Leo Brouwer a Penetrating Insight Into the Life and Works of the Composer

Leo Brouwer Cover

1. INTRODUCTION

This thesis is composed of two main parts discussing the artistic identity of Cuban composer and guitarist Leo Brouwer, and his music for guitar. Research on the composer and his artistic creation preceding this project is admittedly scarce and rather focuses, on a smaller or larger scale, on the presentation and analysis of the stylistic and technical characteristics of specific compositional periods in his career. (see , Ch. 2.8)

My intention is to provide the stigma of Leo Brouwer’s creation and confirm his status as a guitarist and composer in the artistic sphere; namely, that of an artist with an intense enquiring mind, while at the same time showcasing his music and the connotations that are occasionally dominant in his work. At the same time, the main intention is  to shed light on the process of organizing the sound and motivic material in  his music, something that can be achieved by analysing two of his most representative pieces – each pertaining to a different compositional period.

The overall objective of undertaking this thesis is not only to thoroughly understand the composer’s music but also the area of concern of his artistic creation.

The first part begins by outlining the conditions under which the artist worked and created .This can be achieved by providing a synopsis of the political and economic history of Cuba in the 20th century. This presentation helps perceive the special conditions prevalent in Cuba during that period, which, in their turn,  had an impact,  either positive or negative in the artistic life of the island.

Then, I will be focusing on Cuban music throughout the twentieth century. It is merely by providing the stigma of the Cuban national musical legacy, its philosophical elements, and the way it has operated and continues to operate that we can thoroughly perceive the origins of Cuban music, and consequently understand the influences the composer has been under and the way this is implemented in his compositions. Leo Brouwer is a personality that due to his identity as a virtuoso guitarist condenses, not by coincidence, the entire Cuban guitar tradition. He is a significant link in the chain that includes all the important guitarists, composers, and instructors of the last centuries: D. Aquado, F. Tarrega, E. Pujol, I. Nicola, L. Brouwer. The last remark I would like to make is my own personal positive attitude towards Leo Brouwer, from the beginning of my studies on guitar, which has resulted in a first but less in-depth study on his music.

Leo Brouwer is the successor of another long-lasting artistic tradition. He is, at the same time, a composer, performer, orchestra conductor and author, he actively participates in the artistic uplifting of his fellow Cubans who up until the middle of the twentieth century were still fighting for actual independence and freedom.

He continues fighting for Cuban music, a music that preserves its raw elements from tradition but also embraces its universal perspective.

Delving deeper, I will refer to the special characteristics of Leo Brouwer’s music, as well as the influences of both musical and non-musical factors on his music. His works for guitar, whether solo or not, will be listed both chronologically and according to their stylistic attributes. Finally, I will be quoting the conclusions reached, as well as state my personal evaluation of the composer’s aesthetic values and artistic stance.

In the second part of the thesis, I attempt an in-depth analysis of Brouwer’s two most recognisable and important pieces for solo guitar from the first two compositional periods.

Acknowledging the dangers that the musical analysis of a composition entails, I express my concerns on the subject, and the goals I have established and intend to realize through the analysis of the chosen compositions. Taking into consideration the particularities of Leo Brouwer’s composition, the combination of ‘traditional’ analytical methods - elucidation of form and content with elements originating from contemporary methods- (see ch.3.1) is merely a personal choice.

To sum up this introduction it is necessary to clarify two issues:

The first concerns the attribution of foreign names and musical terms in the English language, according to Oxford’s Music Online Dictionary’s database. Quoting or using the name in its Greek version is only to render it clear in context (www.oxfordmusiconline.com). For Leo Brouwer’s name, I thoroughly prefer to attribute it in the English language, since in Greek it can be transcribed as both Braw-er and "Brow-er’. Due to the scarcity of resources on the composer in the greek language, I do not consider a rendition of his name in Greek to be effective (Currently  in Greece there are two books exclusively on Leo Brouwer :

a)Koritou Sissy , Leo Brouwer –  Youth in music, pub. Papagrigoriou-Nakas, Athens 1988, b) Chizaris Kostas,  Leo Brouwer and music in Cuba, pub. Synchroni Mousiki, Athens 2004).The second issue is related to the use and reference of the sources quoted in the second part of this dissertation (ch.2.1 to 2.9.). The scarcity of available bibliography made negotiating the issue more difficult.

Besides the published theses quoted in the relevant appendix, and some of Leo Brouwer’s interviews which can help the reader acquire useful information, access to other sources has been impossible either because of force majeure or due to exhaustion of sources. These conditions resulted in not having enough documentation for the chapters already mentioned. It remains a fact that being acquainted with the composer on a personal level, as well as assisted by guitarist Kostas Kotsiolis has been immensely helpful.

2. Leo Brouwer as an artist and his music for guitar

2.1. INTRODUCTION: OUTLINING LEO BROWER’S ARTISTIC IDENTITY

Leo Brouwer is an invaluable asset in the history of modern classical guitar. He embodies various qualities such as that of a virtuoso guitarist, composer, orchestra conductor, author, professor, and ultimately that of a percussionist.

He is, as expected, the central figure of the new guitarist era which started in the 1950s in Cuba, and his art is the embodiment of Cuban guitar tradition, up until that point. He is currently widely hailed as the most important living composer for the instrument. His contribution to the guitar repertoire is immense: he has updated and expanded it by composing musical pieces that are technically and interpretatively appropriate for all levels of study, as well as by introducing not only new technical elements, but also extra-musical ones in performance (Further details on this subject can be found in the course this thesis).

Several pieces have already been established internationally in repertoire of modern guitar, and his studies are an indispensable part of the technical syllabus.

Hence, it is not incongruous to state that his 20 Easy Studies (Estudios Sencillos), and his ten most recent  guitar studies, are the equivalent of Bela Bartok’s Mikrokosmos for piano in their intention to bring students, even beginners, in touch with modern music elements  (rhythms, measures, audio intervals, dynamics, textures, exotic idioms) in order to get accustomed to them, through their technical economy.

Brouwer has composed several essays airing his views as a composer and musician (see bibliography).

Being one of the biggest islands in the Caribbean, and one of the oldest frontiers of the Spanish Empire, Cuba was, from the 16th to the 19th century, the destination of hundreds of thousands African slaves through slave trade. Modern Cuban culture echoes a strong influence from both Spanish and African cultures, something that can be clearly traced back to Leo Brouwer’s music. The integration of Spanish popular elements with the vigour of African rhythms created a colourful and explosive palette. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Cuba was under a strong influence by Italian and American music respectively.

High art Cuban music traces back to its musical tradition. Since the mid-19th century nationalism was already clear to composers and performers that nurtured European high art music. This fact became specifically conspicuous during the first part of the 20th century, especially through the music of Amadeo Roldan (Amadeo Roldán (1900-1939): Composer, violinist, orchestra conductor born in Paris, naturalized Cuban) and Alexander Caturla (Alejandro Garcia Caturla (1906-1940): Cuban composer and conductor of orchestra).

These are the first composers that will turn to the then modern techniques, with influences from Stravinsky and Bartok. By using a language bold and dense in harmony, big orchestral schemes and by successfully using the sounds of the orchestra, they would give the stigma of Cuban music in the international scene. Roldan’s two ballet pieces, Rebambaramba and El Milagro de Anaquille, as well as Caturla’s symphonic poem La Rumba, remain up to this day and age milestones for the high art music of Cuba.

After the death of the two composers mentioned above, the Neoclassical wave would go on to influence music in Cuba. The Catalan Jose Ardevol (José Ardévol (1911-1981): Cuban composer. His compositions are included in Neoclacissism.In his laters years he began exploring seraism and aleatorism. From 1959 with the rise of Fidel Castro in power he was appointed head of the musical department of Cuba and conductor of the Ministry of Education Orchestra), who moved to Cuba in the 1930s, was the mentor of the modern movement of Cuban composers who based on their common aesthetic perceptions created their own school, the Group of musical renovation (Grupo de Renovacion Musical). This group included composers currently considered the elders of high art music in Cuba: Edgardo Martin (born 1915), Harold Gramatges (born 1918), Gisela Hernández (1912-1971), Hector Angulo (born 1932), Hilario Gonzalez (born. 1920)and Argeliers León (1918-1988).

Two composers who distantiated themselves from the aesthetics of the Ardevol school are Julian Orbone (Julian Orbone (1925-1991)  and Aurelio de la Vega (Aurelio de la Vega (1925-). The first managed to mix effectively the Gregorian chants with old Spanish musical forms, using advanced harmony and Cuban rhythms, thus creating powerful music characterised by his technical perfection. De La Vega has been the first composer to use atonal and 12note techniques while also dabbling with electronic music. Nowadays, in the music of the new generation of Cuban composers, we can identify different textures from traditional and neoclassical elements, as well as avant-garde techniques like aleatorism, serialism and electronic music.

Leo Brouwer is the first Cuban composer who used aleatoric and open forms. An in-depth look at his works for solo guitar will also unveil elements of African religious music and gospels. Nevertheless, in his own words, although his main source of inspiration is Cuban folklore his topics most of the times originate from other continents. He specifically mentions:

…. the composer should also be an ethnologist since music is not just a function but changes the world and his whole existence. A composer lives among people, borrows from them, expands his personal culture, as well as that of his country, tries to innovate as an inventor, and finally is united with the long line of creators that existed before him. That should be the line of life of a composer…

Leo Brouwer’s ultimate artistic intention is to compose works for all humanity, to create universal forms of art.