Muhammad Qadri Dalal (Syria)

"David, your point is really interesting.
I saw both sides in Syria, for example in the high institute of music in Damascus, they way they teach arabic music is totally western way, which I don´t like, but for example you can find great young player and teacher, AIman Jesry, who likes to teach in the old style.
Also he told me that he has problems with some of his students, because most of them they want to play very faaaaast, and this is the only thing they want to learn, technic technic and technic...He knows a lot, he plays perfect turkish and arabic, and his knowledge about maqam is incredible but the young students they are not very interested in "old" stuff.
Also there in Syria you can find some teachers that they teach in the old style, usually are not young, like Mohammad Qadri Dalal in Aleppo.
Also I agree with Alami, what I said is not very rational, but for me is like this, when you are leaving for example in Syria, you take a walk in the old zouq in Aleppo, you eat fool in a small restaurant while you are listening to Fairuz, or you take a taxi late at night and the old taxi driver is listening to Sabah Fahri or Oum Kalthoum...the atmosphere comes over you...also every kind of music borns in a special place, so even if we are living in modern times and you go to a restaurant in Damascus and they are listening to this f**ing Enrique Iglesias, there is magic you only need to feel it,
I can imagine that for a foreign who wants to learn flamenco, is not the same to learn it with a good teacher in Berlin than with a good teacher in Jerez de la Frontera, where you can feel why this music was born there...
I remember once my teacher ask me: why you decide to come to Syria? and specially why you were living in Homs and now in Aleppo and you didnt decide to go to Damascus (cosmopolitan city, night life)? Homs and Aleppo are not very easy to live for a foreign...
I told him, these places have something, I really dont know what or where, but I can feel it
I know I´m very romantic but I think all of us we are, if not we were not playing this incredible instrument which is the oud!"

Written by Michoud in this post -> http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=12136&p...

I went to a concert of Al Kindi. The program was tight and the group should not exceed the allotted time. But Muhammad Qadri Dalal has made resistance. During his solo Sheikh Habboush wanted to regain control a dozen times without success. After the concert Julien told me to come in Aleppo if I wanted to learn the repertoire Sufi ...