José Echániz was a Cuban-born pianist. A child prodigy, he studied at the Falcón 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.
Early life
Echániz was born in the town of Guanabacoa on June 4, 1905. 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.
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.
Last performance and death
Echániz had been scheduled to give his first New York recital in eleven years in December 1968, but on the night of the performance at Philharmonic Hall at New York's Lincoln Center, 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. All upcoming appearances were cancelled, including a scheduled Kilbourn Hall recital at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York state in celebration of his twenty-fifth anniversary. Instead, director of the schoolWalter Hendl gave a dinner in honor of Echániz at Hutchinson House, Rochester. 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.
Audio Recordings
In the 1920s, while still a teenager, Echániz made his first recordings, piano rolls for the Ampico and Duo-Art companies, recording the works of Cervantes, Vogrich and Soro. As well as the standard piano literature, these recording included his own arrangements of the works of other composers, and his own compositions. The 1930s saw him move into the era of electrical recordings, which he made as a soloist for Columbia Records. He also made several recordings as accompanist for Tito Schipa.
Discography
From 1925 a number of recordings on the Victor and Columbia labels, initially accompanying Schipa, and then as a solo performer.
Spanish Piano Music – José Echániz — Musical Heritage Society MHS-811
The Westminster recordings of José Echániz are owned by the Universal Music Group. Those interested in the digital release of the Westminster discography of José Echániz are advised to contact Eloquence, Decca, and Deutsche Grammophon. These three labels are the legal owners of these recordings. See links below.
