Fuga Libera to Release Ernesto Lecuona Album

Cover of the album being discussed (from the album’s Amazon.com Web page)

One week from today, Fuga Libra will release a new album that will provide about an hour’s worth of the piano compositions by the Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona. (As is often the case, Amazon.com is currently processing pre-orders.) My guess is that anyone reading that sentence will associate that name with only one piece of music, “Malagueña.” This is actually the final movement in a six-movement suite that Lecuona composed entitled Andalucía.

The pianist on this new release is Pierre Solot. He did not choose to record the Andalucía suite in its entirety, but he did include the “Gitanerías” movement along with “Malagueña.” Rather than quibble over what is missing, though, it is worth considering what Solot did record. The major undertaking on this album is all ten movements in the 19th Century Cuban Dances suite. Solot also recorded the shorter Tres Miniaturas suite. From a personal point of view, I also was glad to see that he concluded the album with “San Francisco el grande,” even if it has nothing to do with the city where I now live!

Most important is that, in spite of the vagaries of popular culture, Lecuona was far from a “one trick pony.” There are 28 tracks on Solot’s album, and every one of them deserves as much attentive listening as any track of music by Maurice Ravel or George Gershwin. Both of them had encountered Lecuona’s performances during his tours in Europe and the United States, and they both thought very highly of him. Solot clearly shares the perspective of both of these twentieth century giants, and he clearly wanted to make this recording as a way of “sharing his love” for the diversity of Cuban perspectives that Lecuona explored.

Having now listened to this new album several times, I have no trouble casting my lot with Ravel and Gershwin (even if my curiosity about the entire Andalucía suite has yet to be satisfied!