Notes and Editorial Reviews
There's a wealth of excellent, stylistically varied Cuban concert music for the piano awaiting discovery by general audiences. That appears to be the message behind this well-curated compilation, thanks in large part to pianist Nohema Fernández's steadfast advocacy and authoritative, deeply felt performances. Ignacio Cervantes' imaginative, Chopin-tinged Serenata Cubana (dating around 1900) comes to life through Fernández's perfectly judged rubato and intelligent phrasing. The pianist also makes the most of Cecilia Aristi's salon-style miniatures with their subtle chromatic touches. Ernesto Lecuona's Andalucía emerges with convincing rhythmic flair, and Alejandro García Cartula's Son en Fa menor, Gisela Hernández's Cubanas Para Piano, and
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Amadeo Roldán's Cubano and Mulato fuse Afro-Cuban traditions with Stravinsky's wry neo-classical dissonance. So does Arelio de la Vega's 1957 Toccata, but with far more compositional substance and expressive complexity. Its polytonal unison octave sequences, lush, cloudy chords, and rhythmic unrest might be described as Samuel Barber and Karol Symanowski's Cuban love child, and that's a compliment. The sound quality is fine if a bit dry and monochrome, and the pianist's brief, informative booklet notes add further value to this interesting release.
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Contradanzas for Piano: Chispas by Gaspar Villate
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1873; Havana, Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 2 Minutes 20 Secs.
2.
Contradanzas for Piano: Y por qué? by Gaspar Villate
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1873; Havana, Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 2 Minutes 24 Secs.
3.
Contradanzas for Piano: Flor de los bosques by Gaspar Villate
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1873; Havana, Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 1 Minutes 36 Secs.
4.
Dances and Portraits (45) for Piano: Cuban Serenade by Ignacio Cervantes
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 5 Minutes 43 Secs.
Notes: Composition written: Cuba (1875 - 1895).
5.
Reverie for Piano, Op. 16 by Cecilia Arizti
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: circa 1897; Havana, Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 5 Minutes 17 Secs.
6.
Scherzo for Piano, Op. 17 by Cecilia Arizti
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: circa 1897; Havana, Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 3 Minutes 44 Secs.
7.
Danzas afro-cubanas: Danza negra by Ernesto Lecuona
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 2 Minutes 44 Secs.
8.
En tres por quatro by Ernesto Lecuona
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 2 Minutes 5 Secs.
9.
Andalucia "Suite Española": 2nd movement, Andaluza by Ernesto Lecuona
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 2 Minutes 31 Secs.
10.
Berceuse campesina by Alejandro Caturla
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1939; Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 3 Minutes 55 Secs.
11.
Son by Alejandro Caturla
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1939; Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 1 Minutes 38 Secs.
12.
Preludio Cubano by Amadeo Roldán
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 1 Minutes 46 Secs.
13.
Mulato by Amadeo Roldán
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1932; Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 2 Minutes 7 Secs.
14.
Rumbita for Piano no 1 by Carlo Borbolla
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: by 1932; Manzanillo, Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 2 Minutes 11 Secs.
15.
Rumbita for Piano no 2 by Carlo Borbolla
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: by 1934; Manzanillo, Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 1 Minutes 40 Secs.
16.
Lejanía for Piano by Carlo Borbolla
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 1 Minutes 45 Secs.
17.
Tonadas (48) for Piano: Vol 1 - no 5, Diferencia sobre la arada de Salamanca by Joaquín Nin-Culmell
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: U.S.A.
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 2 Minutes 5 Secs.
Notes: Composition written: U.S.A. (1956 - 1961).
18.
Tonadas (48) for Piano: Vol 1 - no 6, Charrada de Salamanca by Joaquín Nin-Culmell
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: U.S.A.
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 0 Minutes 51 Secs.
Notes: Composition written: U.S.A. (1956 - 1961).
19.
Tonadas (48) for Piano: Vol 2 - no 22, Cancion de trilla by Joaquín Nin-Culmell
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1956-1961
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 2 Minutes 9 Secs.
20.
Tonadas (48) for Piano: Vol 2 - no 21, Seguidilla murciana by Joaquín Nin-Culmell
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1956-1961
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 1 Minutes 26 Secs.
21.
Cubanas (4) by Gisela Hernández Gonzalo
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1957; Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 10 Minutes 37 Secs.
22.
Toccata for Piano by Aurelio de la Vega
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1957; Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 5 Minutes 19 Secs.
23.
San Pascual Bailón by Anonymous
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: Classical
Written: by 1803; Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 1 Minutes 32 Secs.
24.
Sones (35) for Piano: Sonata no 11 by Carlo Borbolla
Performer:
Nohema Fernandez (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: by 1934; Cuba
Date of Recording: 05/1999
Venue: University of Arizona, Tucson
Length: 2 Minutes 54 Secs.
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