Speech by Prince Amyn Aga Khan at the 2022 Aga Khan Music Awards ceremony in Muscat, Oman

Bismallah Hir Rahman Nir Rahim,

Your Highness Sayyid Kamil bin Fahad Al Said,

Your Highnesses, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentleman, Friends: as-salamu alaykum.

Our gathering here in the magnificent Royal Opera House of Musical Arts is a deeply symbolic one, for it celebrates not only inspiring artistic and scholarly creativity, but also the resilience of music and musicians in challenging times. It is most fitting indeed that we are marking this happy occasion in the Sultanate of Oman, a country in which the central place of the arts is sacrosanct and the meeting of the performing arts from both Eastern and Western cultures is enshrined in this remarkable architectural complex in which we are gathered.

Those of us in attendance this evening know only too well that musicians and their fellow performing artists in theatre and dance were affected with particular cruelty by the global pandemic. The disappearance of live performance opportunities literally overnight meant more than a loss of livelihood. It also meant the loss of a vital source of inspiration, the inspiration that arises in performers when they perform directly in the presence of audiences, and can feel the emotions, the thoughts that their music engenders.

The great medieval Arab philosophers, many of whom were also music theorists and even talented musicians, had a profound understanding of the power of sound to affect the human psyche and emotions. We are the heirs of their knowledge, and we are reaffirming that here this evening through the act of gathering together to experience collectively the power of live sound, beautifully crafted and shaped, on our emotions, on our dreams.

In the darkest days of the pandemic, I had consulted with my brother, His Highness the Aga Khan, about whether the prudent course of action for this Music Awards ceremony would not be to hold it virtually, as was the fate at that time of so many other global events. A virtual ceremony would have been simpler and more economical to organise and would have avoided public health risks associated with the pandemic, and it would have lightened (in truth probably insignificantly) the carbon footprint created by our physical presence here in Muscat. These advantages of a virtual ceremony, however significant they were, had to be weighed against what would be lost. And in the end, we returned to the core idea underlying the establishment of the Music Awards in the first place: to support the transformative potential of the performing arts when they are experienced directly, in ideal conditions, rendered by masters of their medium and to understand, to realize that the emotions and dreams we share through such music unite us, whatever our backgrounds. I hope you will agree with me that the performances this evening will have vindicated our decision to insist on a live event.

The impact of the Music Awards, however, extends beyond the 500 of us who are gathered here this evening, and beyond those who are now viewing or will eventually view this event through broadcasts and via the Internet. The true impact will be measured by the achievements of the laureates as they endeavour to use their musical talent and knowledge to contribute to the well-being of their respective societies and of humanity at large. Indeed, front and centre in the selection process of the Music Awards jury is a belief that the gift of artistic talent bestows a responsibility on those who receive it to share their good fortune with others, to unite us despite our many apparent differences.

All of the laureates selected for this year’s awards have demonstrated a strong commitment to forms of social service, at the front ranks of which would be to serve as teachers and mentors. Throughout history many famous music teachers have taught by example, and in many musical traditions that have flourished in Muslim, as in other civilizations, learning music from traditional models presented by an esteemed teacher has become a canonical practice whether we call it a master class or, as in Urdu and Persian, ustad-shagird. But the ability to teach students how to make a traditional model come alive, revealing both discipline and passion, is a special gift. We hope that this ability is one that, with our support, laureates of the Aga Khan Music Awards will continue to cultivate in their ongoing work as educators. Moreover, by educating young people in their own musical traditions while also providing them the tools to expand those traditions in new cosmopolitan directions, we are helping to prepare a new generation of cultural leaders and composers who will build bridges and connections across cultures. Laureates of the Music Awards are emissaries of this collective work, taking it to artistic communities and communities of listeners around the world. And while there is no single music that one could say is a universal language, the urge to make music and to have music in our lives is universal. Musical traditions have evolved, wherever they may be, as people have travelled from one geographical area, one culture, to another and imbibed parts of the new cultures they discovered, leading at the same time to an evolution in the musical styles and expressions of the countries they visited. Such evolution through cross-cultural contact has been at the root of almost all musical creation.

Two and a half years ago, when I had the privilege of speaking at the inaugural Music Awards ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, I noted that it was our wish and our aspiration that the Aga Khan Music Awards should serve as a catalyst for future projects that draw on the rich tapestry of Muslim musical heritage while reaching across the boundaries of time, place and culture, assimilating the traditions and characteristics of other heritages to create a pluralistic sound that could overtly be global. This year’s distinguished cohort of laureates offers strong evidence that, despite the obstacles of the past few years, we are making steady progress. These laureates also demonstrate that there is no inherent contradiction between what I have called a “global pluralistic sound” and the celebration of local cultural identities. On the contrary, they are mutually enhancing. Exposure to different ways of making music and thinking about music represents a form of enlightenment. Being challenged to compose or improvise music that incorporates new musical languages and different kinds of instruments and performance techniques requires that musicians be creatively nimble and flexible and that they be willing to find new ways of expressing our shared emotions and essentially similar dreams and experiences. What is important is that young musicians become accomplished musicians, whatever their instruments and culture, but also that the creation of new music continues.

These music awards cover, essentially, three categories, three chapters: Performances; Musical research and education; and Creation.

On behalf of my brother and myself, I congratulate all of the Aga Khan Music Awards laureates, another group of whom will be presented here tomorrow evening. I’d also like to thank here publicly, all the members of our Awards Steering Committee and Master Jury. Their enthusiasm and selfless contribution of their time and expertise has made this cycle of the Music Awards possible.

Finally, I also extend my deep gratitude to our gracious hosts, and my thanks to all our distinguished guests for honouring us with their presence here this evening.

Thank you very much.