He's a JUNO AWARD NOMINATED COMPOSER! | Ep. 26: This is the Legend Of Iman Habibi

He almost got kicked out of school in Iran for playing piano.  Then, he and his family fled Iran because of war.  After years of tribulation and difficulties, he would become a world-renowned, award-winning composer, with a JUNO Award nomination in 2024.

 This is the legend of Iman Habibi, an Iranian-Canadian composer who served as the commissioned composer for the recently concluded 2025 Honens International Piano Competition.  Even though Honens has concluded, it’s still a great time to hone in on Iman’s career and newest composition, “Fracture”.

 Join Amos Vang and Iman Habibi as they discuss the unique experiences and challenges of musicianship during Iman’s early life in Iran, the most important lessons that Iman learned from all of his composition teachers, the direct connections between “Fracture”, current events, and the metacrisis, and the importance of musicality in defining culture.

#honens #honens2025 #neurorecital #verbier #chopincompetition #imanhabibi #classicfm #neuroscience #cliburn #piano #janinafialkowska #classicalmusic

Iman’s website: https://www.imanhabibi.com/
Iman’s Instagram: @iman.habibi.composer

Tomorrow by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au 
Other music composed by Amos Vang, with a special excerpt of “Fracture” by Iman Habibi

-- CHAPTERS --
0:00 – Introduction
3:27 – What inspired Iman Habibi to pursue music?
8:31 – Tehran, Iran was very influential to Iman Habibi’s early artistic pursuits, in polarising ways that showed the power of music
10:00 – Iman Habibi was almost expelled from school for playing piano in Iran!
12:47 – In Iran, classical music was viewed ENTIRELY DIFFERENTLY compared to Canada, the U.S., and the West!
15:43 – Iman Habibi describes the most important lessons that he learned from his early teachers!
22:15 – Performing and sharing music with an audience is a unique experience.
24:01 – Chopin’s music really speaks to people, especially in times of conflict.
27:00 – What inspired Iman Habibi to become a composer?
28:53 – What were the most important lessons that Iman Habibi learned from his composition teachers?
38:07 – Every performer and composer has their own signature: they imbue a bit of themselves into their performances and compositions.
39:17 – Chopin, Iman, and every other composer is a product of their own time.  Authenticity is important in music!
40:49 – What is a commissioned composition?
42:07 – What is Iman Habibi’s planning process for each commissioned composition?
46:23 – What is “Fracture”, Iman Habibi’s commissioned composition for the 2025 Honens International Competition?
49:59 – Iman mentions the Metacrisis, which is coincidentally related to some of Amos’s work at Stanford University’s MAHB!
53:57 – There is a cultural problem that is preventing humanity from understanding the problems that affect it.
59:30 – How should pianists approach “Fracture” by Iman Habibi?
1:05:55 – What is musicality to Iman Habibi?
1:10:31 – What is the Complete Artist to Iman Habibi?
1:17:23 – Music appreciation is losing ground in Canada and the U.S.  This is isolating people.
1:28:21 – How can people enjoy music competitions such as Honens?
1:31:33 – What is Iman Habibi’s advice to those who want to pursue a career in music?