Ziad Assi Rahbani, playwright, composer, activist, pianist, and political agitator, has passed away at the age of 69. (Credit: AFP)
Ziad Rahbani did not pass away ‘suddenly.’ Playwright, composer, activist, pianist, and political agitator, the rebellious artist had long withdrawn from the spotlight. But his art will outlive him. The prodigy of the Rahbani family — whose musical mold he broke away from early on — and son of Fe, he often repeated: “I’m not against death, but against a meaningless one.”More than just an artist, Ziad, who turned his first name into a household name, was a popular and philosophical figure, impossible to reduce to music or theater alone. His fame stemmed as much from his satirical plays as from his political radio columns aired on Sawt el Chaab, the station of the Lebanese Communist Party, with which he was long affiliated. On mother and son Ziad and Fairuz: A conflicted bond rooted in absolute love His sharp critique, biting humor,...
Ziad Rahbani did not pass away ‘suddenly.’ Playwright, composer, activist, pianist, and political agitator, the rebellious artist had long withdrawn from the spotlight. But his art will outlive him. The prodigy of the Rahbani family — whose musical mold he broke away from early on — and son of Fe, he often repeated: “I’m not against death, but against a meaningless one.”More than just an artist, Ziad, who turned his first name into a household name, was a popular and philosophical figure, impossible to reduce to music or theater alone. His fame stemmed as much from his satirical plays as from his political radio columns aired on Sawt el Chaab, the station of the Lebanese Communist Party, with which he was long affiliated. On mother and son Ziad and Fairuz: A conflicted bond rooted in absolute love His sharp critique,...
