Nationality: Cuban

Contemporary Cuban

BROUWER, Leo

Photo of Leo Brouwer by Gabriel Guerra Biancini. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Born in Havana, March 1, 1939

Leo Brouwer [pronounced “lay-oh brow-er”] is a Cuban composer, conductor, and guitarist, who is especially significant as a composer of music for guitar.
Brouwer studied composition at the Julliard School and his teachers included Vincent Persichetti.
Brouwer is also a film composer. In 1960 he became head of the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos. He has scored more than 60 films.
Brouwer has served as principal conductor of the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra and has appeared as a guest conductor around the world.¹

Romantic Cuban

Born in Havana, July 31, 1847
Died in Havana, April 29, 1905

Cervantes was a Cuban conductor, composer, and pianist, and a student of Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Gottschalk, who integrated Creole and Latin American musical styles into his concert music, was a model for Cervantes, who sought to integrate Cuban music into his classical compositions.
- In contrast to the style of most 20^th-century Cuban composers, Cervantes’s music draws on Spanish-Cuban music, not Afro-Cuban music.
Cervantes also studied at the Paris Conservatory, where his teachers included Charles-Valentin Alkan.
Cervantes concertized in the United States, conducted opera in Cuba, and spent most of his later career in Mexico.²

Born in Guanabacoa, Aug 7, 1896
Died in S Cruz de Tenerife, Nov 29, 1963

Lecuona was a child prodigy: he wrote his first song at the age of 11.
Lecuona was a graduate of the National Conservatory in Havana, where he received several awards.
In addition to his career as a composer-pianist specializing in Cuban music, Lecuona toured Europe, the USA, and Latin America with his dance band, Lecuona’s Cuban Boys.
Lecuona spent a portion of his career in New York City, where he wrote music for musicals, radio, and film.³
Lecuona is sometimes known as the “Gershwin of Cuba” for his ability to meld pop and classical styles.⁴

Romantic Cuban

This portrait was drawn after White Lafitte won the First Prize in violin at the Paris Conservatory in 1856.

Born in Matanzas, Jan 17, 1836
Died in Paris, 12/March 15, 1918

Born José Silvestre de los Dolores White Lafitte
Also known as Joseph White

White Lafitte was an Afro-Cuban violinist and composer.
White Lafitte studied violin at the Paris Conservatory, winning a first prize for violin in 1856.
White Lafitte’s students included Romanian violinist Georges Enescu (George Enesco).
White Lafitte toured Europe, the United States, and South America.
He lived in South America for part of his career, after becoming court violinist to Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil.⁵