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Ziad Rahbani
Lebanese composer (1956–2025) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ziad Rahbani[a] (Arabic: زياد الرحباني; 1 January 1956 – 26 July 2025) was a Lebanese composer, pianist, playwright, and political commentator. He was the son of Fairouz, one of Lebanon and the Arab world's most famous singers, and Assi Rahbani, one of the founders of modern Arabic music.[1] Many of his musicals satirize Lebanese politics both during and after the Lebanese Civil War, and are often critical of the traditional political establishment. He was considered one of the most influential artists in modern Lebanese history, remembered for his wit, creativity, and refusal to conform.[2][3][4]
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Ziad Rahbani was the son of the Lebanese composer Assi Rahbani and Nouhad Haddad, the iconic Lebanese female singer Fairuz.[5][6]
Rahbani was married to Dalal Karam, with whom he had a boy named "Assi" but he was later found out not to be his biological son. Their relationship later ended in divorce, prompting Karam to write a series of articles for the gossip magazine Ashabaka about their marriage. Rahbani composed a number of songs about their relationship, including "Marba el Dalal"[7] and "Bisaraha".[8]
Rahbani had a long-standing relationship with Lebanese leftist movements, and was a self-declared communist, being a lifelong affiliate with the Lebanese Communist Party.[9] Furthermore, in an interview with the journalist Ghassan Bin-Jiddu, Rahbani stated that the bloodbath massacres in the Palestinian camp Tall a-Za’tar by extreme-rightist Christian militias in 1976 was the main reason that drove him to leave to West Beirut. Notwithstanding, he also expressed his support to the Lebanese resistance and its project in the face of "the Israeli occupation and its Zionist Apartheid regime".[10][11] Coming from a Christian family, his politics and viewpoints were very radical when compared to his right-wing teenage surroundings.[12] Rahbani was popularly understood to be atheist.[13] Rahbani died on 26 July 2025, at the age of 69 after battling illness.[14]
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Career
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Rahbani's first known artistic work was "Sadiqi Allah" (My Friend God), a collection of writings between the years 1967 and 1968 when he was in his teens. In 1973, at age 17,[15] Rahbani composed his first music for Fairuz, his mother. Assi Rahbani, his father, was hospitalized and his mother Fairuz was to play the leading role in Al Mahatta by the Rahbani brothers. Mansour Rahbani, his uncle, who had written the lyrics of a song about Assi Rahbani's forced absence, gave Ziad Rahbani the task of composing its music. The song "Saalouni El Nass" (People Asked Me)[16] gained Rahbani recognition in the music world.
Rahbani appeared for the first time on stage in Al Mahatta where he played the role of the detective. He also appeared later on in the Rahbani Brothers' Mays el Rim[17] in the role of one of the policemen. Rahbani's first step into theatre was with the Bkennaya Theater in Sahriyyeh.[18] He followed that with highly politicized string of plays. "In 'The Harvest of Thorns: Political Comedy Theater in Syria and Lebanon,' Aksam Al-Youssef wrote, "Under these circumstances, as a young adult, Ziad imposed himself on the artistic scene as a playwright, director, composer, pianist, and actor. In a short time, his original theatre would become the center of attention for young people who found in it the voice of a lost generation caught in the throws of war and violence.[19]
As an actor, besides appearing in his own plays, Rahbani starred in Randa Chahal Sabbagh's 2003 film The Kite.
Collaborations
Before, during, and after the Lebanese Civil War, Rahbani released and co-released several albums like: Bi hal shakel, Abou Ali, Halleluja, Shareet Ghayr Houdoudi, Houdou Nesbi, Ana Mouch Kafer, Hakaya al Atfal, Bema Enno, Monodose (with singer Salma Mosfi). and Maaloumat Mush Akidi (with singer Latifa).[20]
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Discography
Studio releases
Albums for Fairuz
Stage and radio
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Death
Rahbani died at the hospital at approximately 9:00 am (UTC 6:00 am) on 26 July 2025, at the age of 69, reportedly of a heart attack. Culture Minister Ghassan Salamé said Rahbani needed a liver transplant but refused to undergo surgery.[21][22]
Honours
Commander of the National Order of the Cedar (
Lebanon, July 28, 2025; posthumously).
Notes
References
External links
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