Biography
Enrique
García Asensio

Placing of a commemorative plaque on the building where Maestro García Asensio was born

Article by Francisco Ponce Carrasco (writer and poet)

On 30th October, the Town Council of Valencia places a commemorative plaque on the building where Maestro García Asensio was born, located in the Gran Vía de Germanías, number 5, and with the presence of the town councillor, her Excellency Mrs. María Irene Beneyto.

The conductor of the Valencia Orchestra, Enrique García Asensio, one of the most important figures in the world of music, is ending the current year 2012 with various happy events, he recently turned 75, has been named the Honorary Citizen of Valencia. The Celibidache Foundation organised the 100 Celibidache Festival in Bucharest in celebration of the centenary of his birth; and last Tuesday, 30th October, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in his honour, from an initiative by the Valencia Town Council dedicated to Maestro Enrique García Asensio, on the wall of the building where the distinguished orchestra conductor was born. From now on, number 5 Gran Vía Germanías displays this show of respect and in recognition of the prestigious musician from Valencia.

In the Autonomous Region of Valencia, – where a great number of musicians can be found in each squared metre – there is a great deal of excellent talent to be highlighted. However, Enrique García Asensio, son, grandson and great grandson of musicians, father of a great professional in the music industry, who plays the violin in the Orchestra of Valencia, is, thanks to a musical career spanning more than sixty years, one of the musicians from Valencia with the greatest international recognition.

The family music tradition, which goes back to the 19th century, saw the young Enrique, born in Valencia in 1937, study the violin very early on, an instrument that his father was very talented at playing.
In 1948, when he was only 11 years old, the young violinist started to play with the Conservatory Orchestra, for which he would later play the first violin and be conductor. Valencia at that time, austere and simple, in the 1940s and 1950s, was the backdrop for his studies, between music staves and study books. Before discovering the commemorative plaque, with a strange humanity, he tells me: “I was born on the second floor on the right side, the entrance to the flat is the same, even these small stairs – he points with his finger – that are on the floor, it brings me to remember that one day when I was barely eight years old I came home carrying lots of books and when I walked in I fell over and dropped the books everywhere” he smiles broadly thinking fondly of this memory.

María Irene Beneyto, town councillor of culture, attended the event and started her presentation saying that “In this building, the seed was grown for what would later turn into one of the most well-known conductors, a magnificent musician and a magnificent person”. She added that this is a “tribute to Enrique and to his parents too, who set the way for his incredible career in the world of music”.

The town councillor, María Irene Beneyto, emphasises her “special bond” with the Orchestra of Valencia, of which she was a titleholder in the years 1964 and 1965 and of which she is currently the main invited director. García Asensio is also a member of the Valencia Council of Culture and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos of Valencia, Knight of the Order of the Holy Grail, and Knight of the Royal Order of Santa María del Puig.

The unveiling of the plaque was attended by numerous family members of García Asensio, like his daughter, Anabel García del Castillo, first violin of the Orchestra of Valencia, and her husband, the guitar player José María Gallardo del Rey. The manager of the Orchestra of Valencia and the assistant manager of music of the ‘Palace of Music', Ramón Almazán; the composer Andrés Valero-Castells; and well-known conductors like Eduardo Cifre and Fernando Bonete, titleholder of the Municipal Band, Ricardo Bellveser, Director of the Institute Alfonso the Magnanimous of Valencia, writers and numerous admirers in addition to the press, members of the community of Valencia and Madrid.

 I cannot end this article without highlighting the very family-orientated and emotive atmosphere of all that were present and the hug that Enrique shared with everyone that he knew and admire him as a professional and a person.