Leo Brouwer Festival in Havana

Helson Hernandez 

HAVANA TIMES, Sept. 30 — This year’s Leo Brouwer Festival, it’s third, begins tonight and will pay special tribute to important personalities of the music world.

Five concerts are foreseen, with songs that will include “De Barcelona a la Habana,” “Un holandés errante,” “La fiesta de la luz,” “Moyugba” and “Todo Brouwer.”  These will be presented at various institutions, including the Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asis, the Case de Africa and the Colegio Universitario San Jeronimo in Old Havana, in addition to the Covarrubias Hall of the National Theater of Cuba.

The event is being organized by the office that carries the name of the renowned maestro, since Leo Brouwer has filled his country with the pride by bringing prestige to our culture from around the world for his contributions as a superlative exponent of the guitar.  As his compositions constitute special jewels for concert music, this festival will represent an opportunity to find them performed by the most outstanding soloists and ensembles of young and master artists of chamber music from the island.

Among the names that will appear on the program for the event, those that stand out are the flautist Niurka Gonzáles, pianist Ernan Lopez-Nussa, violinist Fernando Muñoz, the Exaudi Choir, the group Synthesis and singer Augusto Enriquez.

Anxiously anticipated, the culminating closing presentation will occur on Friday, October 7, at the Covarrubias Theater, where Brouwer himself will ascend the stage along with other performers in a program that will review diverse phases of his creativity.

Beginning on Friday, September 30, chamber music will lead one of the most outstanding cultural events in Havana, a merit earned by the exquisite selection of its participants and for the fact that honors will be conferred to major figures such as Hubert of Blanck, the family of Noel Nicola, Jose Ardevol, Fernando Ortiz, Chucho Valdez and Maria Felicia Perez.

We can predict that this year’s edition of the Leo Brouwer Festival will be a lavish musical occasion, presenting only those selections characterized by fine taste and the highest artistic level.

See the program for the Leo Brouwer Chamber Music Festival