Amadeo Roldán, Afro-Cuban Composer of First Work for Percussion Ensemble, Was Born July 12, 1900

[Centenario Natalicio de Amadeo Roldán (Centennial of Birth of Amadeo Roldán) Cuba Stamp 2000]

Amadeo Roldán was an Afro-Cuban composer, violinist, conductor and professor who is profiled at AfriClassical.com. He was actually born in Paris to Cuban parents, on July 12, 1900. Prof. Dominique-René de Lerma, Professor of Music at Lawrence University Conservatory, has generously made his research entry on Amadeo Roldán available to this website. Prof. De Lerma notes points that Roldán's full name was Amadeo Roldán y Gardes. He also tells us Roldán was only 5 years old when he began studying the violin.

Roldán graduated from the Madrid Conservatory in 1916 after studying music theory and violin. He later took private lessons in composition from Conrado el Campo, according to Prof. De Lerma. The young musician also played the violin on tour in Spain. Prof. De Lerma continues: “He moved to Havana in 1919 and became a student of Pedro Sanjuan. In 1924 he became concertmaster of Havana's Orquesta Filarmonica and, following the death of Sanjuan, its conductor.”

Roldán's promotion to conductor of the Orquesta Filarmonica occurred in 1932. Suite de La Rebambaramba (8:56) and Rítmica V (2:42) were recorded on CD by the New World Symphony, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, Argo 436 737 2 (1993). In the liner notes Simon Wright appraises Amadeo Roldán's role in the classical music of Cuba: “An enthusiastic conductor and composer, Roldán put 'serious' Cuban music on the map by primarily bringing Afro-Cuban rhythms and sounds to the concert hall. They were the inspiration behind the ballet La Rebambaramba (1827-28), based on a scenario by Alejo Carpentier depicting Havana's low-life on the day of Epiphany in 1830.”

Carol J. Oja writes in her book Making Music Modern: New York in the 1920s, Oxford University Press (2000), that the Pan American Association of Composers performed works of Amadeo Roldán and other Latin American composers at its March 1929 concert in New York. The Tambuco Percussion Ensemble has recorded Roldán's Rítmica V (2:14) and Rítmica VI (2:00), both composed in 1930, on the CD Rítmicas, Dorian 90245 (1997). The liner notes compare these to Edgar Varése's Ionisation, another work which helped pioneer the percussion ensemble.

To our knowledge, the most recent recording of the music of this composer is Asa: Piano Music by Composers of African Descent, MSR Classics MS 1242 (2008). On this disc Dr. William Chapman Nyaho, who is also profiled at AfriClassical.com, performs Preludio Cubano (1:51). The liner notes by the pianist tell us: "Preludio Cubano is characterized by the bright melodies and rhythmic inflections typical of Cuba. His other piano works include, 2 Piezas infantiles, Canción de cuna di niño negro and Mulato.

On Oct. 27, 2009 AfriClassical posted: “DePauw Percussion Ensemble Performs Afro-Cuban Composer Amadeo Roldán's 'Ritmicas' Oct. 29.” We quoted a press release: “The program consists of works that explore the rhythmic element in percussion music. Two works are of historical importance in the development of the percussion ensemble as a major genre in the twentieth century. The Rítmicas by Amadeo Roldán were composed in 1930 and are the first composed works for percussion ensemble. Roldán, a Cuban composer, integrated traditional Afro-Cuban percussion instruments with more classical elements.

Amadeo Roldán
Born July 12, 1900
Afro-Cuban Composer
Preludio Cubano
Canción de cuna di niño negro
2 piezas infantiles & Mulato

Comment by email:

Greetings Bill, That's very cool. Thanks for the post! Best wishes from Interlochen Summer Arts Camp where I am teaching for six weeks. Nyaho