Description

JOSÉ ECHÁNIZ (GUANABACOA, HAVANA, CUBA, JUNE 4, 1905, – PITTSFORD, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 30, 1970)

 

 

 

 

A child child prodigy, he studied at the Falcon Conservatory in Havana, where he was awarded the title “professor of piano” at age 14. During the 1920s, he toured the US and appeared in Europe. During the 1930s, he was a featured soloist with orchestras in the US and appeared under the batons of many distinguished conductors. Echániz joined the Eastman School faculty in 1944. Throughout his 25-year teaching career, Echániz maintained an active career as a recitalist in Europe, the US, and the Caribbean, as an orchestral soloist, and as a recording artist. Echániz received his first piano lessons from his father, who was a professor at the Conservatorio Nacional Hubert de Blanck. He later studied with Ignacio Tellería, until he entered the Conservatorio Falcón in La Habana under the tutelage of Alberto Falcón himself, from which he graduated with the title Professor of Piano at the age of fourteen. On January 4, 1922 he made his American debut at Town Hall in New York. He toured the world with Tito Schipa, appearing with the famous Italian tenor as his accompanist in joint recitals, and in recordings. While touring with Schipa, Echániz also gave solo recitals. During his career Echániz appeared in the Unites States and in Europe as a recitalist, and also as soloist with major orchestras under conductors such as Gonzalo Roig, José Iturbi, Rudolf Ganz, Erick Leinsdorf, Howard Hanson, Frederick Stock, Vladimir Golschmann, Sir Eugene Goosens, Dmitri Mitropoulos, Paul White, Guy Fraser Harrison, Laszlo Somogyi, Theodore Bloomfield, and Massimo Preccia. He taught piano at his own studio in La Habana from 1924 to 1932. From 1948 to 1954, he was music director of the Grand Rapids Symphony in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Echániz held a professorship at the Conservatory of Music at James Milliken University in Decatur, Illinois for twelve years, later joining the faculty of the Eastman School of Music in a full-time teaching position, all the while continuing his active career as recitalist and soloist in the United States and abroad. Echániz was also the founder of the Lake Placid Chamber Music Festival and School. From 1963 until his death he was its director, and he was also the pianist for the Lake Placid Trio. During the regular academic year, Echániz was also active in clinics and music workshops throughout the United States. Echániz had been scheduled to give his first New York recital in eleven years in December of 1968, but on the night of the performance he was so ill from what was believed to be Hong Kong flu that he was able to perform only the first half of the program at Philharmonic Hall in Lincoln Center. All upcoming appearances were cancelled, including a scheduled Kilbourn Hall recital in celebration of his twenty-fifth anniversary on the Eastman School of Music faculty. Instead, to honor his twenty-five years at the school, Walter Hendl, then director of the Eastman School of Music, gave a dinner for Echániz at Hutchinson House on November 4, 1969, with some two hundred guests in attendance. José Echániz died on December 30, 1969 in his Pittsford, New York home, after suffering from cancer for several months. At the time of his passing his immediate survivors included his wife Dulce; two sons, José Jr. and Carlos; and a daughter, María.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

La Famille Du Bébé No.1 (The Baby’s Family) (Villa-Lobos), Westminster XWN 18065 (Nov 1954)

La Famille Du Bébé No.1, W140 Poupées No. 1, La Poupée De Porcelaine Petite Blanche (Villa-Lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.1, W140 Poupées No. 2, La Poupée En Papier Mâché Petite Brune (Villa-Lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.1, W140 Poupées No. 3, La Poupée En Argile Petite Indigène Du Brésil (Villa-Lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.1, W140 Poupées No. 4, La Poupée En Caoutchouc Petite Mulatresse (Villa-Lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.1, W140 Poupées No. 5, La Poupée De Bois Petite Négresse (Villa-Lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.1, W140 Poupées No. 6, La Poupée En Chiffons Petite Pauvre (Villa-lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.1, W140 Poupées No. 7, Le Polichinelle (Villa-Lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.1, W140 Poupées No. 8, La Poupée De Drap La Sorcière (Villa-Lobos)

 

La Famille Du Bébé No.2, W180 Les Petites Bêtes No. 1, Le Petit Cafard En Papier (Villa-Lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.2, W180 Les Petites Bêtes No. 2, Le Petit Chat En Carton (Villa-Lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.2, W180 Les Petites Bêtes No. 3, La Petite Souris En Papier Mâché (Villa-Lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.2, W180 Les Petites Bêtes No. 4, Le Petit Chien En Caoutchouc (Villa-Lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.2, W180 Les Petites Bêtes No. 5, Le Petit Cheval De Bois (Villa-Lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.2, W180 Les Petites Bêtes No. 6, Le Petit Bœuf De Plomb (Villa-Lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.2, W180 Les Petites Bêtes No. 7, Le Petit Oiseau De Drap (Villa-Lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.2, W180 Les Petites Bêtes No. 8, Le Petit Ours En Coton (Villa-Lobos)

La Famille Du Bébé No.2, W180 Les Petites Bêtes No. 9, Le Petit Loup En Verre (Villa-Lobos)

 

Danzas Fantásticas, Op. 22 No. 1, Exaltación (Turina)

Danzas Fantásticas, Op. 22 No. 2, Ensueño (Turina)

Danzas Fantásticas, Op. 22 No. 3, Orgía (Turina)

5 Danzas Gitanas, Primera Serie, Op. 55 No. 1, Zambra (Turina)

5 Danzas Gitanas, Primera Serie, Op. 55 No. 2, Danza De La Seducción (Turina)

5 Danzas Gitanas, Primera Serie, Op. 55 No. 3, Danza Ritual (Turina)

5 Danzas Gitanas, Primera Serie, Op. 55 No. 4, Generalife (Turina)

5 Danzas Gitanas, Primera Serie, Op. 55 No. 5, Sacromonte (Turina)

Mujeres Españolas, Primera Serie, Op. 17 No. 1, La Madrileña Clásica (Turina)

Mujeres Españolas, Primera Serie, Op. 17 No. 2, La Andaluza Sentimental (Turina)

Mujeres Españolas, Primera Serie, Op. 17 No. 3, La Morena Coqueta (Turina)

Le Jeudi saint à minuit