Classical and Art Music of Cuba in 20th Century

Amadeo Roldan from 1900 to 1939 and Alejandro Garcia Caturla from 1906 to 1940 were Cuba’s symphony revolutionaries (while) their music is commonly played today, they both played part in Afrocubanismo; the movement in black-themed Cuban culture with foundation in the 1920s and widely analysed by Fernando Oritz. Roldan, who was born in Paris to a Cuban mulatta and a Spanish father, came to Cuban in 1919 and became the show-master (first chair violin) of the new orquesta Sinfonica de La Habana in 1922, he met Caturla, at sixteen a second violin, Roldan’s compositions that include Overture on Cuban themes in 1925 and two ballets; La Rebambaramba in 1928 and El milagro de Anaquille in 1929 that followed a series of Ritmicas and Poema negra in 1930 and Tres toques (march, rites, dance) in 1931. In Motivos de son in 1934 he wrote an eight pieces for voice and instruments which is based on the poet Nicolas Guillens set of poems with the same title. After his school days, Carturla lived all his life in a small central town of Remedios, where he became a lawyer to support his growing family. His Tres danzas Cubans for symphony group was first performed in Spain in 1929, Bembe was premiered in Havana in that same year, his Obertura cubana won the first prize in a national contest in 1938, Caturla was killed at 34 by a young gamble.

source of picture: www.mitsalas.com

Gozalo Roig from 1890 to 1970 was a major force in the first half of the century and he is a composer and a group director; he qualified in piano, violin and composition theory. In 1922 he was one of the initiator of the national Symphony Orchestra, which he conducted, also, in 1927 he was appointed as the Director of the Havana School of Music, as a singer he specialized in the zarzuela, a musical theatre form which is very well-known to the World War II.