José Echániz Justiniani

Cuban pianist, orchestra conductor, and pedagogue. Son of Spanish musician José Echániz Maíz.

He began his musical studies under the tutelage of his father, and at age ten continued them with Spanish musician Ignacio Tellería. He later enrolled in the Conservatorio Falcón in La Habana, where he was a student of Alberto Falcón himself.

Along with his piano studies, he also dedicated himself to violin, but ultimately chose the former instrument, of which he would later become a distinguished performer.

He made his first public presentation at age fourteen at the Sociedad de Jóvenes Cristianos, performing Schumann's Carnival op. 9. This debut was followed by a concert tour throughout Cuba.

Starting in 1920, he began performing in prestigious concert halls in Cuba and other countries. Between that year and 1921, he performed at the Teatro Nacional de La Habana, as well as at Town Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York, United States.

During this period, he was also an accompanying pianist for singers Lucrezia Bori and Tito Schipa, with whom he performed on international tours and made recordings.

In 1929 he traveled through European countries such as France, Holland, and Spain, where he achieved success performing works by Bach, Chopin, Falla, Turina, and Schumann.

In the period between 1938 and 1953 he performed on numerous occasions with the Orquesta Sinfónica de La Habana, with notable performances including the first Cuban performance of Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, op. 15, and of Sergei Prokofiev's Sonata No. 7 in 1946.

He made his conducting debut in 1939 with the Orquesta Sinfónica de La Habana, in a concert featuring Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, op. 67, and Brahms' Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 68, among other works.

That same year, he conducted with this orchestra the Cuban debut of Tchaikovsky's Overture-Fantasy "Romeo and Juliet," based on Shakespeare's tragedy; and four years later, the Havana premieres of "Soliloquio Nocturno" (for flute and string orchestra) by Kent Kennan; Concert Overture "Pinocchio" by Ernest Toch, based on Collodi's tale; and Brahms' Academic Festival Overture op. 80. He remained as guest conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de La Habana until 1953.

He alternated periods of residence in Cuba and in the United States, where he performed many recitals and concerts as a pianist and orchestra conductor in hundreds of cities with the symphonic orchestras of Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, and the Rochester Philharmonic. He was for six years the regular conductor of the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra in Michigan.

Among his pedagogical work stands out his direction of the Milliken Conservatory of Music in Decatur, Illinois, as well as his work as a piano teacher in Rochester, New York.

Discography
He recorded several records with the American label Westminster, among which stand out those dedicated to the performance of works by Isaac Albéniz and Manuel de Falla (record WL-5218); the Afro-Cuban Dances and Andalusia Suite by Ernesto Lecuona (record XWL-18435); and the performance of piano compositions by Heitor Villalobos (record XWN-18065).