He was a harpist and teacher born in San Sebastian, Spain who began to study the work when he was seven after his father had bought him one from an antique shop.
His teacher was Vincenta Tormo de Calvo from the Madrid Conservatory and when he was 17 he moved to Paris to continue his studies. He debuted in Paris in 1926 and in the United States in 1934 where he remained before touring Cuba and Mexico and receiving great critical acclaim.
He won many awards and honours including the National Prize of Music and the Great Cross of the Order of Alfonso X el Sabio.
He toured Puerto Rico, where he met his wife, and they returned to Spain using it as their residence while he toured Europe.
During WWII he was a professor at the Caracas Conservatory and he later taught in the Academy Chigiana de Siena.
Around 30 composers wrote works for him including the composer Alberto Ginastera who wrote a concerto for him and Joaquin Rodrigo who wrote him the Concierto Serenata which was an arrangement of his Concierto de Aranjuez.
He made numerous recordings and it is thought that his sales reach three million copies. He gave his last concert in June 1992 when his health was in decline and he died in San Juan , Puerto Rico in 1993 aged 86.
Paul Kuentz Chamber Orchestra recordings
Harp Concerto in C Major (Johann Georg Albrechtsberger)
Deutsche Grammophon DG 439 693 (CD: Great Works for Harp)
Harp – Nicanor Zabaleta
Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicanor_Zabaleta
- http://66.218.71.231/language/translation/translatedPage.php?tt=url&text=http%3a//es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicanor_Zabaleta&lp=es_en&.intl=us&fr=slv8-msgr
- http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Zabaleta-Nicanor.htm
- http://66.218.71.231/language/translation/translatedPage.php?tt=url&text=http%3a//www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/z/zabaleta_nicanor.htm&lp=es_en&.intl=us&fr=slv8-msgr