Wednesday, May 18, 2011

NYTimes.com: 'Tania León’s Cuban heritage influenced her Cuarteto No. 2, whose rhythms evoked Son Cubano'

[Tania Justina León]

The New York Times
Music Review
By VIVIEN SCHWEITZER
Published: May 16, 2011
“Since their founding in 1978, the annual Wall to Wall 12-hour marathons at Symphony Space have focused on a single composer; a genre, like opera; or a region, as did last year’s survey of music from behind the Iron Curtain. On Saturday the Wall to Wall Sonidos program explored Latino culture, with performers and composers from Spain and Central and South America representing myriad styles, including 16th-century vocal polyphony, tango, contemporary string quartets and Latin jazz.”

“Tania León’s Cuban heritage influenced her Cuarteto No. 2, whose rhythms evoked Son Cubano, a style of music that developed in the 1930s. The finely wrought piece received its premiere in a committed performance by the Harlem Quartet in the closing section of the evening, devoted to Cuban music. That segment, which concluded after midnight, also included the premiere of Arturo O’Farrill’s 'Still Small Voice,' with the composer conducting the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra and the LaGuardia High School Senior Chorus.” [The website of the Afro-Cuban composer and conductor Tania León (b. 1943) is http://www.tanialeon.com/; she is also profiled at AfriClassical.com]

1 comment:

Fiddla said...

So sorry to have missed that concert at the Symphony Space. I follow the life career of Ms. Leon with fascination. So many treasures of musical endeavors to her credit. Always look forward of more from the living genius.