Yesterday afternoon I received my latest notice of an opportunity to listen to the music of Leo Brouwer. Born in Cuba, Brouwer has been credited as “the most important guitar music composer of the modern era;” and regular readers probably know by now that his name shows up frequently in announcements of guitar recitals. The title of the work to which I was alerted was “Contradanza Cubana,” and the source of the performance was a YouTube video.
The music was scored for guitar and string quartet. The guitarist was Larry Del Casale, a name I think I had encountered for the first time. Similarly, this was my first encounter with the Bergamot Quartet, whose members are violinists Ladah Finck and Sarah Thomas, Jordan Watt on viola, and cellist Iréne Han. The music is only about six and a half minutes in duration, but it is an engaging episode of energetic freshness. The balance between guitar and strings could not have been better, and Brouwer was as attentive to each of the string voices as he was to the guitar work.
Screenshot from the video being discussed
As can be seen from the above screenshot, the performance seems to have taken place in a living room. My guess is that the guitarist invited the quartet players to his house for the occasion. The room clearly provided a comfortable setting for the performers with enough space to allow the video crew to account for the occasion.
Brouwer (who is still alive) has been a major contributor to the guitar repertoire. Since “Contradanza Cubana” is not listed on the Wikipedia page of his compositions, I suspect it is a recent one. That would mean that, even in his eighties, he is as active as ever. Having just enjoyed this video, I would be only too happy to experience this chamber music again in a recital performance.
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