Mohamed el-Qasabgi (1892–1966) was the Cairo oud virtuoso and composer widely regarded as the instrument's modern master, known for extended, harmonically adventurous taqasim (improvisations) and for arrangements — many written for Umm Kulthum — that folded Western harmony and instrumentation into the traditional Egyptian takht ensemble. He is credited in biographical accounts as the young Mohammed Abdel Wahab's oud teacher, passing on both instrumental technique and an appetite for blending "oriental" and modern elements that Abdel Wahab would carry much further.

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1925

Taqsim Rast (1924–1926 recording)Muhammad al-Qasabgi