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Algeria
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Algeria
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Mustapha Skandrani
مصطفى اسكندراني
(Known as "Skandrani")
Virtuoso Pianist, Chaabi Maestro, Andalusian Music Reformer
Born
Nov 17, 1920
Algiers, Algeria
Algiers, Algeria
Passed Away
Oct 18, 2005
Algiers, Algeria
Lifespan
84 years old
"The piano is a Western instrument, but when my fingers touch the keys, it speaks pure Algerian soul."
Archival Overview
Supreme piano virtuoso who adapted the Western acoustic piano to the microtonal modes (istikhbar) of Algerian Chaabi and Andalusian classical music for six decades.
Biographical Record
Born in the lower Casbah of Algiers, Mustapha Skandrani mastered the piano at a young age, joining Radio Algiers in 1938 as chief accompanist. Breaking classical rigidities, he pioneered the technique of playing microtonal Arabic and Andalusian scales on the piano keyboard.
As orchestra conductor, he accompanied the greatest figures of Algerian music, including El Hadj M'Hamed El Anka, Fadila Dziria, and Dahmane El Harrachi. His solo improvisations (istikhbar) on the piano remain legendary standards of instrumental music.
Memorial Guestbook & Tributes
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual Memorial
Sidi M'hamed Cemetery
Algiers, Algeria
Algiers, Algeria
GPS: 36.7538, 3.0588
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