03/04/2018
Please join me in wishing a happy 100th birthday to the great Peruvian Composer and Pedagogue, Enrique Iturriaga. Enrique has mentored countless generations of Peruvian musicians throughout his life. He is a cornerstone of Peruvian music and is more than just a teacher to me; he has been a mentor and my personal guru. He would take out three different counterpoint methods to explain a single rule, and would pepper his lessons with anecdotes involving his encounters with Copland, Stravinsky, Honegger, and other luminaries. Our private weekly lessons, dating back to 1997, would go on for hours. Sometimes I would arrive at his studio at 2pm and leave only at 10pm. Oh how much I looked forward to Mondays! Just for you to know how generous his heart is, at the very beginning he would charge me $100 per lesson. He then kept bringing it down gradually, until one day he told me not to pay him anymore. Everything he does, he does with love and selflessness. I am forever indebted to him, as I know many others are. Happy 100th birthday, Maestro Enrique!
