Here are some of our favorite Hispanic composers!
Leo Brouwer (1939- ) - Cuba
Cuban composer Leo Brouwer was born in Havana in 1939, and made his professional debut as a guitarist at the age of 17. He subsequently studied at the Juilliard School of Music. As a composer, he has greatly enriched the repertoire of the guitar, with works that combine traditional tonality and an explicit acknowledgement of his Afro-Cuban roots. His later works explore atonality and sometimes employ procedures of indeterminacy. As a conductor, he has worked to establish a modern classical music scene in Cuba. He is, incidentally, a great-nephew of Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona.
Listen to Brouwer’s “Afro-Cuban Lullaby” played by Tavi Jinariu
Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla (1921-1992) - Argentina
Master bandoneonist and originator of the controversial Tango Nuevo style, Astor Piazzolla was born in Buenos Aires in 1921, and demonstrated advanced musical skills from an early age. While leading a tango octet, Piazzolla also composed music in the traditional classical style, but on a visit to Paris, Nadia Boulanger convinced him that tango was where his destiny lay. In subsequent decades, Piazzolla led numerous groups, from quintets to a nonet, touring with them to great acclaim in North America and Europe. He collaborated with many prominent jazz artists as well, including saxophonist Gerry Mulligan and vibraphonist Gary Burton.
Listen to Piazzolla’s “Summer” from Four Seasons of Buenos Aires played by the Pitanfo Quartet and the Netanya Kibbutz Orchestra, conducted by Yaron Gottfried
Carlos Chávez (1899-1978) - Mexico
Carlos Chávez remains Mexico’s most important musical figure. A composer of impressive talent and originality, he wrote six symphonies, quite a few concertos, ballets and countless chamber works. As the founder and conductor of Mexico’s first permanent orchestra, the Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Chávez was instrumental in establishing a firm foundation for concert music in Mexico. He also was an educator, music theorist and a journalist. As a conductor he many world premieres in Mexico and the United States.
Ernesto Lecuona (1895-1963) - Cuba
Known informally as the “Cuban Gershwin,” Ernesto Lecuona captured in his music the excitement, color and sensuality of life in his native Cuba, especially its capital Havana. Lecuona was an engaging pianist who came by his talent honestly – his first teacher was his sister Ernestina, who was herself renowned for her skill. In addition to a dizzying array of piano pieces, Lecuona wrote appealing film scores, and founded the Havana Symphony Orchestra.
Listen to Lecuona’s “Rumba-Rhapsody” for piano, chorus and orchestra
Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) - Spain
Isaac Albéniz is best remembered for his four-volume collection of Spanish-themed piano pieces titled Iberia. He was born in Barcelona and studied in Leipzig and Brussels; but it was his studies with Felipe Pedrell, the father of the nationalist movement in Spanish music, that transformed Albéniz from a writer of salon trifles into a serious composer whose music sought to embody the Spanish spirit. His early death from Bright’s disease silenced a voice that had much more to say.
Listen to Albéniz’ “Asturias” played by John Williams
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) - Spain
Manuel de Falla was the most important Spanish composer in the first half of the 20th century. Like Albéniz, Falla studied in Madrid with Spanish nationalist Felipe Pedrell, but his years in Paris, where he met Debussy, Dukas and Ravel, were equally influential. Falla’s music is a fine amalgamation of the Spanish style and elements of French Impressionism. He wrote little after 1926, and spent his last years in Argentina, in exile from Franco’s government. Falla’s portrait was featured on Spain’s 1970 100-peseta banknote.
Listen to “Spanish Dance” from La vida breve, conducted by Kenneth Jean
Manuel Ponce (1882-1948) - Mexico
As a young man, Manuel Ponce was renowned for his romantic songs, the best-known of which is “Estrellita” (“Little Star”), but his musical genius led him to ever-larger forms. Born in Zacatecas, Mexico, Ponce was a naturally gifted prodigy whose facility with keyboard instruments eventually landed him a position at San Diego Cathedral in Aguascalientes as organist. Later studies took him to Italy, Germany and Paris, where he studied briefly with Paul Dukas. His lifelong friendship with guitarist Andres Segovia led to the creation of many works for guitar, including the Concierto del sur.
Listen to violinist Augustin Hadelich play violin and piano in Heifetz’s arrangement of “Estrellita,” recorded at home in June 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) - Mexico
Revueltas composed a large body of music during his too-short life, with works for large orchestra, chamber works (including a series of very fine string quartets), and music for films. He was active alongside Carlos Chavez in establishing a concert music tradition in Mxico, and served as assistant conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico. His film score for La noche de los Mayas and his brief but powerful tone poem Sensemayá are his best-known works.
Listen to Revueltas’ Sensemaya” played by the New Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Eduardo Mata.
Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) - Argentina
Ginastera was without a doubt one of Argentina’s greatest composers, whose music blended elements of Argentine folk idioms with a wide range of modern compositional techniques, producing a challenging but exciting sound that is unique to its composer. Ginastera studied in Buenos Aires, and for many years taught at the Liceo Militar General San Martín. In 1968 he settled in the United States, and later moved to Geneva, Switzerland.
Listen to Malambo (Final Dance) from Ginastera’s ballet Estancia, played by NYO2 conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto. (NYO2 is a free summer program for orchestral players ages 14–17 created by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute.)