# Ziad Rahbani

Ziad Rahbani (Arabic: زياد الرحباني, born 1956) is a Lebanese composer, pianist, playwright, and political commentator. He is 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. Many of his musicals satirize Lebanese politics both during and after the Lebanese Civil War, and are often critical of the traditional political establishment.

## Personal life

Ziad Rahbani is the son of the Lebanese composer Assi Rahbani and Nouhad Haddad, the Lebanese female singer known as Fairuz.
Rahbani was married to Dalal Karam, with whom he has 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" and "Bisaraha".
Rahbani has a long-standing relationship with Lebanese leftist movements, and is a self-declared communist. 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". Coming from a Christian family, his politics and viewpoints have meant that he has been at odds with some of his right-wing teenage surroundings.

## Career

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, 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) 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 in the role of one of the policemen. Rahbani's first step into theatre was with the Bkennaya Theater in Sahriyyeh. 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.
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 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).

## Discography
### Studio releases

| Year | Original Title | Translation | Producer | Songwriter(s) | Vocalists | Label | Main Tracks |
| 1973 | A Rahbani Festival | | Ziad Rahbani | Assi & Mansour Rahbani Sayed Darwish | | Voix de l'Orient | Allamouni |
| 1977 | Kyrie Eleison | | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani | Magida El Roumi Samy Clarke Lady Madonna Joseph Sakr Youhanna Al Habib Sader | Voix de l'Orient | Nahnou Sahiroun Sayidi |
| 1977 | Bil Afrah | Wedding Music | Ziad Rahbani | Assi & Mansour Rahbani Ziad Rahbani Sayed Darwish Halim El Roumi Mohamed Sultan | | Philips | Zourouni |
| 1979 | Abu Ali / Prelude (Maxi Single) | | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani | | Zida | Prelude From Mays El Rim Abu Ali |
| 1979 | Belly Dance Fever | | Ziad Rahbani Elias Rahbani | Assi & Mansour Rahbani Ziad Rahbani Elias Rahbani Sayed Darwish | | Voix de l'Orient | El Hilwa Di |
| 1985 | Houdou' Nisbi | Relative Calm | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Joe Sample | Ziad Rahbani Sami Haouat Monica Asali | Voix de l'Orient | Bala Wala Shi Rouh Khabbir Khalas |
| 1987 | Hekaya | Story | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Najat Naimeh Abido Basha | Salma Mosfi Carmen Lebbos | --- | Ossat Al Koz |
| 1987 | Shrit Gher Hdoudy | Borderless Tape | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Sami Haouat | Aprodisco | Bi Saraha |
| 1995 | Bema Enno... | Considering That... | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Joseph Sakr Salma Mosfi | Voix de l'Orient | Bema Enno... Talfan Ayash |
| 2001 | Monodose | | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Antonio Carlos Jobim Astrud Gilberto | Ziad Rahbani Salma Mosfi | EMI | Un verre chez nous Wallaat Ktir Assaada Allahou Masa'akom |

### Albums for Fairuz

| Year | Original Title | Translation | Songwriter(s) | Label |
| 1972 | Sa'alouni Annass (Song from the musical "Al Mahatta") | People Asked Me | Mansour Rahbani Ziad Rahbani | Voix de l'Orient |
| 1987 | Maarefti Feek | What I Know About You | Assi & Mansour Rahbani Ziad Rahbani Joseph Harb Joaquin Rodrigo | Relax-In |
| 1989 | Live at the Royal Festival Hall London | | Assi & Mansour Rahbani Ziad Rahbani Sayed Darwish | Voix de l'Orient |
| 1991 | Kifak Inta | How Are You | Ziad Rahbani Joseph Harb | Relax-In |
| 1995 | Ila Assi | (Dedicated) to Assi | Assi & Mansour Rahbani | Voix de l'Orient |
| 1999 | Mesh Kayen Hayek Tkoun | It Wasn't Supposed to Be Like This | Ziad Rahbani Mohamed Mohsen Qays Bin Al Malouh | Relax-In |
| 2000 | Live at Beiteddine | | Assi & Mansour Rahbani Ziad Rahbani Sayed Darwish Mohamed Younes Alqadi | EMI |
| 2002 | Wala Kif | Les feuilles mortes | Ziad Rahbani Jacques Prévert & Joseph Kosma Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller | Relax-In |
| 2010 | Eh Fi Amal | Yes There's Hope | Assi & Mansour Rahbani Ziad Rahbani | Fayrouz Productions |

### Stage and radio

| Year | Original Title | Translation | Producer | Songwriter(s) | Vocalists | Label | Main Tracks |
| 1973 | Sahriye | Evening | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani | Joseph Sakr Marwan Mahfouz Georgette Sayegh | Voix de l'Orient | Ya Bint Al Maawin Dallouni Al Aynayn Al Soud Fi Oyoun Btebki El Hala Taabana Ya Leila |
| 1974 | Nazl El Sourour | Happiness Hotel | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Franz Liszt Gerardo Matos Rodriguez | Ziad Rahbani Joseph Sakr Carmen Lebbos Sami Haouat | Voix de l'Orient | Baatilak Ya Habib Al Rouh Jayi Maa Al Shaab Al Maskin Mashi El Hal |
| 1978 | Bennesbeh Labokra Chou | What About Tomorrow | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Joseph Sakr Sami Haouat Nabila Zaitouni | Ziad Rahbani Joseph Sakr Sami Haouat Nabila Zeitouni | Zida | Al Bosta Ismaa Ya Reda |
| 1980 | Film Ameriki Tawil | The American Motion Picture | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Joseph Sakr Sami Haouat Mona Maraashli | Zida | Rajiaa Bi Izn Allah Ya Zaman Al Ta'ifiya |
| 1985 | Shi Feshil | Failure | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Joseph Sakr Sami Haouat Mona Saidun | Voice of Beirut | |
| 1985 | Ana Mush Kafer | I Am Not an Infidel | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Farouq Al Koussa Stephanie Stephano | Relax-In | Ana Mush Kafer |
| 1986 | Bhal Shakel | Oriental Jazz Concert Live At Buc, Irwin Hall | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Frédéric Chopin, Antonio Carlos Jobim Thelonious Monk Charlie Parker | | Aprodisco | |
| 1987 | El Akl Zineh | The Mind Is Decorative | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani | Sawt Al Shaab | |
| 1992 | Lawla Fushat Al Amal | If It Weren't For Hope | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani | Grace Aoun Toufic Kerbaj | Relax-In | |
| 1993 | Bi Khsous Al Karameh Wal Shaab Al Anid | About Dignity and Stubborn People | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani | Carmen Lebbos | Relax-In | |
| 1993 | Tabeh La Shi Tebeh Shi | Following Something That's Following Something | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Salma Mosfi | Relax-In | |
| 1996 | Al Fasl Al Akher | The Last Part | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Antonio Carlos Jobim Astrud Gilberto | Ziad Rahbani Carmen Lebbos Salma Mosfi | Cairo Beirut Audio | |
| 2006 | W Noss Alf 500 | 1000/2=500 | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Baz Luhrmann | | Bankers Assurance SAL | |
| 2008 | Live at Damascus Citadel | | Ziad Rahbani | Ziad Rahbani Sayed Darwish Mohamed Younes Al Kadi | Ziad Rahbani Bassel Daoud Rasha Rizk | Art Line | |