Spanish pianist and conductor.

His father was a piano tuner. His sister Amparo also was a pianist. Husband of María Giner de los Santos. Born on 28 November 1895 in Valencia (Spain). He attended the conservatory in his hometown until 1910, studying under María Jordán and José Bellver. He made his public debut by giving recitals at the Regional Exhibition in 1909 and the National Exhibition in 1910.

On 21 May 1910, Iturbi applied to the Provincial Council of Valencia for a scholarship to study in Paris, and in 1911 he was already in the French capital. He attended the Conservatoire de Paris and won first prize in piano during his second year at the school. He also received private lessons from the pianist and harpsichordist Wanda Landowska. After several years in Paris, in 1914 he returned to Spain, and gave several recitals, including one at Valencia's Teatro Principal on 19 January 1915, where he played with his sister Amparo. On 9 February 1924, he and Dolores Silvera performed Manuel de Falla's "Siete canciones populares españolas" (1914) in a concert organised by the Société Philharmonique de Paris at Maison Gaveau. He also played works by Enrique Granados, José María Guervós and Isaac Albéniz. In Zurich he broadened his horizons, and taught at the Conservatoire de Genève, although he eventually resigned that position in order to focus on his career as a concert pianist. He embarked on a European tour during which he played with several major symphony orchestras, including the Orchestre Lamoureux in Paris.

In 1929 Iturbi moved to the United States, and made his debut under the baton of Joseph Willem Mengelberg. He alternated between performing as a concert pianist and conducting after 1933, when he took the podium for the first time in Mexico. He conducted renowned American orchestras in Philadelphia, New York, Detroit, Chicago and other cities. With the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra he conducted "El amor brujo" (1915), "La vida breve" (1904-1913) and "The Three-Cornered Hat" (1917-1919) at a concert organised by the Rochester Civic Music Association, which took place on 11 November 1937 in Eastman Theatre at the University of Rochester. He was honorary principal conductor of the Orquesta de Valencia from 1956 to 1958. Iturbi also made several forays into the world of cinema, appearing as an orchestra conductor in the film "Anchors Aweigh" (1945) directed by George Sidney, and in "Three Daring Daughters" (1948), directed by Fred Wilcox. He passed away on 28 June 1980 in Los Angeles (California, United States).

En junio de 1981 se creó el Premio Iturbi en Valencia con el propósito de perpetuar la memoria del pianista. Parte de su legado está depositado en el Centre de Documentació Musical del Institut Valencià de Cultura.