Abdo al Hamuli is considered to be, along with Muhamad Othman, one of the two pillars of modernization as to the music of the renaissance period that was also called …

Despite the popularity of Muhamad Othman’s Adwar and Muwashahat among singers and throughout generations to our day, and despite him being, along with Abdo al Hamuli, one of the two …

Abd al-Hay Hilmî, a seductive dandy, was the spoiled child of Egyptian high society at the turn of the century. He was noted for his odd manners; he would leave …

Higazi was raised in Alexandria. He was trained in the cantilation of the Koran and dhikr (since his early years under the supervision of Kamil al Hariri, the head of …

There is very little information to be found on this singer. The only document allowing his identification is a blurred photograph published in the book of Kamil al-Khulai. He sings …

Yussef al Manialawi, was born to peasants of the Manyal al-Rawda island (now at the center of Cairo). He was trained from an early age in the dhikr of Laytiyya’s …

Born to a family of musicians, ‘Alī Afandī ‘Abduh Ṣāliḥ is the first player of Arabic nāy that we have heard recorded on a disc. He recorded within Odeon’s second …

Along with Daoud Hosn, Ibrahim al Qabbani is seen as a disciple of Abdo al Hamuli qand Mohammed Othman as to musical compositions and Muwashahat. He was prolific in composing …

Daoud Hosni Khodr had been working in a printing press binding books when he met Shaykh Mohammad Abdo, who listened to his singing and encouraged him. He learned to play the …

He began his life as a Koran reciter and a munshid (singer of religious hymns) before switching to the secular learned repertoire in the early years of the twentieth century. …

His father is Sheikh Hassaneyn Salem, an Al-Azhar graduate, and one of the “Qiraa’aat” teachers in Egypt. Sheikh Amin Hussaneyn Salem followed the Azhari school in turn, and it showed in …

Munîra al-Mahdiyya was a legendary name in Egypt. In spite of her fame, we know little about the life of the “Sultânat al-tarab”. Probably born in Zaqâzîq, Zakiyya Mansûr Gânim …

Sami Shawwa was born in Cairo, to an Orthodox family from Aleppo, who formed a musical legacy. His great grandfather Joseph was a violinist at the beginning of the eighteenth …

A descendant of a Jewish family, possibly of Moroccan origin, Zaki Murâd began his life as a tissue merchant in Alexandria. He enrolled at the Arab Music Conservatory in 1907 …

A talented young singer with a quiet personality, Fathiyya Ahmad began her career in musical theaters as a young girl in about 1910. She appeared with the well known theater …

Born in Cairo to a family of musicians (his uncle was ̕Abd al-Hay Hilmî), he was trained with the Sahbageyya groups and then with the Muhammad ̕ Umar and ̕Ali …

No need here to retell in detail the life story of Um Kalthum. Who indeed does not know those details, from birth, upbringing, discovery of voice, to her move from …

He left a huge number of compositions, lyrical theater works and movie songs. He deserves all the credit for the discovery of several important artists and he accompanied Umm Kulthum’s …

Saliba el Katrib is a genius and unique oud player and an established singer. He was born in 1904 in a musical family as his father Mikhael Qatrib was a recognized …

Son of the “Nayati” (Nay player) who was a member of Abdo al-Hamuli and Muhamad Othman’s Takht, Muhamad Abdo Saleh was sent by his father at a young age to …