Marat Gabdullin, associate concertmaster of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic (center), has recorded his original orchestral piece, “Covid Romance,” with musicians around the world. The video has been viewed more than 5,200 times on the orchestra’s Facebook page.
“When the coronavirus pandemic temporarily shuttered the Civic Center and put the Oklahoma City Philharmonic on hiatus, Associate Concertmaster Marat Gabdullin had a message he wanted to share. ‘Music is not canceled,’ ” writes Brandy McDonnell in Sunday’s (5/24) Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City). “Naturally, the award-winning violinist decided to spread that message musically. Gabdullin took a short orchestral work he had composed, recruited nearly 30 musical colleagues from across the globe and led them in recording remotely the wistful piece ‘Covid Romance.’ … Since the Oklahoma City Philharmonic posted the collaborative video to Facebook almost a month ago, it has received more than 5,200 views…. The 4 1/2-minute video features players from the U.S. Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Qatar and Japan. It includes a guest appearance from David Kim, concertmaster for the Philadelphia Orchestra…. The OKC Philharmonic’s remote collaborative performance of Edvard Grieg’s ‘Hall of the Mountain King,’ conducted by Oklahoma City Philharmonic Music Director Alexander Mickelthwate … has earned more than 13,000 views on Facebook.” OKC Philharmonic Executive Director Agnieszka Rakhmatullaev said the orchestra “received many heartwarming messages affirming the strong need and desire for music … in this time of social distancing.”
