The Cairo Opera House will hold a concert, on 17 December, to commemorate the death anniversary of the iconic Syrian-Egyptian composer and singer Farid Al-Atrash.
The National Arab Music Ensemble, led by Maestro Hazem Al-Qasabji, will perform the concert at the Grand Theater.
The concert programme includes a selection of the late musician’s compositions that influenced the Arabic music.
Farid Al-Atrash, dubbed king of Oud, was one of the most important singers and composers in the Arab world. The Al-Atrash family was one of the ancient families in the Druze Mountain in southern Syria, which had an important role in confronting the French colonisation of Syria.
His artistic career, which spanned more than four decades, began after moving to Cairo with his mother, his brother Fouad, and sister Asmahan.
Al-Atrash recorded 500 songs and starred in 31 films. He worked with giant poets, including Badi Khairy, Bayram Al-Tunisi, Saleh Jawdat, Fathi Koura, Kamel Al-Shenawi, Mamoun Al-Shenawi, and Morsi Jamil Aziz.
He had also composed many songs for great singers, including Asmahan, Shadia, Fayza Ahmed, Sabah, Maha Sabry, Wadih Al-Safi, Nour Al-Huda, and Muharram Fouad.
Al-Atrash died in December 1974 at 64, leaving immortal works that still enrich the art scene in Egypt and the Arab world.
