Composer

The Chinese-born New Zealand conductor Tianyi Lu makes her San Francisco Symphony debut with Rimsky-Korsakov’s cinematic orchestral showpiece Scheherazade, paired with the first Symphony performances of Iranian-American composer Iman Habibi’s Zhiân, dedicated to “the brave people of Iran, in the hope of better days ahead.” Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s side job as a film composer likely saved his life. In 1938, the Jewish former prodigy fled Vienna for Hollywood; five years later, he became a US citizen. His violin concerto, performed here by María Dueñas, was written for his neighbor, none other than Jascha Heifetz, who helped ensure that the violin writing was perfectly pitched between lyricism and virtuosity.

EPSG:4326

Scheherazade

Davies Symphony Hall

The rhythmic power of Orff’s Carmina Burana is unstoppable. With its massive orchestral forces and exhilarating chorus, this cantata celebrates the wheel of fortune in all its glorious ups and downs. “O Fortuna”? You know it. And it’s going to blow you away.

Carmina Burana

Salt Palace Convention Center

Through music, we reflect on the impact of Hurricane Helene, one year later. This program features: the world premiere of Sinfonietta Helene by Asheville-based composer Jay Sanders; Iman Habibi’s Jeder Baum spricht, which is inspired by the beauty of nature and the impact of climate change; and local composer Phillip Rhodes’s Concerto for Bluegrass, a nod to the resilience of WNC. Help us celebrate the region’s inspiring, resilient culture this fall.

Post-Helene: Remembering, Rebuilding, Reimagining

Wortham Center for the Performing Arts

Join Music Director Jonathon Heyward for the first Classical Series program of his third season with the BSO, featuring two of Beethoven’s most stirring masterpieces. Beethoven's Triple Concerto unites pianist Inon Barnatan, violinist Stefan Jackiw, and rising star cellist Hayoung Choi in a stunning collaboration. Symphony No. 7, featuring the haunting Allegretto, is immortalized in films including The King’s Speech, The Fall, and X-Men: Apocalypse.

Heyward's Triumphant Beethoven

Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall

The PSO’s season features works inspired by the natural world: Beethoven’s “Pastoral” you can hear bucolic bird calls, the rolling of thunder, and the calling of a shepherd’s pipes from distant hills. Habibi’s new work was written as a meditation on climate change. Eisendle’s Heliosis, from the Greek word for the sun, is in turn blistering, scorching, and shimmering.

Beethoven’s Pastoral

Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts

Iman Habibi’s Jeder Baum spricht durch dich celebrated the composer’s 250th birthday with a questioning eco-present, there’s authentic Beethoven too in a concerto balancing poised reflection with infectious high jinx. The dream-turned-nightmare of Berlioz’s fantastical symphony, meanwhile, was composed just three years after Beethoven’s death – and spins an opium-fuelled fantasy that marches to the scaffold before stumbling upon the satanic abandon of a witches’ sabbath. 

Orchestre symphonique de Montreal/Rafael Payare

Barbican Centre

Bruce Liu performs Scriabin’s sole Piano Concerto, with Richard Strauss’ expansive Alpine Symphony completing this program conducted by Rafael Payare.

Strauss’ Towering Alpine Symphony

Place des Arts

Join us for an unforgettable evening at the Beethovenfest, a celebration of the enduring power of Beethoven's music, presented by the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra (HSO). This special event will take place on Sunday, April 21, 2024, from 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM at the historic Hawaii Theatre, located at 1130 Bethel Street, Honolulu, HI.

This year's Beethovenfest features the extraordinary talents of Hawaiʻi-born, Rapa Nui pianist Mahani Teave, alongside the acclaimed conductor Dane Lam. Together with the HSO, they will perform a program that showcases the triumph of the human spirit over adversity, highlighted by Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1, the iconic Symphony No. 5, and the Hawaiʻi premiere of Iman Habibi's Beethoven-inspired "Jeder Baum Spricht" (Every Tree Speaks).

Ticket holders are invited to a special pre-concert talk in the auditorium at 3:00 PM, offering deeper insights into the evening's program and the legacy of Beethoven's music.

For your safety and comfort, masks are encouraged throughout the event, and measures will be in place to minimize contact points.

Tickets are available online or through the HSO Box Office. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call the HSO Box Office at 808-380-7720, available Tuesday through Friday, 10 am - 2 pm.

Don't miss this powerful tribute to Beethoven's genius, set against the backdrop of one of Honolulu's most beloved venues.

Beethovenfest

Hawaii Theatre

Two BSO commissions and Brahm's Violin Concerto with soloists Julia Bullock and Hilary Hahn.

Andris Nelsons Conducts Brahms, Habibi and Montgomery featuring Julia Bullock, soprano and Hilary Hahn, violin

Tanglewood Music Center

A hint of spring in the midst of Ann Arbor winter.

“No man loves the country more than I; for do not forests, trees, rocks re-echo that for which mankind longs.” — Beethoven

Full of lightness and joy, Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony captures the emotional power of nature’s abundance, with each movement evoking scenes from the countryside: babbling brooks, chattering birds, friendly country folk and a brief, tumultuous storm. Written in dialogue with this masterwork, U-M alum Iman Habibi’s Jeder Baum Spricht offers a fresh perspective, inviting us to reflect on the climate crisis through the lens of Beethoven’s work.

Frederic H. Pease Auditorium

Enter a world where music becomes story. JoAnn Falletta leads Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, where orchestral color does the storytelling and the momentum never lets go. Violinist Nikki Chooi performs the world premiere of a Violin Concerto written for him by his friend, Iman Habibi, bringing a contemporary voice into the heart of the program, followed by the delicate imagination of Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite. The evening culminates in Poulenc’s Gloria, with soprano Hailey Clark, the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, and the full orchestra in music that is luminous, bold, and soaring. It is a concert of wonder, transformation, and uplift.

Sorcerer’s Spell

Kleinhans Music Hall

A concert designed specifically to connect directly with its audience, and through connection, move us forward. 

Podium Partner Judith Yan curates a unique concert experience as we move towards the flame. The evening features 5 brand new works by female composers (including Adriana Isabel Figueroa Manas and Kendra Harder) in a commissioning project entitled A Better World, supported by a generous donation from Carol Edwards. These works are interspersed throughout an evening of music where musical fire creates a new and better world. 

Violinist Nikki Chooi returns to the SSO after his 2015 debut in a brand new work co-commissioned by the SSO. Iman Habibi’s Atash was created in response to the devastating fires of 2023, and Habibi’s goal is to show our changing relationship with this powerful natural force, where the orchestra represents nature, and the soloist reacts to it as humans have done throughout history.

Composer

Iman Habibi

Events

Upcoming events

Jan 23, 2027

Beethoven’s Pastoral · Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra

24 - 25 Apr, 2027

Sorcerer’s Spell · Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

May 1, 2027

Vers la flamme · Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra

Past events

12 - 14 Jun, 2026

Scheherazade · San Francisco Symphony

10 - 11 Apr, 2026

Carmina Burana · Utah Symphony

About

Iman Habibi hasn't added a bio