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Enrique Bátiz

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Enrique Bátiz Campbell was a Mexican conductor and concert pianist, born in Mexico City in 1942. He began piano lessons at the age of eight and later studied in Dallas, at the Juilliard School in New York and in Warsaw, where he also learned conducting. From 1969 he concentrated on conducting. In 1971 he co-founded the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México, which he led until 2018. In between, from 1983 to 1989, he was principal conductor of the Mexico City Philharmonic. In 1984 he became a guest conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Music and breakthrough

Bátiz made about 145 recordings, for labels such as EMI, ASV and Naxos, with orchestras in Mexico and Great Britain. He recorded the nine symphonies of Beethoven, the six of Tchaikovsky, symphonies by Schumann and Brahms, and the complete orchestral works of Joaquín Rodrigo. He also built up a series of eight volumes of Mexican music, with works by, among others, Manuel M. Ponce. He conducted the first digital recording of Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras, for which Brazil awarded him the Rio Branco Medal in 1986.

Influence

His name appears above all in the budget CD repertoire of the 1980s and 1990s: the well-known symphonies, overtures and ballet suites in solid, accessible performances. That made classical music available to a large audience. His importance also lies in the Mexican repertoire, which he put on the map both at home and abroad. He died in 2025, after a career of more than fifty years.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to his recording of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and notice how an orchestra brings to life a series of short musical paintings, with the varied colours of the instrumental groups.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists