Welcome to Wajdi Abou Diab’s official website
I am a Lebanese composer and musicologist based in Bahrain. My work centers on a specific tension: bringing the microtonal systems, traditional maqam modes, and complex rhythms of Levantine heritage into direct collision with Western avant-garde chamber orchestration. I call this space Contemporary Arabic Music.
I do not treat Middle Eastern musical history as a static artifact to be preserved in a museum, nor do I write superficial commercial fusion. Instead, I use research to break down traditional frameworks and rebuild them for modern ensembles—translating historical memory into a distinct, contemporary classical language.
New release: Irs عُرس | suite for two violas
A musical suite of six movements for two violas inspired by traditional Levantine wedding celebrations.
Noemie Chemali (Viola I)
Carrie Frey (Viola II)
Recorded at Skillman Music Studio, NewYork
New World premieres
عَ قْبالكن
[A-Qbelkun’]
String quartet No. 4 – Opus 45
June 19, 2026
Cukrarna Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia
As part of the .abeceda [New Music Academy] – .abeceda [String Quartet]
رقصة النَوَخْت هِنْدي
[The Nawakht Hindi Dance]
Solo Flute – Opus 13K
June 1st, 2026
St. Petersburg, Russia
As part of the XIII St. Petersburg International New Music Festival
New performance: PIANO TRIO NO. 1 | Second Mvt
Nadezha Artanomova (Violin)
Sergei Suvorov (Cello)
Alexei Kurbatov (Piano)
21 July 2026
Bar 2026, Bijela Dvorana,
Adriatic Open School, Montenegro.
As part of Open Bar Music Festival
BEST SELLER: Arabic Folk Tunes
This book is a collection of the most famous Arabic folk songs, chosen from all the Arabic regions. It aims to give pianists the chance to play and experience the beauty of the Arabic melodies and rhythms, in a simple arrangement that maintains the spirit of those songs and reflects the story of each one of them.
At the same time, this book gives Arabic music the chance to be performed on the most played instrument around the globe, lets it take part in classical recitals and concerts, and helps Arabic traditional music to be heard and performed in other cultures.
Last release [KHOUMASIYYATOUS-SABA] خماسيّات الصّبا
This song cycle for soprano and piano is based on a text by the Lebanese poet Said Aqel, taken from the Diwan titled “خُماسيّات الصّبا” (Houmasiyètouṣ -ṣaba). Commissioned by Les Musicales Du Liban World and premiered as part of Les Musicales Du Liban – Paris, November 17, 2024
Marie-José Matar (Soparno)
George Daccache (Piano)
Previous release: Arabic Vertical Poems for Piano
16-track Album
Wajdi Abou Diab (composition)
Ramzi Hakim (piano, recording, mastering)
Bachar Hijazi (artwork)
Last Press Release
THE DREAM (أي شمس تشرق وتبقى في موضع الشروق)
Chamber opera for two abroad sextets
“He masterfully succeeded in transposing Middle Eastern lyricism into the classical Italian operatic form”. The Gaetano Giani Luporini prize.
Concept & music by Wajdi Abou Diab
Arabic libretto by Zuhair Ghazali
English translation by Haneen El-Nakouzi
Animation by Shawqi Berro
Illustration by Mohammad El Alloush
Commissioned by Puccini Chamber Opera Festival and the Theatre of Giglio
Latest Blogs
ALAL MANE AL MANE [على الماني عالماني ] | CLARINET SOLO | FEAT. AMER HASAN
Èlèl Mani ’èl Mani [على الماني عالماني ]Opus 13H is a piece for solo clarinet, inspired by the Lebanese folk tune with the same name. Using the Sikah maqam and the Maksoum rhythm cycle typical for Lebanese folklore, the piece discovers the potential of the clarinet as an Arabic contemporary instrument, taking advantage of its…
Piano suite No. 1 – Oriental sketches
ٍPiano suite No. 1 – Oriental sketches (revised) (2023)– ca. 15′ A suite of six dances that reflects Arabic folk music in rhythms and scales, written for solo piano, then orchestrated for the Lebanese philharmonic orchestra. February 24, 2024, Lebanese premiere by Pianist Andrea Azzi, Beit Tabaris, Ashrafieh, LebanonApril 14, 2024, by Pianist Andrea Azzi, the…
AZFAN MONFARIDAN
AZFAN MONFARIDAN (2014)For baritone, piano, flute, alto sax, viola, and cello – ca. 8′June 2014 Premiered in Beirut – Sen El Fil during the second annual concert of the composition department at the Lebanese Higher Conservatory of music Conductor – Garo Avessian Tenor – Ali Jawad Flute – Peter Földesi Alto sax – Raghid Jureidini…
TWO LEIDER
TWO LEIDER (2014)For female voice and piano – ca. 11′Text by Zeinab Mawassi and W. Abou DiabOctober 23, 2022 Les nuits de Tabaris, performed by Soprano Lara Joekhadar and pianist Armen Kechek, Bayt Tabaris, Ashrafieh, Beirut, Lebanon.June 7, 2022 Les Musicales de Liban, performed by Beirut Contemporary ensemble, Cathédrale Notre Dame de Liban, Paris.June 5,…
OURJOUHAT AL NOU’AS [أرجوحة النعاس]
On a text by Suzan Alaywan for Soprano, SA choir, and piano – ca. 7′ Commissioned by Soprano Dr. Reem DibVirtualy premiered on the composer’s YouTube channel by Soprano Rebeca Khoury, and Pianist Ramzi Hakim, choir by Lara Joe Khadar and Carla Khoury, 15 Sept 2023. Music and Video: Wajdi Abou Diab Poem: Suzan Alaywan…
خماسيّات الصّبا [KHOUMASIYYATOUS-SABA]
Song cycle for piano and female voice on a text by Said Akel Commissioned by Les Musicales Du Liban November 17, 2024, World premiere as part of Les Musicales Du Liban – Paris, by Marie-José Matar (Soprano), and George Daccache (Piano) About the piece This song cycle for soprano and piano is based on a…