| Born in Kabul in 1935 to a humble family, Hussain Arman's interest in music developed from elder brother Ibrahim Nassim, an established musician and actor in Afghanistan. Arman first dabbled with the "Toola", the traditional Afghan Flute, before taking Harmonium lessons at age 12. In 1955 he learned a more developed system of music and the mandolin under the tutelage of Ustad Farokh Affandi. He was also a member of the Sana-e Baladia (City Theatre) as an actor and singer. In 1963, Arman traveled to Yugoslavia to study western classical music and classical guitar with Maestro S. Barlevitch at the Zagreb High School of Music. He returned to Afghanistan in 1973, where he taught classical guitar at the only music school in Kabul. He also started his career at Radio Kabul as a singer, composer and guitarist. Arman has been residing in Geneva, Switzerland since 1992, where he founded the Ensemble Kabul for Afghan Traditional Music. Ensemble Kabul was invited to the most prestigious music festivals around the world, including a tour in North America, the UK and France. It also performed at various concerts and conferences in Germany, Scandinavian countries, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Lebanon and North Africa. Arman recorded his first album titled "Nastaran" in Europe in 1999, and his second album "Taranom" was released in 2006. Hussain Arman and Ensemble Kabul work with other European musicians including Jordi Savall, Ross Daly and others. |
