Zenaida Manfugás

Zenaida Manfugás (February 22, 1932 - May 2, 2012) was a Cuban born, American naturalized pianist, considered to be one of the best Cuban pianists in history.^[1]

Biography

Zenaida Elvira González Manfugás was born on February 22, 1932^[2] in Guantanamo, Cuba.^[1][2][3] His father was Amando González Veranés^[1] and her mother, Andrea Manfugás Crombet,^[1] was a renowned pianist and teacher.^[1] She had two sisters: Alicia and Aida Esther. His mother was a descendant of Nene Manfugás, a renowned composer and performer of Sonnets in the early 20th century.^[1]

Her family moved to Baracoa, where her father was appointed municipal judge and her mother opened a music school affiliated with the Conservatorio Orbón.^[1][2][4][3] Manfugás and her sisters^[2] began piano lessons at the age of five, under their mother's tutelage. At age seven, Manfugás was able to play the "Coronation Mass" of Mozart, and "First Concert" of Beethoven.^[1][2][4][3] Manfugás debuted in 1949 in Havana, in the Anfiteatro de Avenida del Puerto with the Municipal Band conducted by master Gonzalo Roig,^[1][2][4][3] playing "Concerto in A Minor" by Edvard Grieg. This became a frequent venue for Manfugás.^[1][3]

She studied in Santiago de Cuba.^[1] Three years after her debut, Manfugás received a scholarship to study in Spain.^[4][3] The journalist Agustín Tamargo had directed the attention of the rector of the College of Bethlehem, Father Joseph Rubino, to the pianist and persuaded him to give her the scholarship. Roig then invited her to give a concert in Cathedral Square of Havana.^[1][3]

In 1952, at the age of 20, Manfugás left Cuba and enrolled at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid (Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid).^[1][2][4][3] and she was under the tutelage of Professor Tomas Andrade de Silva. She performed concerts and premieres in Spain, where she released the Dos Danzas (two Dances), of Cuban composer Harold Gramatges in 1953. She then traveled to Paris to receive lessons from master Walter Gueseking.^[1]

On his return to Cuba, in 1958,^[2][4][3] she was finally fixed a concert at the Auditorium on December 21 in this year. The organizers advised him to postpone it the January 9, 1959, but by then the country was in the revolutionary ferment of the triumph of Fidel Castro and the pianist had to keep waiting for his big presentation in Cuba. It was not until 1960, when the theater was already called "Amadeo Roldán", she was able to play his music in the main concert hall of the country.^[1]

In Cuba she was appointed professor at the Conservatory "Alejandro García Caturla" in Marianao.^[1] Manfugás was very active as a pianist in Cuba, and sometimes accompanied the classical orchestras, such as the National Symphony Orchestra and National Chamber Orchestra.^[4][5] She performed concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra, and conducted multiple tours in Europe (in places like Belgium and Russia^[6]) and Asia (in countries like China and Japon^[6]),^[1] for which she was widely praised.^[4][5] Later, she also played in Canada.^[6] The pianist came to occupy the position of national advisory in the cathedra of piano at the Amadeo Roldan Conservatory in Havana,^[7] until the early 1970s, when takes a trip to Spain for not returning to the island.

Manfugás came to United States in 1974, to play his music throughout the 50 states, establishing there. In 1979, she visited Cuba for the last time.^[1][2][4][3]

In exile, Manfugás played his music in places like Spain, Paris, Italia, New York and Miami.^[7] She also performed as a soloist in the New World Symphony in Miami^[1] and was professor at Kean University of New Jersey, where she taught History of Music.^{[1] [2][5]} In December 2010, already ill, was honored by Apogee Foundation on Cultural Center Cuba Ocho of Miami. At that time she could not play the piano, because she was recovering from a recent operation.^[1]

His final performance in Miami, where she played his music frequently,^[7] came on May 22, 2011 in Tres pianos, tres intérpretes (three pianos, three performers), a concert held at the Wertheim Center International University of Florida, where she alternated with the Master Jesus y Eugenia Ruspoli Armengol.^{[1] [8]}

She had cancer and suffered from several health complications.^[1] Zenaida Manfugás died on May 2, 2012, at 4:30 pm in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where she lived from 1974. According to different sources, she died due to a cardiac arrest^[1][7] or cancer.^[4] His remains were cremated on Sunday May 13.^[8]

Personal life

She was established in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1974. When she became an American citizen, she adopted the surname of his mother, who taught her to playing piano, for honor her.^[1][4][3] In 1955 she had one son in Spain, Andrés Montes, who over the years he be become one of the most popular sports journalists of radio and television in Spain and died in 2009 at age 53.^[4][5]

Curiosities

• The musician Gonzalo Roig said that Zenaida Manfugás was the best interpreter of Cuban music, and one of the best pianists that Cuba had taken, and himself Lecuona regarded her also as the best interpreter of his music, for the special talent that ran in their compositions.^[5]
• She was a great reader and requested books every month.^[1]
• She never recorded a studio album. The recordings that exist of their performances were performed live.^[4] So, she did recorded several albums interpreting the works of Cuban composers.^[5] She recorded two volumes entitled Por siempre Lecuona (Lecuona Forever) (1999), performed with his recordings in different moments. Those volumes contain the most popular numbers of the composer.^[1]
• At the time of her death she lived in a modest apartment for the elderly people and, like others many compositors of Classic music, died in poverty.^[4]

References

External links

• Tuyomasyo Block: Zenaida Manfugas (in Spanish)
• Zenaida Manfugás, manos de luz sobre el teclado (in Spanish: Zenaida Manfugás, light hands on the keyboard)
• Diary of Las Americas: Zenaida Manfugas