Articles
Leo Brouwer: The Naxos Recordings
Leo Brouwer was born in Havana, Cuba in 1939. Encouraged and taught to play the guitar by his father and other musical members of his extended family, he quickly showed his enthusiasm and talent for the instrument, and composed his first guitar music in his mid-teens. Now, after fifty years of exploring his adventuresome and idiosyncratic music, guitarists are beginning to consider him the greatest modern guitar composer, surpassing Barrios, Villa-Lobos, Ponce, and Rodrigo.
Naxos, under the supervision of the distinguished Canadian guitarist Norbert Kraft, have been engaged in the past few years in a fabulous guitar recording project, recording the complete works of Fernando Sor, much of the Barrios opus, and much more, all recorded in acoustically excellent environments by the best players of our time. The Barrios project, three CD's so far, must be considered the best and most important.
Brouwer's compositions are generally divided into three stages: the first beginning in 1955, when, still a teenager, he was primarily a self-taught composer (many say that composition can't be taught), exploring the resources of the traditional and modern classical guitar applied to the Cuban folk idioms. His original intention was to fill gaps in the repertoire which hadn't yet been addressed by the 20th century composers. Brouwer's second period began in 1959 when he was awarded a scholarship to travel to the USA to study guitar and composition. This more formal study culminated in music which was in the avant-garde style, so in vogue amongst composers of that era. During this time he was appointed director of the Cuban Institute of Cinematography, an extremely significant event in his compositional development, since he was required to write a large amount of very diverse music, including music in a neo-romantic style. One of his most popular pieces, the achingly beautiful Un Dia de Noviembre, comes from this period. Brouwer's third period began in the late 70's, and is essentially a synthesis of diverse compositional techniques, including traditional methods, atonalism, minimalism, and a return to his Afro-Cuban roots. Brouwer himself calls this style "national hyper-romanticism", or "the new simplicity".
The first CD, by the exciting Colombian guitarist Ricardo Cobo, contains much of the earliest Brouwer, dating from the mid-fifties to about 1970. Cobo possesses the perfect resources to fully explore and interpret this music, a virtuoso technique combined with a fiery, macho latin-American sensibility, which enables him to play with a full range of emotion; hard and aggressively, as well as sensitively and lyrically. He begins with the Danza Caracteristica, which, overture-like, is the perfect first step on this journey, launching us into the sometimes turbulent, sometimes calm waters of the twenty Estudios Sencillos. Every classical guitarist needs to play these studies; the first ten, published in 1972, are fairly simple and straightforward for the left hand, primarily concerned with good position and accurate preparation, but exercise the interpretive and articulative capabilities of the right hand in a very demanding way. Cobo truly excels in his right-hand technique, enabling him to play in a freely expressive way. The second set was published in 1983, and contains elements of Brouwer's third period, including minimalism and popular and folk-like techniques. These studies are longer, more difficult, and are more complete pieces. They delve into harder left-hand techniques, particularly ornamentation. Cobo has truly mastered this work, and this is certainly the definitive recording of the studies. He uses a wide range of expressive techniques: etouffee, tonal and dynamic contrasts, and various articulations. He turns some of them (numbers 3, 6 and 7 in particular) into virtuosic showpieces. Why does he play them that fast? Because he can. Along with other earlier Brouwer, this CD contains his gorgeous arrangements of four popular Cuban songs, including Cobo's wonderfully mysterious performance of the often played and recorded Cancion de Cuna. Cobo wraps it up with an incisive, exciting performance of the Elogia de la Danza, one of Brouwer's greatest and most popular works, written in 1964. I remember when, in the 70's, every guitarist seemed to be working on this piece. It has since become one of the foundation pieces of the modern classical repertoire, and has certainly weathered the test of time.
On the second CD, the wonderful Greek guitarist Elena Papandreou tackles much of Brouwer's avant-garde output, along with some of his work from the current period. Canticum (1968) was the the first piece published by Brouwer after Elogia de la Danza, and probably should have been the first track on this CD, instead of tracks 10 and 11. It's easy to see, though, why the Naxos people decided not to begin with the unsettling rasgueado chords which begin the work. Ordering the tracks chronologically was certainly not the the most commercially logical way to organize this recording. However, this is a good starting point, since we can see here that Papandreou's aggressive, probing, virtuosic style is perfect for this music. A great deal of thought obviously went into choosing the performers for this important series, and Norbert Kraft and his associates successfully matched the styles of the guitarists to the music on each volume. Much of this avant-garde music is emotionally dark and filled with tension, and perhaps the modern Greek psyche is well-suited for its performance. Papandreou plays a great deal of music by contemporary composers, so she is certainly understands and is well qualified to play this repertoire. The CD actually begins with a much lighter and more lyrical work, El Decameron Negro (1981), the first work of the "new simplicity", written for the American Sharon Isbin. It is in three movements, the first movement of which is El Arpa del Guerrero, the harp of the warrior. Brouwer himself has stated that he composes for the "Guitar-Harp", the classical guitar played in a very orchestral manner. The third movement, Balada de la Doncela Enamorada or the Ballad of the Love-sick Maiden, has as its main theme a tune very akin to a rock ballad. The Preludios Epigrammaticos (1981-1983) are a lovely set of six sketches based on lines from poems by Miguel Hernandez. Does Number 4 sound a lot like Keith Jarrett? Give it a listen. Brouwer's output from 1980 to this present has been influenced greatly by the fusion of the more unique jazz and popular musicians such as Pat Metheny, Egberto Gismonti, and Astor Piazzola. Although Papandreou is strongest on the more avant-garde material, she also plays with a wonderful relaxed feel required for this later music. The last two works are the wonderful Variations sur un Theme de Django Reinhardt (1984), the theme being one of Django's greatest tunes, Nuages, and the most recent piece on this recording, Paisaje Cubano con Tristeza (1996). The other tracks consist of much of the rest of Brouwer's avant-garde output, La Espira Eterna, Parabola, and Tarantos. They are all, of course wonderfully performed, but do lack, as Brouwer himself has said, a balance between tension and relaxation, and this is why he moved away from this style.
The third volume is graced by the wonderfully cosmopolitan and suave sound of the English/Brazilian guitarist Graham Anthony Devine (although he is not Brazilian, he did live there for some years). What a wonderful choice he was for this CD! His lush sound suits perfectly the sweet lyricism of the "new simplicity". This recording opens with another of Brouwer's landmark works, the Sonata, written in 1990 for Julian Bream. The first two movements, Fandangos y Boleros and Sarabanda de Scriabin are generally pensive and meditative, while the third, La Toccata de Pasquini has more momentum and excitement, with its liberal use of minimalist-type techniques. In the next work, Tres Piezas Latino-Americans Brouwer gives his take, sometimes very humorous, on the music of two Argentinian composers, Astor Piazzola and Carlos Guastavino, as well as a Peruvian folk tune. With his obvious affinity for the rich tradition of Latin American music, Devine gives us a fabulous reading of these pieces. Hika, composed on the death of the great Japanese composer Tora Takemitsu, who was a close friend of Brouwer, is considered by Brouwer as one of his best works, and is given a fine reading here, sounding to me like a meditation on life and death, and, indeed, ending appropriately with a question mark. In contrast, the gorgeous Suite No. 2, written by Brouwer while he was still an adolescent, is a pure celebration of the beauty of the guitar. Next is a short piece written for the great Canadian guitar teacher Eli Kassner, Un Idee. Paisaje Campano con Campanos is largely an exploration of the harp-like capabilities of the guitar, including right-hand tapping techniques not often explored on the guitar. The fabulous Rito de Orishas is an expression of Brouwer's darker, mystical side, a side which we see in much of his music, but which is seen more completely in this piece. The set rightly ends with a wonderful performance of a piece which is at this time probably the most popular classical guitar piece, the bittersweet Un Dia de Noviembre, which was actually written in 1967 as film music. Listen to the very different interpretation of this piece on Cobo's great CD, Latin American Guitar Music.
Brouwer has created his own unique guitar universe, complete with its own language. The guitarist who plays this music becomes a citizen of this universe, must learn the language, must obey its unspoken but clearly defined laws, and must behave in a appropriate manner. In doing so, however, he opens himself to a wide range of new experiences, adventures, and emotions. Every player brings something of himself to the music, and although in these three volumes many of the interpretations could be called definitive, I would love to hear Cobo, Papandreou, and Devine each play all of the music. These CD's are a must for every guitarist's collection, and for a price of under $30 for the set you must have them. I eagerly await the next one; there is plenty of new Brouwer material already available, including the latest set of Estudios Sencillos.
Some Brouwer Resources on the Net:
- A fascinating interview of Brouwer by Rodolfo Betancourt.
- Study Notes for the Estudios Sencillos 1-10 by Guilherme Vincens.
- An article by the South African Clive Kronenberg.
Peter Taschuk
The Soloette Travel/Practise Guitar
I bought my Soloette just under two years ago, the standard classical maple model, #3678. I take it everywhere-- camping, the beach, my front yard. Living on Salt Spring Island BC, I commute 2 or 3 times a week to Vancouver Island, about 35 minutes on the ferry each way, and practise in the car. I also own a couple of other good classics, but I'm sure I play the Soloette more than the others combined. I've probably played this instrument over 1000 hours, so I'm in a pretty good position to comment on it. What an inspired realization of a great idea!
The workmanship is superb -- the frets are beautifully finished, the neck has stayed perfectly straight, and the action is just right. The sound is great -- of course, not the sound of an acoustic, but wonderful in its own right. Sustain is longer than on a standard classical, which makes playing ballads particularly enjoyable. If you purchase a Soloette, make sure you get a good set of headphones, otherwise you miss much of the great sound this instrument is capable of. I have the Grado SR60 phones, and a pair of Koss Portapro's. The Grados have a great polished, pristine sound, but the Koss's are perhaps a little warmer, bassier, and physically a bit cooler and more comfortable. In headphones, you pretty much get what you pay for - once you've used good phones, cheaper ones are horribly tinny sounding. I use D'Addario Pro Arte LP Composite strings. The polished basses remove most of the string squeaks which can be heard so prominently through the phones, and the basses last a long time. The electronics are very good, but I do get a fair amount of hum when I'm recording -- the hum goes away completely when I run the iBook on the battery, must be created by a ground loop.
Although it is not silent, this instrument is very quiet, and can be played while someone in the same room is watching, say, a hockey game on TV, or talking on the telephone. Or, in a social situation, if the conversation gets boring, try picking up the Soloette, putting on the phones, and working on your Villa-Lobos or whole-tone scales, and seeing how that goes over.
This guitar records beautifully, very even sounding and responsive. Try recording Sor or Brouwer and then experimenting with various effects or amp simulations. You might be amazed at how your imagination can be stimulated, and new interpretive strategies discovered in this way. As well, try playing some of your classical favorites with some of the drum loops in Garageband or Band-in-a-Box.
Every musician is careful with his instruments, but when you take your ax everywhere it's gotta be durable, and the Soloette, which essentially consists of a single piece of Canadian hard rock maple, is tough, very stable, and impervious to most exremes of temperature and humidity (batteries don't work too well at freezing or below, and I have had to crank the volume on a few cold days).
The Soloette is very light, and very comfortable to play; actually I find it a bit more comfortable than a standard classical.
Thanks so much to the genius inventor/builder/musician Rossco Wright for this inspired design, which, in turn, is so inspiring those of us who are lucky enough to have discovered the Soloette.
Sept. 3/05: Added the following: I've done quite a bit of composing and recording over the summer. Here are two of the pieces I've done lately, which I think showcase the unique voice of this instrument, and how well it accepts signal processing: Le Mistral, MP3 3.3 MB, and A New Milonga, MP3 3 MB.
Peter Taschuk