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Sunday, 28 December 2008 at 00:41

Dagher’s music - who never learned to read music scores- is known for expressiveness, meticulously crafted monotones and unpredictable experimentations.
He is known in Egypt as “Master of Improvisation”.

I’m at the opinion that his music hasn’t been transcribed or preserved yet in Egypt. There is no proper archiving of his production. All are just backstage, interview, random concerts, etc. recordings, and as such the entire musical heritage he composed over the years will go away if he dies!

During Dagher’s last visit to Switzerland, he received an honorary diploma from Zurich University. Also, a fancy party was thrown in his honor to celebrate his 70th birthday.
“I have never held a birthday party in my life or went on vacation. I dedicated my whole life to music,” he commented.

His career actualy took an unexpected turn in 1990 when he met the German musician, Roman Bunka, in Cairo, who had earlier listened to Dagher’s music in Germany but didn’t know who the composer was.
Bunka came back one year later with a fellow German documentary filmmaker who directed a film about Dagher entitled “The Oud.”
The film received critical acclaim, won an award at the Chicago Film Festival, and paved the way for Dagher’s first tour in Europe.

Dagher soon became a household name in classical music circuits in Europe, performing several highly acclaimed concerts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He also conducted a number of workshops on oriental violin, tailored for European musicians.

Dagher’s prominent status in Europe was cemented when a statue of him was set up inside a public garden in Germany.

The story of Dagher’s life was also documented in a book by the Egyptian writer Khairy Shalaby entitled “The Pearl Fishers”.

Among his most famous pieces are: “Nights Gone By”, “Longa Nahawand”, “The Nile” and “The Call”.

Dagher was born in Damietta (an Egyptian city) in 1936 with an instinctive love for music. He taught himself how to play the oud (oriental lute) at the age of seven.
Though his father worked in the music business, he rejected the idea of his son becoming a musician. He used to beat him to stop playing music to the extent that his leg till now bears old marks of injuries.
He wanted him to be an Azhar scholar or a lawyer because, at that time, these were the most respected jobs.
Young Abdo didn’t give up though and left home when he turned 13 to work for Sufi singers and chanters at mawalid (religious celebrations), which helped him to formulate his own methodology.
He was later transfixed by the sound of an Italian violinist in Egypt named David Osra who performed at a church concert held in his hometown, Damietta.
From that moment onward, Dagher started playing the violin until he mastered it.

Dagher moved to Cairo at the age of 18, where he worked in a shop that manufactured musical instruments. Gradually, his musical dexterity attracted a sizable buzz until he was taken up as a member of famous Egyptian takhts (ensembles), accompanying the likes of Om Kolthoum and Mohamed Abdel-Wahab....