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, 1922Posracialidad: Comité Ciudadanos por la Integración Racial /ref> in Guantánamo,
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. 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. Her mother's family is descended from the renowned composer Nene Manfugás, who was a performer of Sonnets 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 " Coronation Mass", and Beethoven " Concerto 5". Manfugás gave her first concert in 1949 in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Gonzalo Roig's Municipal Band. 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
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
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) in 1953. She then moved to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
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 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'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 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
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
(in places like
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
Un 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
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
(in countries like
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
), for which she was widely praised. Later, she also played in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.
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, for good.
In 1979, she visited Cuba for the last time.
In exile, Manfugás played her music in places like
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
. She also gave a concert as a soloist in the New World Symphony in Miami and was a professor at Kean University 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 her 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. Her remains were cremated on Sunday May 13.
Personal life
She was settled in Elizabeth, New Jersey, 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, 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.