An Artist Bridging Performance and Scholarship
French-Lebanese pianist, composer, and musicologist Ziad Kreidy has garnered acclaim for his profound artistry and intellectual depth. Praised by Nordwest Zeitung as a "sound aesthete and sensitive creator," Kreidy's career is marked by a seamless blend of performance and scholarship.
Born in Lebanon, he began his piano studies at the Kaslik School of Music, winning the 5th National Competition of Lebanon in 1991. He then pursued advanced studies in Paris, thanks to a French government scholarship, earning a SACEM Prize, a PhD and Habilitation Thesis (post-doctoral degree) in musicology, and First Prizes in orchestration, musical analysis, and organology at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris - CNR, along with additional prizes in piano, chamber music, and theory at other conservatories.
Kreidy’s scholarly output is extensive. His first book, Takemitsu. À l’écoute de l’inaudible (L'Harmattan, 2009), was awarded the “Coup de Cœur Musique Contemporaine 2010” from the Charles Cros Academy. His later works, including Les avatars du piano (Beauchesne, 2012) and La facture du piano et ses métamorphoses (Aedam Musicae, 2018), challenge conventional perceptions of progress in piano history. He also edited the bilingual volume Clefs pour le piano. Keys to the piano (Aedam Musicae, 2018), featuring contributions from international specialists, and co-edited Éloge de la modernité and Penser les métissages sonores au tournant du millénaire (Millénaire III, 2024). His articles appear in leading academic journals across Europe and Russia.
As a concert pianist, Kreidy has performed in France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, the United States, Mexico, Chile, and Lebanon. Known for his affinity for rare modern and historic pianos, he often records live with natural, unmodified sound techniques. His recordings of works by Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Robert and Clara Schumann, Goetz, Heller, Brahms, and Grieg have been hailed for their originality and technical mastery. His recent multi-volume cycle of Grieg’s Lyric Pieces, recorded on period grand and early 20th-century upright pianos in historical temperaments, has been praised for revealing a piano that becomes “a living story” (Interlude), where “each note has a particular quality, giving the performances a sort of shimmer” (Planet Hugill). Veniccio has highlighted how these recordings unite romantic expression with scholarly insight, showing how research and performance can mutually enrich one another. Stéphane Houssier (Appoggiature) called his performance “absolutely brilliant,” delivering "one of those rare moments of full happiness." Gérard Pangon (Musikzen) highlighted Kreidy's “outstanding approach," while Ernst Van Bek (Classiquenews) praised his "technical and digital challenge" as being “masterfully overcome.”
Kreidy’s research into historical piano tuning led him to design his own 1/8 comma temperament for the romantic and impressionist repertoire.
Beyond his performance and scholarly pursuits, Kreidy has taught at Université Bordeaux 3, Université de Franche-Comté, and the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, served as a visiting professor at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), and held a professorship at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Départemental de Ville d’Avray (research, analysis, film score composition).
Currently, he is a full professor of music history, analysis and research at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Versailles, a lecturer at the Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, the Université Ouverte de Versailles and Sciences Po Reims, and a research associate at both the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Humanities, Languages, Arts and Human Sciences (CRILLASH) at the University of the West Indies and at the Center for Cultural History of Contemporary Societies (CHCSC) at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.