All Pakistan Music Conference
Encyclopedia
The All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) was founded in 1959 for the promotion of classical music
in Pakistan
. Ever since its inception, it has been a constant source of inspiration for thousands of music lovers nationwide.
, Pakistan was so beset with insurmountable social
, economic and political problems that fine arts virtually remained neglected. History’s largest migration of people had totally upset the equilibrium of the population not only physically but also emotionally and psychologically. During such times, the arts could not get attention of the people or the government. Pakistani music was neglected more than all else. With the sole exception of Radio Pakistan, not even a muffled sound of music was ever heard. The memory of live music concerts lingered in the minds of a few. If lovers of music had nostalgic memories, the musicians were totally frustrated. The height of despair was reflected in the decision of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan to leave the country. Soon after, Roshan Ara Begum
announced that she was giving up Riaz as no one seemed interested in listening to her music. Her announcement jolted concerned citizens into action. Accepting the challenge, they decided to find ways and means to revive and rejuvenate the seemingly lost but rich and glorious heritage of classical music.
On 15 September 1959, these concerned citizens met at the famous Coffee House of Lahore and launched a voluntary organization under the title and style of The All Pakistan Music Conference. The main objective of the APMC was to promote music and musicians by organizing concerts, conferences and festivals. It was decided to hold, as soon as possible, a large event on national level to focus attention on our melodic culture. A festival of folk
, light, semi-classical and classical music
was announced for February 19, 1960 to February 23, 1960. Spread over five evening and two morning sessions, the festival was an instant success. Musicians from all over the country had participated. People from all walks of life, from all the big cities, Dhaka
, Quetta
, Karachi
and Peshawar
, and from towns and villages all over Pakistan attended the concerts in large numbers. The programme started daily at eight in the evening and lasted for five to six hours with the last evening closing a couple of hours after sunrise - a glorious day had dawned. The festival was the first major step which gave new lease of life to music in Pakistan. Followed by monthly concerts, it helped promote this noble art. Simultaneously, the festival helped project musicians. Great masters of whom the general public had not even heard and who were hidden even from the discerning eye were brought to the fore.
, Akhtari Bai, Rasoolan Bai
, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan
, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and Ustad Ghulam Hassan Shaggan
have performed at APMC concerts.
Over the years, APMC has also brought forth several amateurs in the field of classical music. Notable names include Fahim Mazhar, Abdur Rauf
, Sara Zaman and several others. APMC attracts music luminaries and aspiring artists alike to keep the classical music alive in the country. Not only that, both vocalists and instrumentalists from Afghanistan
, Turkey
, India
, Japan
, the United States
and Germany
, have benefited from the regular musical sittings held at APMC over the past forty-five years.
The APMC programmes, held on a monthly basis greatly enrich the cultural ethos of Lahore. Besides these monthly mehfils, APMC also hosts a yearly five-day festival in which musicians/vocalists from all over Pakistan perform till the wee hours of morning. Few would know that APMC has also been instrumental in promoting classical dance in Pakistan. Performances of Naheed Siddiqui, Gopi Krishan and Sheema Kirmani hosted by the organization stand as evidence.
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian Classical Music or Shāstriya Sangeet...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Ever since its inception, it has been a constant source of inspiration for thousands of music lovers nationwide.
History
At the time of partitionPartition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
, Pakistan was so beset with insurmountable social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
, economic and political problems that fine arts virtually remained neglected. History’s largest migration of people had totally upset the equilibrium of the population not only physically but also emotionally and psychologically. During such times, the arts could not get attention of the people or the government. Pakistani music was neglected more than all else. With the sole exception of Radio Pakistan, not even a muffled sound of music was ever heard. The memory of live music concerts lingered in the minds of a few. If lovers of music had nostalgic memories, the musicians were totally frustrated. The height of despair was reflected in the decision of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan to leave the country. Soon after, Roshan Ara Begum
Roshan Ara Begum
Roshan Ara Begum became one of the most important woman in the history of Hindustani classical music. In Pakistan she is revered as Mallika-e-Mauseeqi or Queen of Music...
announced that she was giving up Riaz as no one seemed interested in listening to her music. Her announcement jolted concerned citizens into action. Accepting the challenge, they decided to find ways and means to revive and rejuvenate the seemingly lost but rich and glorious heritage of classical music.
On 15 September 1959, these concerned citizens met at the famous Coffee House of Lahore and launched a voluntary organization under the title and style of The All Pakistan Music Conference. The main objective of the APMC was to promote music and musicians by organizing concerts, conferences and festivals. It was decided to hold, as soon as possible, a large event on national level to focus attention on our melodic culture. A festival of folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, light, semi-classical and classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
was announced for February 19, 1960 to February 23, 1960. Spread over five evening and two morning sessions, the festival was an instant success. Musicians from all over the country had participated. People from all walks of life, from all the big cities, Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
, Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
, Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
and Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, and from towns and villages all over Pakistan attended the concerts in large numbers. The programme started daily at eight in the evening and lasted for five to six hours with the last evening closing a couple of hours after sunrise - a glorious day had dawned. The festival was the first major step which gave new lease of life to music in Pakistan. Followed by monthly concerts, it helped promote this noble art. Simultaneously, the festival helped project musicians. Great masters of whom the general public had not even heard and who were hidden even from the discerning eye were brought to the fore.
Objectives
The late Hayat Ahmed Khan has been the moving spirit behind APMC. To encourage the classical musicians/vocalists living in obscurity post partition, and particularly influenced by Roshan Ara’s claim to give up her Riyaz due to the lack of interested listeners, Mr. Hayat along with several music connoisseurs laid the foundation of APMC. This project, he hoped, would rejuvenate interest in classical music in Pakistan. Many well-established artists like Roshan Ara BegumRoshan Ara Begum
Roshan Ara Begum became one of the most important woman in the history of Hindustani classical music. In Pakistan she is revered as Mallika-e-Mauseeqi or Queen of Music...
, Akhtari Bai, Rasoolan Bai
Rasoolan Bai
Rasoolan Bai was a leading Indian Hindustani classical music vocal musician. Belonging to the Benaras gharana, she specialized in the romantic Purab Ang of the Thumri musical genre.-Early life:...
, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan
Fateh Ali Khan
Fateh Ali Khan may refer to:* Bade Fateh Ali Khan * Fateh Ali Khan * Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan * Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan * Fateh Ali Khan Umrani, leader of the Umrani tribe of Pakistan...
, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and Ustad Ghulam Hassan Shaggan
Ghulam Hassan Shaggan
Ghulam Hassan Shaggan is a Pakistani classical singer of the Gwalior Gharana. His father’s name was Bhai Lal Mohammad , who belonged to the Gwalior-Kapurthala Gharana....
have performed at APMC concerts.
Over the years, APMC has also brought forth several amateurs in the field of classical music. Notable names include Fahim Mazhar, Abdur Rauf
Abdur Rauf
Abdur Rauf Khan is a Pakistani first class cricketer. A right-arm fast-medium bowler, Khan made his first-class debut in October 1999....
, Sara Zaman and several others. APMC attracts music luminaries and aspiring artists alike to keep the classical music alive in the country. Not only that, both vocalists and instrumentalists from Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, have benefited from the regular musical sittings held at APMC over the past forty-five years.
The APMC programmes, held on a monthly basis greatly enrich the cultural ethos of Lahore. Besides these monthly mehfils, APMC also hosts a yearly five-day festival in which musicians/vocalists from all over Pakistan perform till the wee hours of morning. Few would know that APMC has also been instrumental in promoting classical dance in Pakistan. Performances of Naheed Siddiqui, Gopi Krishan and Sheema Kirmani hosted by the organization stand as evidence.
Famous Musicians at APMC
- Akmal Qadri - Bansuri
- Haider RahmanHaider RahmanHaider Rahman is a Pakistani musician and current band member of the band Laal. He plays the bansuri for the band. He also sometimes lends his voice for backup vocals. He is recognized all over Pakistan because of his being a shagird of the legendary Pakistani flute player Akmal Qadri and the...
- Mian Qadir Bukhsh Pakhawaji
- Khalifa Akhtar Hussain
- Dildar Ali
- Amir Chouhan From Peshawar
- Nazakat Ali Khan
- Salamat Ali Khan
- Amanat Ali Khan
- Fateh Ali Khan
- Barkat Ali Khan
- Sharif Khan Poonchwalay
- Sardar Khan
- Nathu Khan
- Allah Ditta Pari Paikar
- Shaukat Hussain
- Nazim Ali Khan
- Munir Sarhadi
- Zahida Parveen
- Sadiq Ali Mando
- Khamisu Khan
- Sain Akhter Hussain
- Latafat Hussain Khan
- Niaz Hussain Shami
- Naseem Begum
- Nabi Bakhsh
- Umeed Ali Khan
- Zahoori Khan
- Adbur Rashid Beenkaar
- Tufail Niazi
- Talib Hussain
- Lal Muhammad
- Roshan Ara Begum
See also
- Music of PakistanMusic of PakistanThe music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic and modern day Western popular music influences...
- Qawaali
- Ghazel
- Danka - Pakistan's Cultural Events GuideDanka Culture GuideDanka is a free cultural guide and network in Pakistan, and a strong and independent tool to organize the communication of the cultural events in order to inform the public and establish the essential link between cultural life and public....