He National Music Award Roberto Sánchez Ferrer died this Wednesday afternoon in Havana.
His death, at 99 years oldwas confirmed by the Cuban Institute of Music (ICM).
Instrumentalist, composer, orchestrator and conductor, Sánchez Ferrer developed an extensive and prolific artistic and He occupied “a meritorious position in the symphonic field in Cuba”highlighted the institution.
Born in Havana on December 31, 1927, he studied at the Edison Institute and the Levy Conservatory and, At just 18 years old he debuted as a director. At that early age he assumed the direction of a musical magazine with artists from the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 1945 he founded the jazz trio Los Raqueteros del Swing, where he played the clarinet alongside the pianist José Álvarez and the drummer Antonio García. Later, figures such as Arturo (Chico) O’Farrill, Kiki Hernández, Gustavo Más, Isidro Pérez and the singer Ana Menéndez joined.
Roberto Sánchez Ferrer in Cuban music
The Cuban Institute of Music also highlighted the work of Sánchez Ferrer as saxophonist and clarinetist in renowned groupsamong them the Hermanos Castro Orchestra, Hermanos Le Batard, the Riverside Orchestra and the Habana Casino.
In the lyrical field, he joined the musical direction of the National Opera in 1965 and between 1976 and 1978 he served as its general director.
During those years he made numerous international tours throughout Latin America, Asia and Europewhere important Cuban zarzuelas by authors such as Gonzalo Roig, Ernesto Lecuona and Rodrigo Prats were presented.
The work of Roberto Sánchez Ferrer was also reflected in recording collaborations with relevant figures of Cuban music, among them Esther Borja, Iris Burguet, Armando Pico, Omara Portuondo, Chucho Valdés and Hernán López-Nussa.
In 2023 he was awarded the National Music Prize. On that occasion, the ICM highlighted that his prolific work consolidated him as one of the most representative figures of Cuban musical culture since the second half of the 20th century.
