Yitzhak Yedid

Yitzhak Yedid (יצחק ידיד, born 29 September, 1971) is an Israeli-Australian composer of contemporary classical music and improvising pianist, the recipient of numerous awards.

Yedid has been hailed as one of the most original composers on the international music scene today.

His compositional style has been aptly characterized as "eclectic, multicultural, and deeply personal," blending elements of jazz and Jewish cantor music, classical European traditions, and avant-garde experimentation.

His works are known for their captivating fusion of visceral and intellectual appeal, often incorporating visually striking elements.

Yitzhak Yedid was born in Jerusalem to a Jewish family of Syrian and Iraqi descent.

His initial formative musical experiences included attending liturgical services at his local synagogue where he imbibed the sounds and rhythms of Syrian-style Baqashot.

While the young Yitzhak immersed himself in music rooted in the Mizrahi (Jewish-Arabic) tradition and the rendition of traditional Maqamat-based songs, his mother was insistent on exposing him to western classical music and a western instrument.

At the tender age of seven, he embarked on piano lessons with a private instructor.

As his teenage years unfolded, his musical focus shifted to jazz piano, and by his twentieth year, he initiated performances of his original compositions with his own new-music ensemble.

Yedid studied at the Rubin Academy of Music and the New England Conservatory in Boston with Ran Blake and Paul Bley in 1997 and 1998.

Yedid lives in Australia.

In 1999 Yedid released his first album Full Moon Fantasy)for the Musa label. This led to an invitation to perform in Scandinavia as the guest of the pianist Michael Smith, and to a joint recital in Sweden with the pianist Roland Pontinen. In 2001, Yedid's second recording, Inner Outcry, was released, also for Musa. Yedid was commissioned to compose the suite Tachanun for a festival in Vienna, Austria, in 2002. Tachanun has been performed many times in Israel including at the Kfar Blum Chamber Music Festival.

Between 1999-2009, Yedid crafted a collection of seven large-scale works for various instrumentations, always featuring himself on the piano. These compositions combined fully notated music with free improvisation, including maqamat, and composed for a selection of individual players.

The works were released on a series of eight solo albums on the record label 'Challenge Records' (The Netherlands).

However, Yedid refuses to publish the hand-written scores of these works.

Myth of the Cave was commissioned by German record label Between the Lines.

It was released in 2002.

The five-movement piece has been performed at festivals in Germany and Austria, at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival and at the Tel Aviv Jazz Festival.

It is based on Plato's allegory of the cave, about cave dwellers imprisoned in near-darkness since birth whose sense of reality is distorted.

One of them escapes to the outside world, reports on what he has seen and is put to death for his revelations.

In 2002, he joined Israeli jazz saxophonist Abatte Barihun to form the duo Ras Deshen.

They recorded their maiden album in September 2002, which featured a blend of Ethiopian music and Free improvisation jazz.

In 2003 Yedid composed Passions and Prayers – Sextet in homage to Jerusalem for Between the Lines.

It is a technically complex and conceptually melancholy composition that premiered at the 2004 Israel Festival.

Reflections upon Six Images was commissioned by a festival in Vienna Austria in 2004.

The music depicts the union and division of images, colours, textures, styles and cultures inspired by the world of the imagination.

The composition was performed at the Vienna festival in September 2004 and at the Etnakhta concert series in 2004 in Israel.

The CD was released in August 2005.

The album was released at the end of 2005.

In 2005, Yedid composed the Oud Bass Piano Trio, performed at the Sibiu Festival in Romania, as well as in Australia, Canada, and the US in May and September 2005.

The composition is a continuation of his endeavour in Oud Bass Piano Trio (2005) integrating classical Arabic music, Arabic-influenced Jewish music and contemporary Western classical music.

This trio has been composed for improvising performers.

In 2006, Yedid composed Since My Soul Loved, a four movement composition for improvising players for violin, viola, cello, double bass and piano.

Since immigrating to Australia in 2007, his large scale works include: Visions, Fantasies & Dances, music for string quartet, commissioned by Israel's Sapphire String Quartet; Piano Concerto (2016), commissioned by Michael Kieran Harvey and the Tel Aviv Soloists; Kiddushim & Killulim (2017) commissioned by Christian Lindberg & NK Orchestra; Delusions of War (2014) for 22 string soloists or string orchestra, commissioned by Divertimenti Ensemble and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra; Mandolin Concerto (2016), for mandolin and a large orchestra.

In 2009, Yedid composed Arabic Violin Bass Piano Trio.

The work was premiered at the Jerusalem Theatre's Henry Crown Symphony Hall in March 2010.

In 2012 he gained a Ph.D from Monash University in Melbourne and subsequently published Methods of Integrating Elements of Arabic Music and Arabic-Influenced Jewish Music into Contemporary Western Classical Music.

Interdisciplinary and cross-cultural collaborations have been at the heart of his artistic practice.

Yedid's work is a reflection of his deep interest in Middle Eastern culture, ancient rituals, the aesthetics of classical and liturgical Arabic music, and non-Western music performance practices.

Yedid's chamber and solo works include: Chad Gadya (2017), quartet for clarinet, violin, cello & piano, commissioned by Stradbroke Chamber Music Festival; Sensations (2010) for piano, violin and cello, commissioned by Atar Trio; Angels' Revolt (2017) chaconne for solo piano, commissioned by Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition; Out to Infinity (2009) for Harp solo, commissioned by the 2009 International Harp Contest for their 50th Anniversary; The Crying Souls, Lament for Syrian Victims (2013), a cappella choir, commissioned by the Australian Voices (TAV)