José Iturbi

Temperamental volatile Spanishborn pianist and conductor whose life and career were varied and often controversial Born in Valencia he was a child prodigy giving piano recitals by the age of seven and supplementing the family income by playing for up to 14 hours daily at a silent cinema theatre He was an honours graduate from the Conservatoire de Musique in Paris and by the age of 24 occupied Franz Liszts former post as leader of the piano department of the Geneva Conservatory In 1928 he made his London debut as a concert pianist and the following year played Beethovens G Major Concerto to great critical and audience acclaim under Leopold Stokowskis direction in Philadelphia Not content with his triumphs he branched out into conducting from 1933 eventually fronting the Rochester Philharmonic and conducting his first opera in 1959 Iturbi enjoyed an almost pop starlike status even converting 1950s bobbysoxers to classical music and became the only classical artist of his day to win two gold records In 1946 RCAVictor paid Iturbi the record sum of 118029 for six months royalties primarily for his recording of Chopins Polonaise in AFlat the record went on to sell 2 million copies by 1974 A speed freak Iturbi used to ride his motor bike and assorted sports cars with reckless abandon When they werent fast enough he would get aboard his own aircraft El Turia By 1946 he had logged 1500 flying hours frequently travelling across entire continents between recitals He had several close shaves which earned him the sobriquet the flying fool Iturbis fiery temper manifested itself when he walked off the stage during a performance in Cleveland because audience members were too audible in their consumption of hot dogs and soda pop Earlier while conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra he had thrown a chair across the stage in disgust at the disturbance caused by the late arrival of the mayor and his entourage This earned him yet another nickname Turbulent Iturbi There were many other such incidents He refused to appear with Benny Goodman on the same radio show ostensibly because he disagreed with the idea of mixing jazz and classical music Later he also brashly refused to perform with Rosemary Clooney on television Ironically Iturbis screen career was spent playing not only classical but also popular music from boogiewoogie to honky tonk After being persuaded by producer Boris Pasternak to appear in musicals for MGM Iturbis adaptation to the new medium was effortless Of course in all of his screen roles he simply played himself Films like Anchors Aweigh 1945 in which he conducted a 100piece band for the opening march and Three Daring Daughters 1948 did however allow him a fair measure of selfexpression His sister Amparo Iturbi 18991969 who in earlier years had frequently accompanied him in duo piano recitals appeared in three of his pictures including That Midnight Kiss 1949 Iturbi was born November 28 1895 in Valencia Valencia Spain and he died June 28 1980 age 84 in Los Angeles California USA