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Ernesto Lecuona
 Top
figure of Cuban Musical Art, Ernesto Lecuona Casado (Havana, Cuba,
1895-Tennerife, Canarias Island, 1963), is one of the most Cuban
remarkable composers internationally well-known.
Having a multifaceted and a wide-ranged personality regarding to
creational context, Lecuona approached different musical genres.
In his catalogue, we can find all song expressions, running from
popular streams to the most refined and elaborated song. He composed
a great amount of works from all genres for the musical theater,
while his works for piano support the most relevant music of the
National and Iberoamerican piano scene.
Author of unforgettable works like his serie of dances to piano,
the Zarzuelas María la O and El Cafetal; the famous Damisela
Encantadora and Canto Siboney, Lecuona had a great popular acceptance
since the promotion and diffusion of his music through radio, recording
and editorial companies, television channels, theaters and cinematographic
productions
Although, during some time, the Cuban historiographers did not
take into account the social and historical significance of this
musician, is worthy to mention the effort made by his friend and
artistic collaborator, Orlando Martínez and the pianist and
composer Odilio Urfé, in the compilation and diffusion of
his work. He got, indeed, national and international critic's appraisal.
A valuable catalog undertaking his whole creation and the book
El arte musical de Ernesto Lecuona (The Ernesto Lecuona's Musical
Art), compiling various written essays by other branches` musicologists
and specialists about his life and creative trajectory, plus important
testimonies of persons related to him, were launched in a union
of general Society of Authors and Editors (SGAE)-Edilio Urfé
Musical Information and Documentation Center to honor his centennial
on 1995.
His extraordinary condition as pianist allowed him to perform representative
works from piano's universal repertoire, being praised by outstanding
personalities, such as, Maurice Ravel, Joaquín Turina, Adolfo
Salazar, Joaquín Nin and George Gershwin, among others.
It's been said that other creators' work lost importance within
his repertoire, taking an important place his own creations, however,
his abilities as interpreter and his undoubted technical perfection,
remained on his compositions through a singular and well-defined
style, including the elaboration of Afrocuban and Hispanic themes
with great expressiveness and a profound concert character.
His creative trajectory is a heritage confirming him, through all
times, as a classic of the Iberoamerican Cuban Culture.
See discography in
www.discuba.com
See works of this author in Books
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