Enrique Bátiz

Enrique Bátiz, born in Mexico City on 4 May 1942, is a Mexican conductor and pianist whose career extended across the Americas, Europe and Asia. His significance lies above all in his role in the musical life of his country and in his numerous recordings.

His piano studies began in 1950 with Francisco Agea and continued from 1960 with György Sandor. After a period at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, he moved in 1962 to the Juilliard School in New York, where he graduated in 1965 under Adele Marcus. That same year he was a semi-finalist in the Marguerite Long Competition. He then settled in Poland, where between 1967 and 1970 he studied piano with Zbigniew Drzewiecki and conducting with Stanisław Wisłocki. His conducting debut took place in 1969 with the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra.

In 1971 he founded the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, which he directed until 1983 and again from 1990. Between 1983 and 1989 he was music director of the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra and, since 1984, has been principal guest conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. He has reportedly made more than 150 recordings, including cycles of symphonies by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.

He is particularly esteemed for his interpretations of Latin music, in which colour and rhythm predominate. His work at the helm of the National Symphony Orchestra is considered his most important contribution to Mexican music.