Last week Egypt's rock fans were treated to two important events, both linked to the internationally renowned American funk-rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP). Two days prior to the band's Pyramids concert on 15 March, their drummer, Chad Smith, (...)
In Egypt, where the cultural sphere is as rich and varied as any in the world, the amount of work done by artists, cultural managers and their supporters is enormous, but such enormous effort, time, dedication and finances are not always as obvious (...)
“The greatest and most noble of all human beings,” wrote soprano Dalia Farouk on social media commenting on the death of Hassan Kami (also spelled Kamy), the former artistic director of the Cairo Opera Company, an actor and cultural activist as well (...)
The name Gamal Fahmy immediately brings to mind the well-known journalist and TV presenter, a former Press Syndicate deputy chairman who over decades has established himself in the world of media with powerful articles and outspoken views on society (...)
As 2018 draws to a close, it is worth recalling a few noteworthy events in the Egyptian world of music. It is impossible to do justice to a whole year's achievements or capture all its losses, but a number of facts in this article should shed light (...)
The name Gamal Fahmy immediately brings to mind the well-known journalist and TV presenter, a former Press Syndicate deputy chairman who over decades has established himself in the world of media with powerful articles and outspoken views on society (...)
What if Socrates never had to take poison? What if Cleopatra never fell in love with Mark Anthony? What if colonialism never happened?
Those are some of the questions Darb 1718's second “Something Else — Off Biennale” promotional material asks.
The (...)
What if Socrates never had to take poison? What if Cleopatra never fell in love with Mark Anthony? What if colonialism never happened?
Those are some of the questions Darb 1718's second “Something Else — Off Biennale” promotional material asks. The (...)
Sayed Darwish (1892-1923), Riad Al-Sonbati (1906-1981), Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751), the Rahbani Brothers… What would bring together those and a few other names from the Arabic and Western music repertoires? The answer is simple: Mosaic, an Egyptian (...)
Sayed Darwish (1892-1923), Riad Al-Sonbati (1906-1981), Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751), the Rahbani Brothers… What would bring together those and a few other names from the Arabic and Western music repertoires? The answer is simple: Mosaic, an Egyptian (...)
Just back from their performance in Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan, where they participated in the first Maqom Art International Forum (6-10 September), the instrumental ensemble Zaii Zaman was inspired and hopeful that their understanding of music could (...)
Just back from their performance in Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan, where they participated in the first Maqom Art International Forum (6-10 September), the instrumental ensemble Zaii Zaman was inspired and hopeful that their understanding of music could (...)
In the morning hours of Saturday 11 August, Nagy Shaker was in bed, fatigued by illness but in a good mood. “I had a dream,” he told his wife, Vera Lagator. “I dreamt that I went to the faculty and saw my students. I miss them. I will overcome this (...)
On 31 July, the Cairo Opera House released a note announcing passing of Maestro Aldo Magnato – the choir master of the Cairo Opera Choir, pianist and a voice coach – in the Italian town of Marsala. What followed was an avalanche of condolences and (...)
On 31 July, the Cairo Opera House released a note announcing passing of Maestro Aldo Magnato – the choir master of the Cairo Opera Choir, pianist and a voice coach – in the Italian town of Marsala.
What followed was an avalanche of condolences and (...)
Google is celebrating the great Persian philosopher and physician Ibn Sina, known to the Western world as Avicenna, with a doodle displayed on the search engine's front page in the Middle East and North Africa.
Born in 980, Ibn Sina was one of the (...)
Summer is a time for change in the classical music landscape. The season came to an end with the last days of June, and before the new season opens with a new repertoire in September, the audience is offered different kinds of experiences. All over (...)
Summer is a time for change in the classical music landscape. The season came to an end with the last days of June, and before the new season opens with a new repertoire in September, the audience is offered different kinds of experiences.
All over (...)
Music is the most abstract art form. It embraces intangibles, inviting us into unique abstractions through which our imagination is fed by our emotions and experiences. When we see a painting or a photograph, we usually find a subject which becomes (...)
Music is the most abstract art form. It embraces intangibles, inviting us into unique abstractions through which our imagination is fed by our emotions and experiences. When we see a painting or a photograph, we usually find a subject which becomes (...)
Last month, conductor Magdy Boghdady was appointed head of the Artistic House at the Cairo Opera in a decree issued by Magdi Saber, chairman of the Cairo Opera House (National Cultural Centre). The post, which is equivalent to Artistic Director of (...)
Last month, conductor Magdy Boghdady was appointed head of the Artistic House at the Cairo Opera in a decree issued by Magdi Saber, chairman of the Cairo Opera House (National Cultural Centre). The post, which is equivalent to Artistic Director of (...)
Lobna Abdel Aziz, an Egyptian actress and journalist with decades of publishing at Al Ahram Weekly, was honoured Monday at the Grand Musical Spectacle at the Gomhoreya Theatre in Cairo.
The event was organised by Soft Power Productions, an (...)
The spring season in Egypt is not accompanied by changes in nature we know from countries in cooler latitudes; there are no leaves sprouting on the naked branches of trees and no little flowers covering the emerging loan carpets. If the transition (...)
The spring season in Egypt is not accompanied by changes in nature we know from countries in cooler latitudes; there are no leaves sprouting on the naked branches of trees and no little flowers covering the emerging loan carpets. If the transition (...)
