Aga Khan Award for Music event displays cross-cultural values
Muscat - The Aga Khan Award for Music (2020-22) kicked off at the House of Musical Arts in the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) on Saturday evening with the final ceremony on Sunday bringing the curtain down on this celebrated event.
Saturday’s ceremony was held under the auspices of H H Sayyid Kamil bin Fahd al Said, Secretary General at the Secretariat General of the Council of Ministers, while on Sunday H H Sayyid Bilarab bin Haitham al Said presided over the awards night.
The opening ceremony included a number of segments, namely an introduction presented by Dr Fairouz Nishanova, Director of the Aga Khan Music Program (AKMP).
Three films were shown to highlight the journey of some winners and their contribution to music. They include Oman’s Musallam al Kathiri and India’s Zakir Hussain.
In addition, the audience was enthralled by the musical performances of Dilshad Khan from India, Zarsanga, Sain Zahoor (both from Pakistan), Yahya Hussein Abdullah from Tanzania, and Afel Bocoum from Mali.
While speaking on behalf of Oman, Jamal Hassan al Musawi, Secretary-general of the National Museum, said that the sultanate is exerting efforts in making culture a common denominator among peoples by introducing the world to its cultural richness through various activities. Oman’s hosting of the second edition of the Aga Khan Award for Music comes within the framework of building bridges of communication between various peoples of the world and enhancing joint cooperation by activating cultural communication channels at all official and societal levels, he added.
Prince Amyn Aga Khan said, “Our gathering here in the magnificent Royal Opera House is a deeply symbolic one, for it celebrates not only inspiring artistic and scholarly creativity, but also the resilience of music and musicians in challenging times. It is most fitting indeed that we are marking this happy occasion in the Sultanate of Oman, a country in which the central place of the arts is sacrosanct and the meeting of the performing arts from both Eastern and Western cultures is enshrined in this remarkable architectural complex in which we are gathered.”
Oman’s Musallam al Kathiri was honoured by the Aga Khan special award for music in recognition for his contributions to the preservation and promotion of Omani musical heritage.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to India’s Zakir Hussain, in recognition of his outstanding model of crosscultural music through his collaborations, concert tours, commissions, recordings and dozens of films. Prince Amyn, the younger brother of Mawlana Hazar imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, dwelt on history to underscore the ‘profound understanding’ that the great medieval Arab philosophers and music theorists had of the power of sound that affect the human psyche and emotions.
“We are the heirs of their knowledge,” he added.
The Aga Khan Award for Music was established in 2018.
“Two and a half years ago, when I had the privilege of speaking at the inaugural Music Awards ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, I noted that it was our wish and our aspiration that the Aga Khan Music Awards should serve as a catalyst for future projects that draw on the rich tapestry of Muslim musical heritage while reaching across the boundaries of time, place, and culture,” Prince Amyn added.