(b Baghdad, 1921). Iraqi ’ūd player and composer. He is the sole guardian of the Arab-Ottoman repertoire in Iraq. Between 1936 and 1944 he studied the ’ūd at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad with the Arab Ottoman prince, al-Sharīf Muhiiyy al-Dīn Haydar (1888–1967). In 1947 Shukur was appointed by his master to teach the ’ūd at the Institute, and he subsequently became head of the music department. From 1955 until the 1990s he gave recitals in many parts of the world and worked on Arab-Islamic manuscripts. He has composed about ten works which are largely based on suite or sonata forms with programmatic tendencies. He has also written a concerto for ’ūd and orchestra. As a performer, his interest in instrumental improvisations (taqsīms), however, is limited. He rather favoured composed pieces and is known to be the main performer of al-Sharīf Muhiyy al-Dīn's compositions, which are noted for their technical difficulty and evidence of Western influence; Shukur is a learned and dedicated virtuoso, who has transmitted his art and technique to a generation of Iraqi ’ūd players.
SCHEHERAZADE QASSIM HASSAN