Tomorrow, Wednesday, on the stage of the Abu Bakr Salem Theater in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, a concert entitled “Memories” will begin, in celebration of the Egyptian musician Hani Shenouda, on the occasion of his eightieth birthday.
The ceremony, in which a number of major Arab and Egyptian stars participated - including Amr Diab, Muhammad Mounir and Ahmed Adawiya - sparked controversy on the communication platforms, between a supporter of the deserved honor, and angry at the occurrence of this honor in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and not in the homeland of the musician Egypt.
And the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia announced a few days ago the ceremony, in the presence of Muhammad Mounir, Amr Diab, Ahmed Adawiya, Mai Farouk, Angham, Mustafa Hajjaj, and the Cairokee band led by Amir Eid.
Muhammad Mounir, who arrived in Riyadh to participate in the ceremony, celebrated in a tweet on Twitter his friend and companion of his artistic career, musician Hani Shenouda.
All thanks and pride for attending the honoring of my friend and companion of my journey, the artist Hani Shenouda, who contributed to presenting the alternative song after the departure of the giants’ generation, which influenced a whole new generation, and Hani was a pioneer for this project. For the second time
- Mohamed Mounir (@Mounirofficial) March 6, 2023
The arrival of the artist, Mohamed Mounir ❤️
, for the biggest musical night awaited .. # The night of the musician_ Hani_ Shenouda in # Boulevard_Riyadh_City 🔥🎤
on March 8 🗓
Book your ticket now ✨ https://t.co/TFZoyQl9UQ #Riyadh_calendar pic.twitter.com/2hZrb7nesW
Riyadh Calendar |
Riyadh Calendar (@RiyadhSeason) March 6, 2023
Amr Diab also celebrated a ceremony honoring his discoverer, Hani Shenouda, and wrote on his Facebook account, "A respectable and important initiative. Musician Hani Shenouda has a vision and a distinguished artistic imprint on the lyrical and cinematic levels. His grace is great for me and for other stars, thank you Abu Nasser."
In reference to the head of the General Entertainment Authority, Turki Al-Sheikh.
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A post shared by Mai Farouk (@maifarouk)
In a short video after his arrival in Saudi Arabia, artist Hani Shenouda said, "You are living great memories. No one can gather all these artists except here."
Days before the Entertainment Authority announced honoring Hani Shenouda, the Egyptian writer Bilal Fadl suggested celebrating the anniversary of Hani Shenouda's birth, and put forward on his YouTube channel the idea of organizing a large party with the participation of great Arab singers, with the participation of the musician, and suggested that this ceremony take place in the Egyptian Opera House or the Museum of Civilizations. .
Some linked the honoring of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia to Hani Shenouda and Bilal Fadl's talk on the subject, stressing that this honor should have come from Egypt, the country that embraced Hani Shenouda's talent since his youth.
Writer Omar Taher posted on his Facebook account that he was happy with this honor, and demanded an apology for not honoring him in Egypt as befitting his artistic stature.
Last Saturday, the Farouk Hosni Foundation for Culture and Arts announced that its board of trustees had unanimously approved the nomination of musician Hani Shenouda for the Grand Merit Award for the year 2023, with a value of 100,000 pounds.
Writer Muhammad Salmawi, Secretary General of the Award and a member of the Board of Trustees, stated that the Grand Merit Award is the only award among the Farouk Hosni Foundation Awards for Culture and Arts dedicated to a great cultural personality with a prominent achievement in the arts or literature, while the rest of the awards were taken into consideration for promising young talents in various fields. creative.
Hani Shenouda.. A creative career
Hani Shenouda's musical career began in the sixties of the last century, when he graduated from the Faculty of Music in 1966, and then joined the Higher Institute of Music (Conservatory), where he studied the art of musical composition and orchestral arrangement.
Shenouda participated in the formation of more than one youth music group, then launched his own band under the name "The Egyptians", which contributed to the development of youth music in the eighties.
Shenouda discovered a number of the most prominent singing stars at the present time, including Mohamed Mounir, who composed a number of his most famous songs for him, and Amr Diab, who was persuaded by Hani Shenouda to come from Port Said (one of the governorates east of Cairo) to the capital and study music, and after that he gave him many of his songs.
Apart from the younger generation, Shenouda performed some of the most successful songs of the great singers;
Like Najat and Faiza Ahmed, he introduced a new musical color to their singing career, in addition to his work in the field of setting soundtracks for cinematic films and dramas, including the films "Shams Al-Zanati", "One Woman Is Not Enough" and "Avocato".