Juan Manuel Piñera Infante is an important Cuban composer and pianist; he was born on January 18, 1949, in Havana. In 1965, he began his piano studies with César Pérez Sentenat. Two years later, at the Alejandro García Caturla Conservatory, he received lessons from Silvio Rodríguez Cárdenas and, at the same time, from the Argentine harpsichordist Lidia Guerberof.

He was a student of Ninowska Fernández-Brito and the Mexican Ana Martínez Estrada during his stay, starting in 1968, at the National School of Music (120th Street between 9th and 13th, Cubanacán, Playa, Havana).

A year later, he took harmony classes from Enrique Bellver and piano lessons from Margot Rojas. He completed his secondary school studies in 1972 and later became a composition student of José Ardévol and Enrique Bellver. At the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) (1110 Calle 120 between 9th and 13th, Cubanacán, Playa, Havana), he took lessons from Roberto Valera.

At the Concertgebouw Hall in Amsterdam, specifically at the Cuba-Holland ’85 Festival, he premiered his work for string quartet, “Residuos.” Together with pianist Marten Bon, he presented “Evidencias” in Amsterdam at the Ijsbreker Hall.

Juan Manuel Piñera possesses a great tenderness for working with texts by lyricists and playwrights of the most varied orientations and qualities, all in keeping with his defining sentiment. His work has focused on the creation of electroacoustic music. He is a favorite of important Cuban composers such as Juan Blanco, Carlos Fariñas, and Leo Brouwer. He has served as a Musical Advisor and Professor at various musical institutions.

He has participated in numerous national events, such as the Contemporary Music Conference and the Music Festivals of Socialist Countries, organized by UNEAC. His performances have included numerous international competitions: Neus Musik Festival, Lüneburg, FRG; Gaudeamus International Week, Holland; IRCAN Creation Forum, France; Stockholm Music Festival, Sweden; Warsaw Autumn Festival, Poland; The Lute and the Guitar from the Renaissance to the Avant-garde; The Language of Music, 3rd Edition, 1987, Italy; Interpodium Festival, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia; Ibero-American Meeting of Video Art and Computer Music, 1989, Madrid, Spain; Rex Música. International Festival of Electroacoustic Music, Baltimore, 1988, United States; International Meeting of Contemporary Music, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electroacoustic Music Conference, New Music Center, 1986, Montevideo, Uruguay and Cuba-Mexico Electroacoustic Music Meeting.

Among the awards won by this Cuban composer we must highlight: 13 de marzo Competitions, 1977 and 1978; La Edad de Oro, 1978; First mention in the Prix-Danubio, to the artistic team of the production Toqui, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, 1983; Prize in the XII International Electroacoustic Music Competition, Bourges, France; Tres de dos in 1984, a prize shared with the composer Edesio Alejandro; Prize of the III TRIMALCA, Tribune of Music of Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1984; Electroacoustic Music Prize, UNEAC, 1988 and Symphonic Music Prize in the National Competition of the same institution. He has also won other awards for his music, such as La Trimalca 1985 (Latin American and Caribbean Music Tribune), La Trimalca 2000, and has been nominated several times for the Tomás Luis de Victoria Award for his entire musical work.

Juan Manuel Piñera has a large body of work in a variety of genres. In Ballet, we find: Eclosión (1987), for instrumental ensemble and electroacoustic music, libretto and choreography: José Antonio Chávez; Imago (1989), for instrumental ensemble, guitar and mixed choir, libretto and choreography: Rosario Cárdenas; Yellow Dreams (1990), choreography: Caridad Martínez; Juana, Reason and Love (1992), electroacoustic music, libretto and choreography: Alicia Alonso; Tula (1989), libretto: José Ramón Rodríguez Neira and Alicia Alonso, choreography: Alicia Alonso. For instrumental ensemble: De lo que sube al cielo (From What Goes Up to Heaven) (1978), for violin, flute, clarinet, percussion, cello and piano; Tempus Destruendis (1981), for wind quintet; Trio of Angels, 1982, for flute, harp and celesta; Residues, 1984, for string quartet; Beyond the Sea of ​​Time, 1987, for violin, cello and piano; The Sea of ​​Lost Time; On the Third Day of Rain; The Most Beautiful Drowned Man in the World; The Last Voyage of the Phantom Ship, 1987, for violin and piano; The Most Beautiful Drowned Man in the World, 1988, for clarinet and piano; Impromptu in F by Frédéric Chopin, 1991, for violin, cello and piano; Hecatomb and Dawn, 1992, for violin, cello and piano; Music for Disagreements, 1998, for flute, harp and double bass; and Orphic, 1999, for violin and piano

Among his works for mixed choir a cappella we should highlight: The Pineapple, text: Gabriela Mistral. In Piano Score: The Girls, 1975, text: Juan A. Cuadra; Today We Must Turn Verses into Steel, text: Ho Chi Minh; So Close and Yet, text: Ho Chi Minh; Full Moon of January, 1977, text: Ho Chi Minh; The Verses of Pancho Alday, 1978, text: Juan Marinello; That Front of Yours, 1980, text: Juan Marinello and Love Is Half a Life, 1998, text: José Marín Varona. For Choir and symphony orchestra: The Secret Journey, 1996, for mixed choir and orchestra and for guitar: Duets for a Duo, for two guitars, 1996

Among Juan Manuel Piñera’s creations for guitar and magnetic tape, the following should be highlighted: Del Espectro Nocturno (Of the Night Specter), 1986; Del Lucero Favorable (Of the Favorable Star), 1987-1988; Imago, 1989; Pámpano y Cascabel (The Grapevine and Cascabel), 1994; and Las Pequeñas Muertes de la Despedida (The Little Deaths of the Farewell), 1995. Solo instrument and symphony orchestra: Concerto, 1992, for piano and orchestra; Solo instrument, choir, and chamber orchestra: Concierto del Centero (Centennial Concert), 1983, for piano, mixed choir, and orchestra; Solo instrument, choir, and symphony orchestra: Fresco (Fresco), 1981, for piano, mixed choir, and orchestra; Solo instruments and chamber orchestra: Concerto, 1995, for flute, oboe, piano, and orchestra; and Solo instruments and string orchestra: Entre mi muerte y tu delirio (Between My Death and Your Delirium), 1992, for violin, solo viola, and orchestra.

His electroacoustic music works include: Pirandelliana, 1983, for two actors and magnetic tape; Evoestros; Tres de dos (co-author: Edesio Alejandro); Voix des deux, 1984; Germinal, 1987; Del canto y el tiempo and When the aura is aura or The very sad story of eight minutes and thirty-eight seconds, for saxophone, soprano and magnetic tape, 1991. His incidental music for film includes: El insomnio, 1991; Basura, 1992; Al cerrar los ojos, 1993; El hombre ilustrado, 1993-1994; La fielidad, 1994 and First, 1997.

Juan Piñera has also composed incidental music for the theater; for example: Ismaelillo, 1974, text: José Martí; The Love of Don Perlimplín with Belisa in his Garden, text: Federico García Lorca; The Silver Nails, text: anonymous farce collected by W. Sickus; The Little Dragon, text: Pedro Calderón de la Barca; The Trojan Women, text: Euripides, 1977; Poems and Children’s Songs, by Lorca; The Tableau of Wonders; The Sailor’s House, text: Ignacio Gutiérrez, 1978; Let’s Play with the World to Look, text: Fernando Quiñones, 1980; Here in the Neighborhood, text: Carlos Torrens; World of Glass, text: Tennessee Williams, 1981; Tonight the Comedy is Improvised, text: Luigi Pirandello, 1983; The Horse of Ceiba, text: Rogelio Castillo and Fernando Sáez; The First Time, text: Jorge Ibarra; Under the Gypsy Moon, text: Federico García Lorca; Provinciana, text: Gerardo Fulleda León, 1985; Electra Garrigó, text: Virgilio Piñera, 1986; Exchange Station, text: Rodolfo Pérez Valero, 1987; Up, Heart, text: Osvaldo Dragún; The Dove’s Verbena or The Apothecary, the Chulapas and Badly Suppressed Jealousy, text: Ricardo de la Vega; Chago de Guisa, text: Gerardo Fulleda León, 1989; A Streetcar Named Desire; Tea and Sympathy and The Glass Menagerie, texts: Tennessee Williams; The Bacchanal of the Senses and To Moscow, texts: Carlos Díaz; The Beloved Little Girl, text: Virgilio Piñera, 1989-1990; False Alarm, text: Virgilio Piñera; Cinderella, text: Luis Brunet, 1990; Oh, Zapaterita, text: Federico García Lorca; Uncle Francisco and the Leandras, text: Berta Martínez’s version of the original; Oh, Virgil, text: Virgilio Piñera, 1991; Nacho’s Daughter, text: Rolando Ferrer; The Miser, text: Luis Brunet; Game of Interests, text: Jacinto Benavente; The Ice Cream Cathedral, text: Senel Paz, 1992; La Celestina, text: Fernando de Rojas; The Other Celestina, text: Pepe Santos; Vague Rumors, text: Abelardo Estorino; Oh, Carmela, text: José Sánchiz Sinisterra; Three Cups of Wheat and The Thief, texts: Salvador Lemis; Created Interests, text: Tony Díaz; A Few Children and Wrappings, Faces and Masks, texts: Virgilio Piñera; Pity, text: Raúl Alfonso, 1993; The Better to Eat You, text: Senel Paz; The Public, text: Federico García Lorca; Goodbye to Mom, text: Francisco García; In the Street, text: Hubert Llamas; Two Lost on a Dirty Night text: Juan Carlos Maurén; The Report, text: Virgilio Piñera, 1994; The No, text: Virgilio Piñera; Tribute, text: Francisco García; The Guilty Ones, text: Margarita Yourcenar; The Black Dove, text: Salvador Lemis; Extremely Dangerous Encounters in the Park, text: José Raúl Cruz; Amadeus, text: Tony Díaz, 1995; She Looks White, text: Abelardo Estorino; Tribute to Rafael Alberti, text: Carlos Díaz, based on poems by Rafael Alberti; Those of Cain, text: Elio Martín; The Game of Love and Chance, text: Luis Brunet; The Gentleman from Paris, text: Francisco García; Mom, text: Raúl Alfonso, 1996; Medea, text:Reinaldo Montero; Town of Women, text: Elio Martín, 1997; The Truncated Suns, text: René Márquez; The Lion and the Tamer, text: Antonio Orlando Rodríguez, 1998; and I Am Not King Lear, text: Manuel Dionís-Bayer, 1999.

Among Juan Manuel Piñera’s music for choreography are: Del Espectro Nocturno, 1986, for guitar and tape recorder, choreography: Rosario Cárdenas; Germinal, 1986, electroacoustic music, choreography: Rosario Cárdenas; El Ángel Interior, for Cuban percussion and tape recorder, choreography: Rosario Cárdenas; Dédalo, 1989, for tape recorder and musical collage, libretto: Rosario Cárdenas and Salvador Lemis, choreography: Rosario Cárdenas; Diana, 1989, electroacoustic music with processed human voice (Fernando Marcoleta, tenor), choreography: Rosario Cárdenas; CO(N)M (B) INATORIA-09, 1989, Electroacoustic music and collage, libretto and choreography: Rosario Cárdenas; Múltiplex, 1990, electroacoustic music, choreography: Rosario Cárdenas; Ú-ter-O, 1990, electroacoustic music, libretto and choreography: Lázaro Horta; Bajo raíces, electroacoustic music, choreography: Rosario Cárdenas; Destellos, 1994, electroacoustic music, libretto and choreography: Eduardo Rivero; Enjambre, 1996, electroacoustic music, choreography: Luz María Collazo; Opus 28 # 15, or «de la Gota de Agua», 1997, electroacoustic music, choreography: Rosario Cárdenas and María Viván, 1997, electroacoustic music and collage, choreography: Rosario Cárdenas

His operas include Amor con amor se paga (Love is Paid with Love), 1987, two acts; text: José Martí, and La taza de café (Coffee Cup), 1989, two acts; libretto: Juan Ramón Amán, based on a work of the same name by Rolando Ferrer. For string orchestra, these include: Pilgrim Suite; Waltz; Dance; Minuet-Scherzo; Minuet; Habanera; Romance; and Contradanza (1998). His music for guitar orchestra includes Habanera with Cadences; Lullaby for a Sleepless Pupil; and Forgotten Waltz (1999). For symphony orchestra, the following standout works include Como naufragios (Like Shipwrecks), 1988, and Juana, Reason and Love (Juana, Reason and Love), 1992.

Among Juan Manuel Piñera’s compositions for piano, the following stand out: The “thing” is not in the title, 1973; Three polyphonies for young performers; Sonatina scarlattiana, 1975; Quasi alla sinistra, for the left hand, 1976; For an occasion this cantus non muy firmus, 1977; In the manner of Debussy, 1978; Extemporaneous prelude and fugue; Three interludes for Ruandi, 1979; In the manner of Gershwin, Passoyaglia, 1980; Isabelinas. History of a fraud, 1983; Before breakfast or The book of almost…, 1987; The whole past returns like a wave or Of the infinite ramifications; Inti, the parable of the sun; With the violence of the sharp, silent stone, tortured by saltpeter, 1993 and Little fantasy for a mistaken dove, 1996. Among his creations for voice and piano we must mention: Like a broken censer, 1974; Three children’s songs; Four first songs; Rain and storm, 1975; Love, love; Down the mountainside like a stream descending the song; From January to January, 1976; I sing like someone playing, 1978; In the house I remember, 1979; The stubborn wind follows against the eagle in flight, 1980; Lost songs, 1981; The bank that died of love, 1983; Songs of the new sea, 1987; Praise of the postman; Harp and sun; Abyssal neighborhoods; From your ancient sea, 1988; Dialogue, 1990; Agonies, 1992; Love in Me, 1994; Gentle Dove, 1996; and It Rains Every Sunday, 1997.

In December 2010, Juan Piñera participated in a meeting of music students from the U.S. and Cuba, where they performed a “common work.” This important composer noted that the meeting was “a symbol of friendship” and mentioned “the possibility” of artists from both nations “creating a union in the arts and spirituality.”