Google Doodle of Ratiba El-Hefny, December 2, 2017 – GoogleCAIRO – 2 December 2017: Google celebrates the 86th birthday of the late, great Egyptian soprano Ratiba El-Hefny, who passed away September 16, 2013 at the age of 82. Though already at the professional level as a concert pianist, El-Hefny’s heart was geared more towards singing in Arabic, so she shifted her focus towards that.Interest in western classical music, El-Hefny singing brought the two cultures together in harmony. This helped to propel El-Hefny into the beloved national music icon she is today. Later she opened the Cairo Opera Children's Choir and Um Koulthoum Ensemble for Arabic Music. After founding the National Arab Music Ensemble, she returned to Germany to continue her musical studies.For well over two decades El-Hefny also hosted TV and radio programmes on music.

Source: Egypt Today December 02, 2017 16:07 UTC