While paying tribute to the legendary diva Um Kalthoum, the programme features 41 concerts with 83 Egyptian and Arab artists across Cairo, Alexandria and Damanhour. Yet the heart of the event lies in its symposiums, which will gather 40 researchers from 15 Arab and Western countries to debate how the Arab musical world can fully enter the age of algorithms.
Among the highlights is a major symposium titled Arabic Music Facing Digital Transformation: Horizons and Challenges, alongside other events examining the impact of AI tools on Arab music.
A century-long debate
The discussion around the role of Arab music and its categorization is not new to the region.
“The Arab Music Festival was founded by Ratiba Al-Hefny, and this year marks its 33rd edition. But conversations about Arab music began as early as the first half of the 20th century,” says Shereen Abdel-Latif, head of the festival’s scientific committee. She refers to the historic Congress of Arabic Music, held in Cairo in 1932 under the patronage of King Fouad I.
“This historic event, initiated by French ethnomusicologist Rodolphe d’Erlanger and attended by leading Eastern and Western composers and musicologists such as Béla Bartók and Paul Hindemith, sought to codify the maqams (musical modes) and archive the region’s diverse traditions in the face of new technologies like the 78 rpm record and radio. These innovations threatened the essence of tarab — the art of improvisation (taqsim),” Abdel-Latif said.
“Today, AI has replaced the phonograph as both a source of hope and concern. While 1932 focused on recording heritage, AI aims to reproduce, analyze and reinterpret it,” she added.
She has also curated several key presentations exploring the challenges of archiving and digitisation that will be discussed during the festival.
Among them: The Representation of Egyptian Musical Memory in the Digital Era by Ihab Sabry (Egypt); The Need for Documentation and Digitisation of Singing in Yemen by Mohamed Sultan Al-Yousifi (Yemen); Technological Innovation in the Service of Archiving by Salim Al-Zoughbi (Palestine); Documentation Efforts of Tunisian Music and Their Prospects in the Digital Revolution Era by Noura El-Shelli (Tunisia); Documentary Visions Since the 1932 Congress: Egyptian Leadership in Scientific Documentation by Souhaila Abdel-Moati (Egypt); and New Possibilities for Arabic Music in the Digital Age by Jennifer Jolley (United States).
Paradoxes of algorithms
The symposiums will focus on four main themes: creation, education, archiving and the music industry. The scientific committee points to a central paradox in AI’s dual role.
On one hand, AI positions itself as a guardian of heritage. By accelerating production processes and analysing the subtleties of maqams through vast datasets, it can help compose new works that remain faithful to Arabic musical identity.
On the other hand, it poses an ethical and existential threat. Critics fear that Arabic music could lose its soul and emotional depth. The essence of tarab lies in improvisation and deeply felt interpretation, qualities that resist algorithmic reproduction.
Vocal cloning
A major debate is also expected over vocal cloning—or “deepfake” singing—where AI creates a synthetic version of a person’s voice.
“Vocal cloning raises the thorny issue of desecrating the myth of great Arab icons. It is crucial to assess AI’s positive and negative impacts,” says Abdel-Latif. “Examples such as the recreation of Um Kalthoum's voice, or that of Abdallah Al-Rowaished (Kuwait)—whose voice was synthesized with his consent during illness—show that a recreated voice is never the original.”
“By infiltrating music production, distribution and consumption, AI risks stripping away the creative and human dimensions, along with artists’ intellectual property rights. The research presented at the festival seeks to protect our heritage from such distortions,” she explains.
The master-disciple bond under threat?
The symposiums will also examine Perspectives on Music Education in the Digital Age.
The key question is: how can modern tools—online learning platforms, software and so on—be integrated without eroding the traditional essence of Arabic music, which depends on a deep master–disciple relationship and acute auditory memory?
Educational institutions, says Nahla Mattar, professor of theory and composition at Helwan University’s Faculty of Music Education, are being urged to rethink their curricula and introduce adaptive learning methods.
But can this new partnership with AI preserve the authenticity, human creativity, and melodic genius that gave tarab its glory? Can it ensure continuity without distortion, or must Arabic music simply learn to “dance with AI”?
About the Arab Music Festival and Conference
The Arab Music Festival and Conference is Egypt’s largest annual event dedicated to Arabic music.
Across its 10 days, concerts will showcase Egyptian and Arab musicians, ensembles and orchestras on stages operated by the Cairo Opera House, including the Gomhoreya Theatre and the Arabic Music Institute, as well as the Sayed Darwish Theatre in Alexandria and the Damanhour Opera House.
Earlier this year, organizers announced that the 33rd edition will be dedicated to Um Kalthoum, in line with year-long celebrations marking 50 years since the death of the Star of the East.
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This article was originally published in Al-Ahram Hebdo (French) on 8 October 2025. Translation and additional edit: Ahram Online.
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