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The Cuban-born viola da gamba player and ealy music specialist, José Agustin Vázquez Rubal, left his native land with his family for North America, where he spent the ensuing 13 years of his life. He studied at Northwestern University in Chicago (1969-1974) and performed in the Collegium Musicum of the University of Chicago under the direction of Howard Meyer Brown for four years before undertaking professional studies of the viola da gamba with Hannelore Müller and Baroque violin with Jaap Schröder at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland (1975-1981).
In 1980 José Vázquez was appointed to the Conservatory of Music in Winterthur, Switzerland, where he taught performance practice, viola da gamba and Baroque violin. In 1982 he was appointed Professor for viola da gamba at the University of Music in Vienna, Austria. Concerts as soloist (viola da gamba concerti, passions) with various European orchestras, including the Wiener Philharmoniker, Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra Amsterdam, Zürich Opera Orchestra, Salzburg Chamber Orchestra, Dublin Radio Orchestra, Thessaloniki State Orchestra, Smithsonian Chamber Players under directors such as, Riccardo Chailly, Roy Goodman, Florian Heyerick, Günter Jena, Helmuth Rilling, Franz Welser-Möst. Recordings with diverse ensembles (Ex Tempore, Belgium; Hans-Martin Linde, Switzerland; Musica Antiqua Köln, Germany…). Founder (January 1996) and director of the Orpheon Baroque Orchestra and Orpheon Consort, with which numerous recordings have been made.
In recognition of his artistic achievements the Austrian Government awarded José Vázquez the Silver Cross-of-Honour for Merit of the Republic of Austria. (Silbernes Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich). He died of complications from the Covid-19 on March 4, 2021, ages 70. |
