cynthia played Chopin’s Barcaroll, and Diala charmed everybody. After dinner, in the adjacent dining room that resembles a library, we listened together to a recording of Mozart’s Double Concerto for Violin and Viola (played by the Oistrachs), followed by Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet.

It was the start of a splendid friendship.

Solhi Al-Wadi was born in Damascus in 1935 for an Iraqi father and a Syrian mother, one of his earliest childhood recollections was his unbounded fascination by the voice of Mouhammad Abdul-Wahab. He attended one of Abdul-Wahab’s recitals when he was only nine years old. After an early childhood spent in Damascus, he was sent to a boarding school in Alexandria; the Victoria College, where he developed a passion for two things: violin playing and football!!!.

After graduating from Victoria College, Al-Wadi continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he met Cynthia, fell in love and married her while still a student. Solhi was studying composition, Cynthia the piano. They got a son; Sarmad, and two daughters; Hamsa and Diala.

On his return to Syria, Al-Wadi had a formidable task to undertake; the creation of a cultural environment receptive to the traditions of serious music (he was quite opposed to use the term "classical music"), this involved an uphill struggle to spread the word: radio broadcasts, public concerts, newspapers articles, and most important of all: the establishment of the Arab Institute of Music in 1961.

In the Arab Institute of Music, Al-Wadi established himself as the major force behind every thing musical in Damascus. He single-handedly supervised the nurturing of a whole generation of talented young musicians, including Ghazwan Zirkli, Riad Sukkar, Arfan Hanbali, his own Hamsa Al-Wadi, and many other talented artists.

His combined role as an educator, director, conductor, and first-class mass-media communicator did not prevent him from continuously composing original music and re-orchestrating major traditional and folklore music to be suitable for presentation by a philharmonic orchestra.

Incidental music for films brought Al-Wadi fame all around the Arab world, but the finest examples of his music can be found in his compositions for chamber music.

A piano trio he wrote and dedicated to the memory of Dimitry Schostakovich is a typical example of Al-Wadi’s style: soaring dramatic melodies, strong rhythmic accentuation, a fairly oriental tone, with a tonal, albeit, modernistic language, but most important is this distinctive sound that permits instant recognition of his compositions even without prior knowledge of the composer.

Al-Wadi’s career was never a smooth and easy road to success. He suffered from too many disappointments, broken promises, hostilities, and misunderstanding. However, his firm believe in what he is doing, and his survivalist instincts allowed him to fight back and transcend all obstacles.

Two major achievements that crowned his career were considered enough to silence his critics: the establishment of the Higher Institute of Music, and the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra.

The concerts he conducts today in Syria and other Arab countries are considered major cultural events. Huge audience meets him wherever he performs with the National Symphony Orchestra. His presentation of Purcell’s "Dido and Aeneas" in 1995 is considered a major event in Syria’s cultural history.

The public role of Al-Wadi and the acclaim he enjoys has never estranged him to his friends. He was, and still is, very loyal to them, incredibly supportive, and quite a good company. Poetry and literature are his favourite topics of conversation, and football is still, regrettably, his favourite pastime.