This senior official plays Beethoven to unwind
DLD’s technical affairs director talks his love for the piano
Dubai Land Department’s technical affairs director Mohammad Khodr Al Dah wears many hats. The Oxford educated engineer is a board member of the Institution of Structural Engineers and also the first Emirati to get a degree in MIStructE, a professional qualification for engineers worldwide.
However, when the 39-yearold is not mapping the real estate growth of Dubai, he plays the piano. “It is my passion and a great way to unwind. After a long day at work I look forward to coming home and playing pieces by legends like Bach, Beethoven or Chopin,” said Al Dah, stroking the keys of his piano which he has had for 22 years.
Al Dah said he started learning to play the piano at the age of six but gave up midway. It wasn’t until another 10 years when his interest in the instrument would be rekindled. “We were visiting a friend’s house where a child was playing the piano to entertain the guests. That’s when I decided to take piano classes all over again and that too from the same person who taught the child,” he said. “Under her tutelage, I completed eight levels of training under the Trinity College London syllabus in just two years.
“Chopin’s Revolutionary Étude, also known as the Étude on the Bombardment of Warsaw, is one of my favourites although it’s quite daunting as it requires relentless left hand semiquavers. The right hand is also challenged by the cross-rhythms used to handle the theme in successive parallel passages. I also like playing Bach’s Prelude in C Minor and find it very relaxing.”