At
the age of 62, Enrique Bátiz is one of the most famous orchestra
conductors in Latin America and no doubt he is a gifted artist who
has won international popularity and fame and whose interpretations
produce the deepest and most profound emotion.
He was born in Mexico City on May 4, l942. In l950 he studied piano
with Francisco Agea and in l960 he continued his studies with Gyorgy
Sandor. That same year he went to Southern Methodist University
in Dallas, Texas. In l962 he studied piano with Adele Marcus in
New York at the famous Juilliard School of Music, where he also
studied conducting and received a diploma in l965. In l964 he made
several national tours as a pianist. In l965 he was a semifinalist
in the “Marguerite Long” International Piano Contest
in Paris, France. From l967 to l970 he specialized in piano with
Zbigniew Drzewiecki in Poland. He also had private lessons in orchestral
conducting with Stanislaw Wislocki. In 1970 he was finalist in “F.
Busoni” Piano Competition in Italy.
He began a tour of concerts in Poland in l967 with the Lodz and
Szczecin Philharmonics, and presented recitals in Warsaw and Brussels
in l969 with flattering reviews regarding his temperament and virtuosity.
In l968 he participated in the “Queen Elizabeth” International
Piano Contest in Brussels. Upon returning to Mexico in l969 Maestro
Batiz performed innumerable concerts in the province. His debut
as a conductor was in the “Palacio de Bellas Artes”
in l969 with the Xalapa Orchestra. Later in l970 he made a series
of piano recordings for the Polish and Salzburg Broadcast Companies.
He also participated in the famous “Frederic Chopin”
International Piano Contest of Warsaw. In April of l971 he was named
Director Conductor Founder of the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra.
Maestro Bátiz was the conductor of the State of Mexico Symphony
Orchestra for 12 years (l971-1983), then of the Mexico City Philharmonic
Orchestra for 7 years (l983-l989) and resumed directorship of the
OSEM from l990 to the present. Since l984, he was named “guest
conductor” of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and, as an
invited guest conductor, he has lead more than 500 symphony orchestras
around the world.
His work is represented with a collection of 145 recordings of which
4l are with the Royal Philharmonic, 9 with the London Symphony,
3 with the Philharmonia, 12 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra,
2 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, 19 with the Mexico
City Philharmonic Orchestra 58 with the State of Mexico Symphony
Orchestra and 1 with the Toscana Orchestra in Florence, Italy, for
the British record companies EMI Records International, Academy
of Sound and Vision, Musical Heritage (USA), NAXOS, IMG International
Management Group, Pickwick, RPO Records and Arts (German company).
The repertory of Enrique Batiz as a conductor ranges from classical
to contemporary works. He has been described as an artist who conducts
with behemence and enthusiasm, manifesting a deep understanding,
unusual even among the finest conductors.
Throughout his career, he has received important distinctions and
awards: La primera Presea Bienal in Art from the State of Mexico
Confederation of Professionals: “The International Gold Mercury”
award of Rome, given for the first time to a Latin American artist;
The Jose Marti and the Tlatelolco’s Eagle Medal. In 1984 he
won First Prize at the British Music Trades Association for his
interpretation of French Music with the State of Mexico Symphony
Orchestra (Debussy “Prelude of the afternoon of a Faun”);
the 1986 “Rio Branco” medal, an official grade given
by the Brazilian government for the worldwide digital recording
of the nine “Bachianas Brasileiras” by Heitor Villa-Lobos;
in four occasions (1971, 1981, 1983, and 1996) the annual prize
as the most distinguished artist of the year from the Mexican Union
of Teatrical and Musical broadcasters; his recording of the 3rd
Symphony of Saint-Saens made in 1984 which was considered by the
magazines “Gramophone” and the “Pengüin Stereo
Records Guide” as the best recorded version of this piece.
In 1986 The London Sunday Times considered his recording of Petrushka
by Stravinsky as the recording of the year. In 1991 he received
the Mexican “Mozart” medal given by the Domecq Cultural
Institute in December of 1992, the London CD review magazine designated
the recordinghe made with the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
of the “Symphonic Dances” and “The Isle of Death”
by Rachmaninoff as one of the best recordings made in 1992. In March
of 1995, he won the “Estado de Mexico” Prize, in 1994
in the area of arts “Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz”, for
his contribution to the musical culture of the State of Mexico and
recognition he has achieved in musical world. This is recognized
throughout the country and the whole world, therefore, he has been
declared “Mexiquense Destacado.”
Enrique Bátiz has recorded the complete nine symphonies by
Beethoven, the nine Bachianas Brasileiras by Villa-Lobos, the complete
pieces for orchestra by Joaquin Rodrigo, Manuel M. Ponce, and G.
Bizet, and eight volumes of Mexican music that have been published
with great worldwide acclaim. In 1997 Enrique Batiz made a complete
recording of three symphonic cycles with the OSEM; the six symphonies
by Piotr Illich Tchaikovsky (twelve sessions in six days in February
1997), and the four symphonies by Johannes Brahms (in only four
days), precisely in the centenary of his death and in September
of 1998, the four symphonies by R. Schumann, short pieces by P:I:
Tchaikovsky: Capricho Italiano, Francesca da Rimini, Polonaise and
Waltz of Eugene Onegin, Marche Slave, Mazzepa Overture and Valse
Melancholique from Suite No. 3, as well as three short pieces by
Joaquin Rodrigo: Miedo, Canconeta, and Two Berceuses in six days
of recording sessions.
Enrique
Batiz