Genres danza Name Jose Quinton | Occupation(s) composer and pianist Role Composer | |
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Born February 1, 1881
Caguas, Puerto Rico ( 1881-02-01 ) Died December 19, 1925, Coamo, Puerto Rico Similar People Angel Mislan, Luciano Quinones, Manuel Gregorio Tavarez, Juan Morel Campos, Carlos Barbosa‑Lima | ||
Danza el coqui by jose ignacio quinton on guitar by 9 year old
Jose Ignacio Quinton (February 1, 1881 – December 19, 1925), was a pianist and composer of danzas.
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Alberto rodr guez ortiz plays danza el coqu by jose ignacio quinton arr juan sorroche
Early years
Quinton was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico into a musically talented family. His father, a Frenchman by the name of Juan Bautista Quinton y Luzon, was a graduate of the Conservatory of Music of Paris. The elder Quinton was also a composer and organist who became his son's first music teacher. When Quinton was two years old his family moved to the town of Coamo. In Coamo, he took piano lessons with Ernesto del Castillo. In 1890, when he was nine years old, he performed his first concert. When he was only eleven years old he accompanied the famed Cuban violinist Claudio Brindis de Salas Garrido on the piano in a concert and was highly acclaimed by him. Quinton continued to study music and was the director of his school's band. During his spare time he gave piano and violin lessons.
By 1917, Quinton had taught himself to read English. This enabled him to read and study the English language music magazines of the time thus becoming informed of the styles and compositions of Debussy, Ravel and other composers.
Danzas
The first danzas that Quinton composed were Confia (Trust), Mi estrella (My Star) and Amor imposible (Impossible Love). He received many awards and the recognition of his fellow musicians for the compositions Cuarteto para instrumentos de cuerdas (Quartet for string instruments), Variaciones sobre un tema de Hummel (Variations on a theme of Hummel) and many others. He also wrote Misa de Requiem as a tribute to the late composer of danzas Angel Mislan.
His greatest composition was the danza El Coqui. In this danza he was able to simulate the sound of the coqui, a tiny frog found in Puerto Rico with a unique call, with the notes of the band's instruments.
Legacy
Jose Ignacio Quinton died on December 19, 1925 in the town of Coamo where he is buried. The town of Coamo has honored his memory by naming one of its principal avenues after him and by conserving the house in which he lived as a historical landmark. The Jose I. Quinton Academy of Music is located in Coamo.