Leo Brouwer

Leo Brouwer
Background information
Birth name Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida
Born March 1, 1939
Cuba Havana, Cuba
Genres Folkloric, Aleatoric, Atonal
Occupation(s) Composer, Classical guitarist, Conductor
Years active 1968-
Labels Egrem

Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida (born March 1, 1939 in Havana) is a Cuban composer, conductor, and guitarist.

He is the grandson of Cuban composer Ernestina Lecuona y Casado,[1] and the great-nephew of composer Ernesto Lecuona, .

Biography

As a child, Brouwer received his initial stimulus from his father, a physician, who was an aficionado of Villa-Lobos, Tárrega and Granados. He initiated his son encouraging him to play these composers' works, mostly by ear.

Young Brouwer received his first formal guitar instruction from the noted Cuban guitarist and pedagogue Isaac Nicola, in turn a disciple of Emilio Pujol. Afterwards, Brouwer went to the United States to study music at the Hartt College of Music of the University of Hartford, and later at the Juilliard School, where he studied under Vincent Persichetti and took composition classes with Stefan Wolpe.

In 1970 Brouwer played in the premiere of El Cimarrón by Hans Werner Henze in Berlin. Together with Morton Feldman, he was awarded a 1972 scholarship by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) being guest composer and lecturer of Academy of Science and Arts of Berlin. In Germany Brouwer also recorded a number of LPs for Deutsche Grammophon.[2][3][4]

Brouwer's playing career ended in the early 1980s due to an injury to a tendon in his right hand middle finger.[5][6]

Brouwer's early works show the influence of Cuban folk music, but during the 1960s and 70s, he became interested in the music of modernist composers such as Luigi Nono and Iannis Xenakis, using indeterminacy in works such as Sonograma I. Other works from this period include the guitar pieces Canticum (1968), La espiral eterna (1971), Parábola (1973) and Tarantos (1974). More recently, Brouwer's works have started leaning towards tonality and modality. The solo guitar works El Decamerón Negro (1981) the Sonata (1990; for Julian Bream) and Paisaje cubano con campanas (1986) exemplify this tendency.

Among his works are a large number of solo guitar pieces, several guitar concertos and over forty film scores. Leo Brouwer is involved in the "Concurso y Festival Internacional de Guitarra de la Habana" (International Guitar Festival of the Havana). He travels often to attend guitar festivals throughout the world, and especially to other Latin American countries.[7]

Modern music

Brouwer is best known for his performances and compositions of modern music. He has performed and recorded works by Sylvano Bussotti, Hans Werner Henze, Maurice Ohana, Cristóbal Halffter, Leni Alexander, Cornelius Cardew, Heitor Villa-Lobos, etc.[8]

Functionary and Communist Party member

Brouwer is a member of the Communist Party of Cuba. He has held a number of official posts in Cuba, including the Cinema Institute of Cuba's music department.

Selected works

Works for Guitar

Solo Guitar

• Fandangos y boleros
• Sarabanda de Scriabin
• Toccata de Pasquini
• Drume negrita, cancion de cuna (Berceuse)
• Ojos Brujos
Guitar Duo
Guitar Quartet
Guitar & Orchestra

Guitar and stringquartet

Guitar Concertos / Concierto para Guitarra

Other works

Solo Instruments

Chamber music

String Quartets
Other chamber music

Orchestra

Orchestra with other solo instruments

Choir

Scores

He composed music for the sound track of the celebrated Mexican movie Como Agua Para Chocolate (1992).[9] He composed the orchestral score for Vicente Amigo's flamenco album, Poeta.

Original score for the Cuban film La Última Cena (The Last Supper), directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea [10]

References

  1. ↑ Sadie, Julie Anne; Samuel, Rhian (1994). The Norton/Grove dictionary of women composers (DIGITIZED ONLINE BY GOOGLEBOOKS). Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  2. ↑ LP: Hans Werner Henze - El Cimarrón (CD reissue)
  3. ↑ LP: Debut - Leo Brouwer, Gitarre (CD reissue of the modern works)
  4. ↑ LP: Musique Contemporaine pour guitare (CD reissue)
  5. ↑ Leo Brouwer Artist Profile/Interview
  6. ↑ Clive Kronenberg on Leo Brouwer
  7. ↑ Brouwer, Leo; Hdez, Hernández; Carmona (2004). Leo Brouwer: gajes del oficio.
  8. ↑ Rara Recording by Leo Brouwer
  9. ↑ IMDb movie credits - Leo Brouwer as author of Original Music
  10. ↑

External links

Publishers

Recordings

Films

"LEO BROUWER" (2000). Documentary (35mm- 57 min). Written and Directed by JOSE PADRON. Co-Production ICAIC (Cuba), SGAE and Fundacion Author de la Sociedad General de Autores y Editores de España (SGAE).

"LEO BROUWER-IRAKERE" (1978). Documentary (35mm-24 min). Written and Directed by JOSE PADRON. Production Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematograficos (ICAIC).

Videos

"LEO BROUWER" is the most important and complete documentary of the life and work of Leo Brouwer. It was written and directed by the Cuban film maker JOSE PADRÓN between 1996 and 2000. The film was the result of a co-production between the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC), the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores de España (SGAE=, and the Fundación Author of SGAE. The master negative was produced in 35mm with a duration of 57 minutes. ICAIC distributes it in private copies in the original Spanish as well as those with English sub-titles.

"LEO BROUWER-IRAKERE" documents an exceptional concert that sought to break the barrier between classical and popular music (Havana, 1978). Thus, it brought together for the first time Leo Brouwer -considered at the time one of the world´s most important guitar soloists - and the Afro-Cuban jazz group IRAKERE. The group, winner of a GRAMMY in 1978, and the # 1 ranking Latino jazz band, includes trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, saxophonist Paquito de Rivera, and pianist Chucho Valdés. The event brought together other stars as well. The film was written and directed by Cuban film maker JOSE PADRÓN between 1978 and 1979. Production was by the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos(ICAIC). The master negative was produced in 35mm with a duration of 24 minutes. ICAIC distributes it in private copies in the original Spanish as well as those with English sub-titles, together with the documentary "LEO BROUWER" of 57 minutes duration.

"FICTION WITHOUT FICTION" is a 30-minute version of the 57-minute documentary "LEO BROUWER. It summarizes the life and work of Leo Brouwer, and was written directed by Cuban film maker JOSE PADRÓN in 2002, and produced by PADRÓN himself with collaboration of the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). The master negative was produced in 35mm, but was edited in AVID. ICAIC distributes it in private copies in the original Spanish as well as those with English sub-titles.

Articles

Interviews

Bibliography

Biography