Contemporary Cuban Composer & Pianist
Winner of the Cubadisco Award for Chamber Music

Javier Iha

Graduate in Composition from the University of the Arts (ISA) with a Gold Degree under Juan Piñera, and holder of a Master’s in Musical Heritage Management from San Gerónimo College, Havana.
His work focuses on the piano—including concertante pieces—and spans piano and chamber works, showcased in his recordings Retrato, Escenas Peregrinas (Cubadisco Award for Chamber Music), and Sounds of Christmas.
Iha’s musical language blends contemporary eclecticism with expressive depth, drawing inspiration from literature, visual arts, and everyday life. His compositions create distinctive sonic worlds, extending from piano pieces to chamber works, offering listeners a rich musical experience.

We are, therefore, in the presence of a creator who, in the arduous journey of every true artist, portrays his emotional surroundings through his voice.Juan Piñera

• NEW SCORES AVAILABLE

TWELVE REGARDS UPON DE SEATwelve Regards Upon the Sea is a four-hand piano cycle that invites listeners to experience the sea through sound. In its brevity and singularity, the sea embodies the same diversity that painters have long sought to capture with their brushes: the impressionist light of Monet, Van Gogh’s magical glow, Turner’s expressive color, Dalí’s surreal vision, Caspar David Friedrich’s emotional depth, and Sorolla’s luminous nuances. Twelve Regards Upon the Sea brings the visual and emotional essence of the sea to music

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SOUNDS OF CHRISTMASConnects us with the cultural and spiritual diversity of different peoples around the world through music. The remarkable presence of music in human social life and the interpretation of Christmas as a direct bridge to memories, traditions, and the warm festive spirit inspired this album, which emerged like a Christmas star. Sounds of Christmas invites listeners to explore diverse sonic identities and savor their rich nuances, using Christmas as a beautiful pretext to connect with a world that sings and resonates.^{Record label: Ihacomposer, 2024}

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RETRATOS Y ESCENAS PEREGRINASPresents cycles of pieces with an inseparable dramaturgical interconnection. This recording invites attentive listening and contemplation; its greatest treasure lies in its ability to elevate the spirit through a sensitive and precise cohesion between literature and music.^{Chamber music | Record label: Colibrí Productions, 2019 | CUBADISCO Award, 2021}

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NUEVA MÚSICAPeregrine Tales (violin, clarinet, and piano)
I. Light Is Like Water
II. The Saint
III. The Sleeping Beauty’s Airplane^{Included in the CD Nueva Música – Premios UNEAC de Composición | Record label: Egrem, 2019}

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TODO CONCUERDA MEJORSon del Llano^{by Havana Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Daiana García | Record label: Colibrí Productions, 2018}

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NETZAJSonata for trumpet and piano^{by Dúo NETZAJ | Record label: Colibrí Productions}

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WORKS

• 2025

• 2024

• 2023

• 2022

• 2021

• 2020

• 2019

• 2018

• 2017

• 2016

• 2015

• 2014

• 2013

• 2012

• 2011

^{As a musician and composer, I believe in the power of diversity; this idea, along with consistent work, has accompanied me since the beginning of my compositional journey, when I wrote the Twenty-Four Preludes for Piano, a work inspired by Maestro Juan Piñera. Following this path, I have developed other projects in constant evolution (working progress), including Cuentos Peregrinos, Twenty-Four Preludes and Fugues, Escenas, and Retrato de Naipes.The piano is my primary medium of creation, and I have dedicated much of my work to this instrument. The variety and combination of timbres have led me to a special interest in chamber formats. I compose with freedom and openness to extramusical stimuli, such as visual arts and literature. Guided by pictorial impulses, I created Retrato de Naipes, a sonic and narrative interpretation of the symbolism of the French playing cards. Observing everyday moments—dawn, sunset, nightfall—inspired Escenas, conceived for various instrumental ensembles. I am also interested in exploring the grotesque and caricatural in sound, which has led to works such as Homenaje a un Plátano Maduro and Historias Absurdas.Literature nourishes my vocal music, where words become sound. But I do not conceive it solely as singing or programmatic narrative: its evocative power has also inspired instrumental works, such as Cuentos para Piano and Cuentos Peregrinos. I am also drawn to classical forms, such as preludes, nocturnes, fugues, and habaneras, which always pose new challenges. I value technical learning but also give space to intuition. I seek to balance the rational and the fortuitous, creating an expressive environment even amid chaos. In the future, I hope to continue developing existing projects, embrace new creative challenges, and express in my sonic portraits all that I am fortunate enough to encounter on my peregrine journey.Javier Iha}

MEDIA

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[email protected]

• Phone

(+971) 585100338

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BIOGRAPHY

Javier Iha Rodríguez (Cuba)Composer, pianist, and pedagogue. He graduated in Composition from the University of the Arts (ISA) in 2017, earning the distinctions "Gold Degree" and top graduate by overall index. He holds a Master's in Management of the Historical-Documentary Heritage of Music from San Gerónimo College, Havana (2019). As a composer, he has participated in major music festivals in Cuba, including the Festival of Contemporary Music of Havana, the Festival of the Arts, the A tempo con Caturla Festival, and the Chamber Music Festival. Javier Iha has been awarded the Conmutaciones Creation Grant, organized by the Asociación Hermanos Saíz (AHS), and the Harold Gramatges Composition Prize by the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) in 2013, 2014, and 2015.In his teaching career, he has taught Harmony, Analysis, and Orchestration. Since 2014, he has served as a Harmony professor at the Escuela Nacional de Arte (ENA) and, since 2020, as a professor of Orchestration and Analysis at the University of the Arts. He currently serves as a Yamaha Schools Supervisor in the Middle East.His professional experience as a composer includes works for piano, voice, choir, chamber ensembles, and electroacoustic media. He has dedicated several works to Cuban performers and ensembles, such as the Dúo Promúsica, Trío Emanuel, Trío Lecuona, and the Orquesta de Cámara de Las Tunas, among others. He has also collaborated with audiovisual creators and the theater company Gaia Teatro.Part of his work has been recorded under the Colibrí label, including the CD Nueva Música (a compilation of UNEAC Composition Awards) and Retrato y Escenas Peregrinas, awarded the Cubadisco 2021 Prize in the Chamber Music category.

PRESS

• 2025

Centro Nacional de Música de Concierto CUBA's post

Premiere of “Trio for Flute, Saxophone, and Piano” — Concert at the Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís, Saturday, June 14 by Niurka González & Dúo Brillance

• 2021

De lo irreal maravilloso: Retrato and Escenas Peregrinas by Javier Iha Rodríguez
Published in La Jiribilla — Cuban cultural magazine

Del proyecto al hecho: el estudio del música electroacústica del ISA by Javier Iha Rodríguez
Published in El Sincopado Habanero — Cuban cultural magazine

Retrato y escenas peregrinas" del joven compositor Javier Iha, fue uno de los CDs galardonados en la presente edición del Cubadisco 20-21.

• 2019

Docencia, investigación y creación: Fondo documental del Estudio Carlos Fariñas
de Arte Electroacústico Musical (ISA)
Master’s thesis in Historical-Documentary Music Heritage Management

• 2018

Entreclaves... Notes on Nueva Música: Cuentos Peregrinos by Javier Iha
Published in Del canto y el tiempo, a space for reflection and the exchange of ideas on Cuban music — by Brenda Lorenzo. CIDMUC

Des-concierto 9. El banquete
Published in El Sincopado Habanero — Cuban cultural magazine

"Pentagramas literarios" presented as part of the Contemporary Music Festival at the Hispano-American Center of Culture. Texts by Samuel Feijóo and Nicolás Guillén, with music by Javier Iha, performed by students from the Vocal Department of the University of the Arts.

EVENTS

August 14th, 2025 Mandolatino 2025 Summer Workshop

Mandoleers and Friends perform their Mandolatino Summer Workshop program at Clarendon United Methodist Church. All music arranged for the Mandoleers by Javier Iha.

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July 30th, 2025 Concert for piano solo 'Flores, Formas y Fiestas'

Solo Piano Concert by Javier Iha at the National Concert Music Center, Havana, Cuba.

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June 14th, 2025 Premiere of “Trio for Flute, Saxophone, and Piano”

Premiere of “Trio for Flute, Saxophone, and Piano ”Concert at the Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís by Niurka González & Dúo Brillance

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April, 2019 Premiere of Testamento del Pez (The Fish’s Testament), at Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís

Premiere of Testamento del Pez (The Fish’s Testament) for soprano, tenor, clarinet, piano, and percussion, with text by Gastón Baquero, at the Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís, during the Havana Chamber Music Festival.

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November 16th, 2018 Recital for voices and piano 'Pentagramas Literarios'

Texts by Samuel Feijóo and Nicolás Guillén, with music by Javier Iha, performed by students from the Vocal Department of the University of the Arts.

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