Muhammad Abd ’al-Wahhab (composer), (1910?-1991), Egyptian composer, one of the most famous composers of 20th-century Arab music. Abd al-Wahhab’s works are well known throughout the Middle East and in Arab communities around the world. His eclectic mixture of international styles has attracted numerous admirers and influenced virtually every Arab composer who came after him.

Abd al-Wahhab was born in Cairo, Egypt. He began his career as a child, singing and acting on the stages of neighborhood theaters. A handsome young man and a gifted singer, he soon was performing leading roles in the city’s main theater district. In Cairo during the 1920s he studied Arab music at the Arabic Music Club and Western music at the Bergrün School, and he began composing and recording commercial music. Also an accomplished lute player, he attracted patrons among the elite of the city, notably the poet Ahmad Shawqi, whose poems formed the basis for some of Abd al-Wahhab’s famous songs, including “Ya Jarat al-Wadi” (“Oh, Neighbor of the Valley,” 1928). From Shawqi, Abd al-Wahhab learned literature, Arab history, and the social rules and manners of elite society. Patronized by royalty, Abd al-Wahhab earned the nickname “singer of princes.”

In the 1930s Abd al-Wahhab began performing on radio broadcasts and joined the Lebanese company Baidaphon Records as a partner. He also became one of the first singers to make musical motion pictures, or song films, organizing his own company to produce such films as al-Ward al-Bayda (“The White Rose,” 1933) and Yahya ‘l-Hubb (“Long Live Love,” 1938). After 1950 he sang and acted less often as he continued to produce films and compose songs for the most famous Arab singers of his day, including Abd al-Halim Hafiz and Umm Kulthum. In all, Abd al-Wahhab wrote more than 250 songs and some 50 instrumental pieces, including “Al-Karnak,””Al-Nahr al-Khalid,” and “Sitt al-Habayib.”

As a composer, Abd al-Wahhab was dedicated to transforming Arab musical genres using styles derived from European symphonies, American popular songs, and Spanish and Latin American dance music. Preferring large ensembles (Abd al-Wahhab made the 40- to 50-piece stage orchestra the norm in the Middle East), he experimented with many Western instruments including clarinet, saxophone, accordion, cello, string bass, slide guitar, and electronic instruments. He enlarged traditional song forms by adding substantial instrumental introductions and interludes. Through these techniques, Abd al-Wahhab drew considerable attention to his new instrumental pieces, even though Arab music of the time was dominated by the singing of poetry. Examples of his instrumentals include the lighthearted compositions “Aziza” and “Bint al-Balad” (“Countrywoman”), which were written in the early 1950s.

In performance, Abd al-Wahhab was meticulous, wanting his compositions to be performed exactly the same way every time. In a musical culture that valued improvisation, Abd al-Wahhab distinguished himself by carefully notating his pieces, even the sections meant to sound as though they were improvised. During his lifetime he received many awards for merit and achievement, including the State Prize for the Arts and the Order of Merit from the Egyptian government. He also received many awards from other countries, including Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Syria, and Tunisia.