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Leo Brouwer

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Leo Brouwer

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

Brouwer was born in Havana, and went to the United States to study music at the University of Hartford and later at the Juilliard School, where he was taught composition by Stefan Wolpe. 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 (1996) exemplify this tendency.

Brouwer has held a number of official posts in Cuba, including the directorship of the Cinema Institute of Cuba's music department. 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).

Guitar Concertos

  • Concierto para Guitarra No. 1
  • Concierto de Lieja No.2 (1981)
  • Concierto Elegiaco No. 3 (1986)
  • Concierto de Toronto No. 4 (1987)
  • Concierto de Helsinki No. 5 (1991-2)
  • Concierto de Volos No. 6 (1997)
  • Concierto No. 7 "La Habana" (1998)
  • Concierto No. 8 "Concierto Cantata de Perugia" (1999)
  • Concierto No. 9 "de Benicassim" (2002)
  • Concierto No. 10 "Book of Signs" (2003-4) *

* Double concerto for two guitars

Solo Guitar Works

  • Suite No. 2
  • Piezas sin títulos Nos. 1-3
  • Fuga No. 1
  • Two Popular Cuban Themes: Cancion de Cuna & Ojos Brujos
  • Two Popular Cuban Airs: Guajira Criolla & Zapateado
  • Danza del Altiplano
  • Variations on a Piazzolla Tango
  • Canción Triste
  • Preludio (1956)
  • Danza Característica "Quítate de la Acera" (1957)
  • Tres Apuntes (1959)
  • Elogio de la Danza (1964)
  • Un Dia de Noviembre (1968)
  • Canticum (1968)
  • La Espiral Eterna (1971)
  • Parábola (1973)
  • Tarantos (1974)
  • El Decamerón Negro (1981)
  • Preludios Epigramáticos (1981)
  • Variations on a Theme of Django Reinhardt (1984)
  • Paisaje Cubano con Campanas (1987)
  • Sonata (1990)
  • Rito de los Orishás (1993)
  • Paisaje Cubano con Tristeza (1996)
  • Hika: In Memoriam Toru Takemitsu (1996)
  • An Idea (Passacaglia for Eli) (1999)
  • Viaje a la Semilla (2000)
  • Estudios Sencillos (Nos. 1-20) (c. 1960s?)
  • Nuevos Estudios Sencillos (Nos. 1-10) (c. 2000s?)

Trivia

The sixth of his Etudes Simples was quoted by heavy metal guitarist Randy Rhoads (when he was working with Ozzy Osbourne) as the introduction to the song "Diary of a Madman".

Recordings

Videos

Articles

Interviews

Bibliography

  • Leo Brouwer by Isabelle Hernández. (Andante. Editora Musical de Cuba) ISBN 959-7153-01-7
  • Gajes del oficio by Leo Brouwer [2]

Biography

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