José Cubiles

José Antonio Cubiles Ramos (15 May 1894 – 5 April 1971) was a noted Spanish pianist, conductor and teacher.

Cubiles was born in Cadiz in 1894. His pianistic gifts were already apparent by the age of five. He first studied music theory and elementary piano with Rafaele Tomasetti, director of the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia (now known as the Real Conservatorio Profesional de Música de "Manuel de Falla" de Cádiz). From age 11, he studied at the Madrid Royal Conservatory, under the patronage of Princess Isabella of Bourbon, daughter of Queen Isabella II of Spain. His principal teacher there was . At age 15 he won the Premio Extraordinario awarded by the Círculo de Bellas Artes. In 1911 he won the Conservatory's First Prize. He undertook further study at the Conservatoire de Paris with Louis Diémer, graduating in 1914 with another Premier Prix, a Gold Medal, and a Pleyel grand piano.

In 1916 he was appointed a professor at his Madrid alma mater. That year he founded a chamber trio with the cellist Juan Ruiz Casaux and the violinist Fernández Ortiz. During the war years he accompanied the violinist Manuel Quiroga on tours of the United States and Canada. He also played in chamber ensembles with artists such as Jacques Thibaud, Paul Kochanski and Gaspar Cassadó, and was known for his performances of the music of the Spanish masters Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, Joaquín Turina and Manuel de Falla, as well as Frédéric Chopin, César Franck, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.

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