Ahmad El Hefnawi

Egyptian musician, born in Cairo on June 14, 1916. His father was a maker of musical instruments, so he would go to his father’s shop after the end of his school day, and there he would meet with great musicians such as: Muhammad Al-Qasabji, Ibrahim Al-Qabbani, and Fahmi Awad. When Ahmed Hafnawi showed remarkable progress in his musical studies, the great artist Muhammad Al-Qasabji suggested to his father that he give his son the right direction, so his father enrolled him in the private Al-Ittihad Music Institute, which had been established by the artist Ibrahim Shafiq in the Abdeen neighborhood in Cairo. There, Ahmed Hafnawi spent some time, but he found that that level of study did not satisfy his artistic ambition. He joined the Fouad Institute of Arabic Music - which later became the Institute of Arab Music - in 1932, and there he studied playing the violin under Professor (Dagulio) and then under Professor (Armeniac), who was a teacher of Anwar Mansi, Attia Sharara, and Muhammad Hajjaj. Al-Hafnawi received special attention from his professor, who taught him until he graduated from the institute in 1936. This was a class that included both Abdel Halim Nouira and Farid Al-Atrash. After graduation, Ahmed Al-Hafnawi worked with the singer (Nadra), for whom the great artist Muhammad Al-Qasabji was composing, and he suggested that she include Al-Hafnawi in her band, where he continued with her for a period of time. He also worked with both (Fathia Ahmed) and (Ratiba Ahmed). When Kawkab Al-Sharq Umm Kulthum began working on the movie (Widad), her band included only about six musicians, and that number was not enough to play the film’s music. So she included Ahmed Al-Hafnawi and two other of his colleagues in her band, and they recorded all the tunes for the movie (Wadad). When Umm Kulthum felt the difference in the level of the band, she asked Al-Hafnawi and his two colleagues to continue in the band, and they actually stayed with her and traveled to accompany her on all her tours in the various regions of Egypt, and since that time it has continued. Al-Hafnawi worked with Umm Kulthum until her passing on August 5, 1990