Héctor J. Sánchez, Piano

Biography

Born in Madrid, Héctor J. Sánchez’s performance career has brought him to Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland, Great Britain, the United States and Canada, and it includes appearances with the Galicia Symphony Orchestra, the Cordoba Symphony Orchestra, the Gijon Symphony Orchestra, the Spaniard Orchestra and the Yale Philarmonia, as well as with the Andres Segovia Chamber Orchestra and the Cumberland Valley Chamber Orchestra. In Spain, he has performed solo recitals in most major cities, appearing at some important venues such as the Auditorio Nacional de Música de Madrid, the Palacio de Festivales in Santander, or the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Several of his performances have been nationally broadcasted by the RNE Radio of Spain, RTVP of Poland, and the CBC Radio in Canada. Mr. Sánchez has been involved with important music festivals such as the Norfolk Chamber Music Summer Festival, Music Academy of the West, Meranofest (Italy), the Academia de Música de Santander, and festivals in Deiá, Segovia, and Gijón. As a chamber musician, Mr. Sánchez performs regularly with his wife and violinist, Dobrochna Banaszkiewicz, in Spain and Poland.

After winning first prize at the 45th Olga Koussevitzky International Competition for Piano, Mr. Sánchez presented his New York debut recital at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall. Other honors include third prize at the IX International Piano Competition “Ciudad De Ferrol,” first prize at the 1994 National Piano Competition “Nueva Acropolis” and second prize in the XI National Piano Competition “Marisa Montiel.”

Héctor J. Sánchez began his musical studies with professors Julia Díaz Yanes and Almudena Cano at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Madrid, where he completed his Bachelor of Music. He then traveled to the United States, under a Fulbright scholarship, to study with Professor Boris Berman at the Yale School of Music, where he earned a Master of Music, Artist Diploma and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. After his return to Spain, he also studied with Professor Galina Egiazarova at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid. In addition, he has played in master classes taught by Alicia de Larrocha, Leon Fleisher, Rosalyn Tureck, Peter Frankl, Ferenc Rados, Claude Frank, Jan Wijn, and the Tokyo and Vermeer String Quartets.

At present, Mr. Sánchez is Professor of Chamber Music and Contemporary piano at the Conservatory of Music in Salamanca (Spain). He has also been professor and piano accompanist at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, professor of piano at the “Ciudad de Lucena” Summer Music School, and has given piano master classes at the University of Massachusetts and the Caldwell College in the United States. Concurrently, Mr. Sánchez collaborates regularly with the Spanish musicological publication “Quodlibet”, and is the director of an annual lecture series on music appreciation in Madrid.