This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here.

Ahmed Ismail Hussein, whose sweet-stringed and melancholic melodies captivated generations of Somalis and made him one of Somalia’s most important musicians, died on Tuesday in London. He was 91.

He had been infected by the novel coronavirus, according to Hanna Ali, the artistic director of Kayd Somali Arts and Culture, based in London, with which Mr. Hussein had been affiliated in recent years.

Mr. Hussein was famous for playing the oud, the pear-shaped lutelike instrument that is central to Arab and Middle Eastern music.