On Saturday February 3, Omar Harfouch, new owner ofInterviews, gave a unique and exceptional concert at the Institut du Monde Arabe in the presence of Jack Lang. During this event called “Concert for Peace”, the guests were able to appreciate the talents of the businessman as a pianist and composer, who was accompanied by an orchestra of 15 musicians from the four corners of the planet.
During his emotion-filled performance, Omar Harfouch played several of his compositions, such as Oriental Fantasy, the emblematic work that made him known as a composer, the Concerto for piano and orchestra, initially composed for piano and violin and which will be played on March 6 in Béziers by a philharmonic orchestra of 65 musicians, or even The cliffs of Fantastic 40, in reference to the universe in which Omar Harfouch grew up, in the north of Lebanon.
During this concert, two pieces aroused particular emotion. The first, Tripoli – Lebanon, a composition directly inspired by the composer's hometown, the one where he experienced the drama and horror of the civil war, and where the piano was his only salvation. Before performing this work, Omar Harfouch, his voice overwhelmed by emotion, confided to the public the different feelings which had invaded him since his childhood: hatred, initially, provoked by the horrors and the injustices of the war in Lebanon, then love, in a second phase. Confiding as he rarely does, Omar Harfouch truly touched and moved the audience by revealing that he had found inner peace by expunging the hatred he had within himself and replacing it with the love of others, inviting all the world to try to do the same. A speech that sets an example, especially in today's global context.
Second piece that aroused great emotion: Save one life you save humanity, the most recent composition by Omar Harfouch, which was first presented on December 12, 2023 to the European Commission. The title of this work directly refers to a phrase present in the Torah and also in a surah of the Koran: “He who saves one life, saves all of humanity”. A surah also read in Arabic by Imam Hassen Chalghoumi just before the start of the piece. A highly symbolic work of the current geopolitical situation and the experience of its composer. It is in fact divided into two parts: the first illustrates a fulfilled and joyful existence, marked by love and tolerance. As for the second, it evokes sadness, destruction and fear. With a question that everyone must ask themselves: what type of world do we want to live in? The first or the second?
During his performance, Omar Harfouch managed the feat of transmitting to the audience all the emotions that overwhelmed him. At certain moments, the composer seemed very concentrated on his keyboard, looking serious, as if overwhelmed by everything he had experienced. At other times, he appeared all smiling, no longer looking at the keys of his piano (the entire concert was played by heart, without a score) but looking around at his violinist, his musicians and the audience, as if to better share your joy and happiness of playing for others.
At the end of this concert for peace, which lasted about an hour, the guests, overwhelmed by what they had just heard, unanimously applauded Omar Harfouch and his orchestra. Among the people in the room, we could see Jack Lang, president of the Arab World Institute, Philippe Douste-Blazy, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Health, Senator Nathalie Goulet. Many personalities from different worlds were present, including Adriana Karembeu, the fashion designer Jean-Claude Jitrois, the jet-setter Massimo Gargia, Gilles Verdez, Jean-Michel Maire, the famous writer Marek Halter, HSH Prince Louis. from Luxembourg and his partner Scarlett-Lauren Sirgue, Bertrand Deckers, specialist in royalty, Hassen Chalghoumi, actress Elsa Zylberstein, Frédéric Dabi, director general of Ifop, Katrina Patchett and Maxime Dereymez, from Dance with the stars, the footballer Adil Rami, the former presenter of Z'amours Tex or the actor, singer and composer Medi Sadoun.
Walid Harfouch, brother of Omar, as well as Yulia Harfouch, his wife, and the composer's two daughters were present, the latter two having seemed very moved and proud of their dad.
Note that Omar Harfouch and his musicians will perform very soon all over the world, notably in Béziers on March 6, at the Vatican and in front of the Spanish parliament. Always with the same message: “save a life, you will save humanity…”
