Abu Dhabi Festival 2010 opened last night at the Emirates Palace with the Opening Gala celebrating the Bicentennial of Chopin’s birth, a key theme of this year’s festival, with a concert featuring the works of the maestro.

The National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra was directed by Grammy Award winning and renowned 20th century composer, Krzysztof Penderecki himself, making his Middle East debut. The orchestra was joined on stage by Chopin International Piano Competition winner and piano virtuoso, Krzysztof Jablonski.

The Abu Dhabi Festival 2010 is being held from March 20 to April 7.

'One of the themes of this year’s Festival is the Bicentennial of Chopin’s birth. To be able to welcome such distinguished guests from the country of his birth, Poland, is very special for me. We will continue to celebrate the Bicentennial with stunning recitals on the piano, the instrument Chopin loved so much, by young virtuosos Nobuyuki Tsujii and Yundi Li over the coming days,' stated Hoda I Al Khamis-Kanoo, founder of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation.

Yesterday also saw the opening of The Middle East Modern Masters exhibition in the auditorium foyer of the Emirates Palace with a joint collection of works by two of the greatest masters of contemporary Middle Eastern art - sculptors Parviz Tanavoli and Adam Henein. 

Before the start of the concert, the 2010 Abu Dhabi Festival Awards were presented to a group of 15 Zayed University female students who as the ‘Young Media Leaders’, an educational initiative conceived by Admaf, were involved in reporting the 2009 Festival.-TradeArabia News Service