he accepted having lived and studied in the Soviet capital from 1967 to 1969. In 1968, his Symphonic Poem Abu Simbel and his piano concerto were performed by the Moscow Cinema Orchestra conducted by Aram Khatchaturian with Alexander Bakhtchiev as soloist. In the same year, both works were issued on LP by the Soviet state label Melodia, and in 1972 by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture and Information. Following his return to Cairo, El-Shawan dedicated his time entirely to composition, having also been consultant for Cinema, Theatre and Music Organizations of the Ministry of Culture (1969 – 1976) and professor of composition and orchestration at the Arabic Music Institute (1970 – 1993). In the 1970s, he spent time in East Germany where his Ballet Isis and Osiris was choreographed and recorded by the Leipzig Opera Orchestra. The planned premier of his Ballet in East Berlin did not materialize due to the deteriorating political relations between Egypt and East Germany. El-Shawan's compositions fall into three periods. In the first (c. 1945 – 1955) he wrote chamber music, the symphonic poem ‘Atchan Ya Sabay, his first symphony, the Opera ‘Antara, and music for two films. In the second period, (1955 – 1965), he composed large scale works, most notably the Piano Concerto, the Symphonic Pictures Abu Simbel, four patriotic cantatas for soloists and choral, the third symphony and several chamber works. In the third period (1966– 1993) he composed the ballet Isis and Osiris, the first opera in the Arabic language, Anas Al-Wugud, the Oman Symphony as well as numerous chamber music works. The Cairo Symphony Orchestra has regularly performed El-Shawan’s music. In addition, the London Symphony Orchestra performed and recorded his Oman Symphony in 1984 in Muscat. His opera Anas Al-Wugud was premiered at the Cairo Opera House in 1996 and featured in several opera seasons since then. El-Shawan created an Egyptian musical idiom within the framework of Western tonal music, which he conceived of as an “international musical language.” His style is characterized by the centrality of lyrical melodies with a modal flavor, some inspired by traditional music, and a chromatic harmonic language. In his vocal works, he explores the expressive potential of the phonetics of the Arabic language. In his Oman Symphony, El-Shawan expands his musical vocabulary, incorporating rhythmic and melodic characteristics of Omani traditional music. In addition to his work as a composer and teacher, El-Shawan published four