Musicיצחק ידיד

Yitzhak Yedid

Yitzhak Yedid is an Israeli-Australian composer and pianist whose music combines Jewish, Arabic, Western classical and jazz traditions.

born 1971Blending Arabic and Jewish liturgical musicMyth of the CaveThe Ras Deshen ensemble

Born: 29 September 1971, Jerusalem
Occupation: composer, pianist, musician
Education: New England Conservatory, Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance

Yitzhak Yedid was born in 1971 in Jerusalem

Yedid was born in Jerusalem in 1971 to a Jewish family. His father was of Syrian-Jewish background and his mother of Iraqi-Jewish background. At his synagogue he heard the Baqashot and Piyyutim chanting of the Aleppo tradition, while his mother encouraged him toward Western classical music.

He began piano lessons at 7 and later turned to jazz. He studied at the Rubin Academy of Music with Vyacheslav Ganelin, and in 1997 and 1998 at the New England Conservatory in Boston with Ran Blake and Paul Bley. He moved to Australia in 2007 and completed a PhD at Monash University in 2012, on bringing Arabic music into contemporary Western classical music.

His first album, Full Moon Fantasy, came out in 1999. His works include Myth of the Cave, based on Plato's allegory, and the Oud Bass Piano Trio. With saxophonist Abate Berihun he formed the duo Ras Deshen, which blends Ethiopian music with improvised jazz.

In Australia he wrote larger works, including a Piano Concerto and a Mandolin Concerto in 2016 and Delusions of War for string orchestra in 2014. He has released over 10 solo albums. He received the Prime Minister's Award for Composers in 2006 and the Azrieli Prize in Jewish Music in 2021.