JAMES W. IMAN

A specialist in music written since the turn of the twentieth century, pianist James W. Iman has established himself as an “outstanding and imaginative artist” (The Art Music Lounge) with a reputation as one of the “few pianists [that] can rise to the challenge of this music and meet it head on with conviction, musicality, and a supreme alertness to its myriad details and quirks” (The Cross-Eyed Pianist). His playing has been called “bold and direct, brightly-lit and vividly hued” and manifests “precise attention to detail, sonic clarity and rhythmic vitality but also a profound sensitivity to this music’s intensity, its fleeting writing and ambiguous emotional landscapes” (Fran Wilson).

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James is constantly looking for new and compelling works to add to his repertoire and curates his programs with an interest in diversity, contrast, and continuity. He is a vocal advocate of underrepresented composers and frequently performs music by women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ composers. James has given world premieres of works by Charlie Wilmoth, David Dies, and Everette Minchew and United States premieres of works by Gilbert Amy, Alwynne Pritchard, Raphaël Languillat, and Soe Tjen Marching. In April of 2017, James gave the World Premiere of “People,” a concert-length work he commissioned from composer Lowell Fuchs.

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In 2021, James signed with Divine Art’s new music division, Métier Records, for three albums of modern and contemporary music. The first to appear, was a reissue of his debut album, recorded in Belgium's famous Flagey Studio, featuring works by Schoenberg, Boulez, Webern and Gilbert Amy, saw release in the summer of 2022. Boulez scholar Peter O’Hagan has said of the album that “[the] performances are characterized throughout by a passionate sense of commitment” and Andrea Bedetti of MusicVoice.com has said James’ recording of the Boulez Troisième Sonate is among the “definitive versions.”

 

This release was followed by in 2023 by an album featuring works by Claude Debussy, Jenny Beck, and Donald Martino. Of James’ reading of Debussy Images, Records International has said: “Debussy is intriguingly (but thoroughly convincingly) presented as a precursor to the luminous, saturated, stained-glass colours of Messiaen rather than embodying the “impressionistic” pastel aquarelles to which we have become accustomed, his approach to harmony sounding bolder and more experimental than ever."

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James’ third album presents works by Alban Berg, Betsy Jolas, Morton Feldman, Klaus Huber. Of his third album, Fanfare Magazine has said: “The overarching impression of Iman’s performance of Jolas’ piece, one which could be applied to any of the works on this disc, is integrity. Jolas could hardly ask for a finer performer. In an over-consuming world that feeds us “easy” music, recitals like this are surely vital: To remind us of what music is capable of, what musicians are capable of and, as listeners, what we ourselves are capable of. The music enshrined here has the capacity to open up whole new vistas, if we let it.”

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In addition to his activities as a performer, James is active as a lecturer and clinician. He is a frequent guest lecturer on contemporary music at Shenandoah Conservatory, and has been a resident at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and at Grand Valley State University giving master classes for pianists and clinics with composition students.

 

A graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, James holds an MA in Piano Performance and a BA in Music History and Piano Performance. While at IUP, he studied piano with Judith Radell and James Staples. In 2015, James worked with Steve Drury as a fellow at New England Conservatory’s Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice.