The Qatar Philharmonic at the Kennedy Center  (By Lee Jin-man --
Associated Press)   Enlarge Photo      Network News  X Profile
View More Activity By Anne Midgette Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 26, 2009  For centuries, orchestras have
represented something of a paradox in terms of national
identity. The basic idea is that to boost your local profile,
you recruit all the great international musicians that you can.
That tradition continues in 21st-century Qatar. The 101 players
of the Qatar Philharmonic, which was officially launched last
October and which performed at the Kennedy Center on Tuesday
night, represent a veritable melting pot of nationalities.  Does
this further Qatar's international cultural identity? The jury
will be out until the orchestra has shown that it has that
essential quality in a field that is notably slow to change:
staying power. At the moment, as a young, raw body, its best
policy is to create a track record for itself by racking up as
many performances as it can.