Zenaida Manfugás
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Zenaida Elvira González Manfugás (February 22, 1922 - May 2, 2012) was a Cuban-born American-naturalized pianist, considered to be one of the best Cuban pianists in history.Café fuerte: Fallece la pianista Zenaida Manfugás (in Spanish: Strong coffee: Zenaida Manfugás pianist dies)
Posted on Thursday, May 3, 2012 14:01 By Wilfredo Cancio Isla. Retrieved 15, August, 2012, to 16:10 pm


Biography

Manfugás was born on February 22, 1922 in Guantánamo, Cuba. Her father was Judge Amando González Veranés and her mother, Andrea Manfugás Crombet, was a renowned pianist and teacher. She had two sisters: Alicia and Aida Esther. Your mother's family is descended from the renowned composer Nene Manfugás, who was a performer of
Sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...
s in the first half of the 20th century. Her family settled in Baracoa. In this city her father served as municipal judge while her mother founded a music school linked with the Conservatorio Orbón. She studied in Santiago de Cuba. Manfugás and her sisters began piano lessons at age five, under their mother's tutelage. At age seven, Manfugás was able to play
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
"
Coronation Mass A Coronation Mass is a Eucharistic celebration, in which a special liturgical act, the coronation of an image of Mary, is performed. The coronation of an image of Mary is an act of devotion to her. It expresses the belief that Mary as mother ...
", and Beethoven " Concerto 5". Manfugás gave her first concert in 1949 in Havana, playing at the Anfiteatro de Avenida del Puerto and being part of the
Gonzalo Roig Gonzalo Roig Lobo (Havana, 20 July 1890 – Havana, 13 June 1970) was a Cuban composer, pianist, violinist and musical director. He was a pioneer of the symphonic movement in Cuba. His most popular works are the zarzuela ''Cecilia Valdés'' an ...
's Municipal Band.Posracialidad: Comité Ciudadanos por la Integración Racial
/ref> In her concert she played the "Concerto in A Minor" by Edvard Grieg. This became a frequent venue for Manfugás. Three years after her debut, Journalist Agustín Tamargo got that the then President of the Colegio de Belén University in Havana, Father Joseph Rubino, gave to Manfugás a scholarship to study music in Spain and Roig asked her to play at Havana's Cathedral Square. So, in 1952, Manfugás moved to Spain and started her studies at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid (Royal Conservatory of Music of Madrid),Homenaje a la pianista Zenaida Manfugás
. Posted by Olga Connor. Asked on Wednesday, 16 November 2011.
where she was a student of Professor Tomas Andrade de Silva. She performed "concerts and premieres" in Spain, where she performed Dos Danzas (song composed by
Harold Gramatges Harold Gramatges (26 September 1918 – 16 December 2008) was a Cuban composer, pianist, and teacher. Gramatges was born in Santiago, Cuba. In 1941, he entered the conservatory in Santiago de Cuba to study under professor Dulce María Serret ...
) in 1953. She then moved to Paris where she studied under the tutelage of Walter Gieseking. Where she returned to Cuba in 1958, she was asked to play her music at the
Auditorium Theater The Auditorium Theatre is a music and performance venue located inside the Auditorium Building at 50 Ida B. Wells Drive in Chicago, Illinois. Inspired by the Richardsonian Romanesque Style of architect Henry Hobson Richardson, the building was d ...
on December 21 that year. However, later, the organizers convinced him to delay the concert until January 9, 1959, but in this year, Cuba was "in the revolutionary ferment of the triumph" of
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
's guerrilla movement and Manfugás was not able to play her music at the Auditorium until 1960. Since then, Manfugás was very active as a pianist in Cuba, and sometimes accompanied classical orchestras, such as the
National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...
and the National Chamber Orchestra.Gaspar, El Lugareño
Posted Sunday November 28, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2011, to 23:34 pm.
In addition, she was professor at the "Alejandro García Caturla" Conservatory in Marianao and served as national advisory in the cathedra of piano at the Amadeo Roldan Conservatory, in Cuba.Marti Noticias
Retrieved 15, August, 2012, to 14:38 pm
Manfugás conducted diverses tours in Europe (in places like Belgium and RussiaUn concierto inolvidable de Zenaida Manfugás
(in Spanish: An unforgettable concert Zenaida Manfugás). Posted by Ena, Friday, April 6, 2012 12:12. Last update was on Sunday, June 17, 2012 19:01 pm. Retrieved 15, August, 2012, to 14:38 pm
) and Asia (in countries like
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
), for which she was widely praised. Later, she also played in Canada. In 1974, Manfugás went to the United States, where she performed throughout the 50 states. Two years after, the pianist emigrated to this country, where settled in
Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...
for good. In 1979, she visited Cuba for the last time. In exile, Manfugás played her music in places like Spain, Paris, Italia, New York City and Miami. She also gave a concert as a soloist in the
New World Symphony New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
in Miami and was professor at
Kean University Kean University () is a public university in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, Union and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Kean University was founded in 1855 in Newark, New Jersey, as th ...
of New Jersey, where she taught History of Music. In December 2010, the Apogee Foundation on Cultural Center Cuba Ocho of Miami held a ceremony in his honor, although she could not perform, as "she was recovering from a recent surgery". Her final concert in Miami, where she performed frequently, took place on May 22, 2011 with the musical work "Tres pianos, Tres intérpretes" ("Three pianos, Three performers"), "a concert held at the Wertheim Center International University of Florida", where she alternated with the Jesus y Eugenia Ruspoli Armengol. El nuevo Herald (2): Fallece la reconocida pianista cubana Zenaida Manfugás
(in Spanish: "The new Herald: Death's renowned Cuban pianist Zenaida Manfugás"). Posted by Arturo Arias-Polo the Friday, 05.04.12. Retrieved 15, August, 2012, to 14:38 pm.
She had cancer and suffered from several health complications. Zenaida Manfugás died on May 2, 2012, at 4:30 pm ET in Elizabeth. According to different sources, she died due to a cardiac arrest or cancer.Diario de Cuba: Muere la pianista Zenaida Manfugás
("Pianist Zenaida Manfugás dies") Posted in Miami on 05/04/2012, at 6:24 pm.
His remains were cremated on Sunday May 13.


Personal life

She was settled in
Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...
in 1974. When she became a U.S. citizen, she adopted her mother's maiden name in her honor, since her mother had taught her how to play the piano. In 1955, she gave birth to a son in Spain,
Andrés Montes Andrés Antonio Montes González (1955–2009) was a Spanish sportswriter, journalist and commentator. Biography He was born in Madrid on 27 November 1955 to Antonio Montes Seoane, a Galician merchant from Vigo (father) and Cuban pianist Zenaid ...
, who was one of the most known and respected sports journalists of both the radio and television in that country and who died in 2009 at age 53.


Curiosities

* The musician Gonzalo Roig regarded that Zenaida Manfugás "was the best interpreter of Cuban music, and one of the best pianists" of Cuba, and Lecuona "regarded her as the best interpreter of his music". * She was a great reader and she asked books from the library every month. * She never recorded a studio album. The recordings that exist were from live performances. Several compilation albums interpreting the works of Cuban composers were released. "Two volumes were entitled" ''Por siempre Lecuona (Lecuona Forever)'' (1999), compilations from multiple live performances. Those volumes are formed by the most popular works of Lecuona. * In 1964, Manfugás participated in the documentary Nosotros la música, directed by Rogelio París. * At the time of her death, she lived in a modest apartment for the elderly and, like many other masters of classical music, died in poverty.


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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manfugas, Zenaida Cuban emigrants to the United States Kean University faculty People from Elizabeth, New Jersey 1922 births 2012 deaths Naturalized citizens of the United States