Photo: Novalib2 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What grabs me about Ziad Rahbani is how he refused the easy path. Being the son of Fairuz, the towering voice of the Arab world, could have flattened a lesser artist into a footnote. Instead he fused jazz into Lebanese music and turned the stage into a scalpel, satirizing the sectarian politics of a country tearing itself apart. I admire that kind of nerve, making art that mocks power while the bombs are still falling. His passing in 2025 closed a singular chapter. To me he stands as proof that inherited fame is just raw material, and what you forge from it is the real measure.
Overview
Ziad Rahbani (Arabic: زياد الرحباني, romanized: Ziyād ar-Raḥbānī; 1 January 1956 – 26 July 2025) was a Lebanese composer, pianist, playwright and political commentator. He was the son of Lebanese singer Fairuz and Lebanese composer Assi Rahbani. Many of his musicals satirize Lebanese Sectarian politics both during and after the Lebanese Civil War, and are often critical of the traditional political establishment.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ziad Rahbani
- Name (Japanese)
- ジアド・ラハバーニ
- Reading
- じあど・らはばーに
- Born
- December 31, 1955 (age 70)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Goat
- Origin
- Antelias, Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- composer / singer / jazz musician / pianist / songwriter
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Composer — see all → · Singer — see all → · More people from Lebanon →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.