Enrique González Mantici

Director, violinist and composer.

He was born in the city of Sagua la Grande, received great musical influence from his family, especially from his mother. After his family moved to Havana, he studied in several conservatories and graduated as a music professor from "La Milagrosa", a renowned musical instruction center in the capital, where he achieved outstanding grades in composition and orchestration.

His life was linked to the revolutionary struggle. He was active in the Popular Socialist Party and was a union leader among musicians. The confrontation and persecution during the Batista era caused him to leave the country for Russia, via Mexico, with a false passport in 1957. In Moscow he entered the Shaiskosvki Conservatory where he achieved outstanding results by winning in that competition and later served as a jury member in orchestration. Upon his return to Cuba, he founded the Orquesta de Aire dedicated to symphonic music for Radio. He was also director of the National Symphony Orchestra and the popular music orchestra "Riverside".

Mantici was the first titular director of the National Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1961.

Maestro Mántici is a representative of the nationalist musical avant-garde of the mid-twentieth century, incorporating folk elements into concert music, in which the cultured and popular merge. His repertoire highlights two pieces: "Tríptico Cubano" and the march "Guerrillero".

His musical quality led him to the most demanding European stages where he conducted renowned symphony orchestras.

He wrote music for ballet in his capacity as musical director of Alicia Alonso's Ballet, today the National Ballet.

His unexpected death on December 29, 1974 left a musical legacy of high aesthetic value for his people.

Compositions
First Violin Concerto and Orchestra, 1953
Street Vendor's Call and Dance for Orchestra, 1954
Second Violin Concerto and Orchestra, 1957
Three Pieces for Piano, 1960
Cimarrón, 1960
Guerrillero, March, 1960
Vocal Triptych for Soprano and Piano, 1966
Symphonic Concertante for Cello and Orchestra, 1966
Trio for Clarinet, Oboe and Bassoon, 1966
The Circus, Ballet, 1966
Mestiza, Ballet of Cecilia Valdés, 1966

He died on December 29, 1974 in Pinar del Río.