The album "Piano Cubano" offers a historical snapshot of Cuban piano music, showcasing a diverse selection of classical piano works by Cuban composers.
Historical Context
Cuban music is a fusion of African and European musical traditions, primarily Spanish, with the piano becoming a means of musical expression across all levels of Cuban society after its introduction during the colonial period.
Compositional Technique
Lecuona's Danzas afro-cubanas reflect African influence through their titles and characteristic rhythmic and melodic expression.
Composer Biography
Ernesto Lecuona, born in 1895, is considered one of the finest Latin American composers of piano music, and his works are perhaps the most widely known of all such compositions from the continent.
Compositional Technique
Andrés Alén's Tema con variaciones (1999) is inspired by a song by Cuban folk-singer Silvio Rodríguez and incorporates European forms like prelude and invention, alongside Cuban contradanza and jazz-like harmonic progressions.
Composer Biography
Carlos Fariñas, a Cuban composer, studied with Aaron Copland at Tanglewood and later with Alexander Ivanovich Pirumov and Dmitry Kabalevsky at the Moscow Conservatory.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Andrés Alén's work Emiliano is dedicated to Emiliano Salvador, an eminent Cuban jazz pianist known for masterfully blending the Cuban son genre with American jazz.
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