Ernesto Lecuona
Biographical Information
Summary:
Maurice Ravel said that Ernesto Lecuona’s piece, Malagueña, was “more melodic and beautiful than my (his) own Bolero.” Gershwin described Lecuona’s piece, Rhapsodia Negra, as a worthy equal to his famous work, Rhapsody in Blue. These composers’ comments reflect the respect and admiration that Ernesto Lecuona possessed all over the world. Lecuona was born in Cuba and is one of Cuba’s most famous composers. He is still seen as one of the most influential composers in Latin-American music history. Lecuona’s career as a composer of film music, popular music, and concert music made him a household name in Cuba and popularized Cuban music in Europe and the United States.
Early Life and Origins:
Ernesto Lecuona celebrated his birthday on August 7, 1896. However, he was actually born near Havana in 1895. Ernesto’s family could tell that he was talented when he was only 3 years old. He would start taking piano lessons from his older sister, Ernestina Lecuona, who would also become a great composer. Ernesto continued his piano studies at the Conservatorio Peyrellade. He graduated from the National Conservatory of Havana with a gold medal in piano performance when he was only 17. The young Lecuona was a piano prodigy. He would give his first recital in the United States in 1916 when he was in his early twenties. This successful performance at the Aeolian Hall in New York City would bolster his reputation in the United States, and launch an international recital tour that would help him develop as a composer.
Career:
Ernesto Lecuona’s reputation as a brilliant pianist brought him to Carnegie Hall in New York, the Salle Pleyel in Paris, and many other famous concert halls. At these recitals, he performed music by composers like Stravinsky, Villa-Lobos, and Poulenc. But he also performed his own works. Lecuona usually performed his most popular works, like Malagueña and Siboney. But he would also branch out and develop music that was more complex.
Society in Europe and the Americas changed dramatically in the aftermath of World War 1. The war destroyed the old world order, and people began to ask questions that challenged pre-war society. Cuba experienced this trend along with the rest of the world. Artists and musicians started to explore questions about their Cuban identity. What influences contributed to creating music that was Cuban, and what did it mean to be culturally Cuban? There were European influences from Spain, but there were also influences from Afro-Cuban and Creole culture. One answer to these questions, the Afrocubanismo movement, became popular in the years following World War 1. Musicians in this movement explored Afro-Cuban musical styles in their works, and Ernesto Lecuona was part of this movement. He explored Afro-Cuban music in some of his compositions like Rhapsodia Negra and Dances Afro-Cuban. However, his musical answers to the larger question, what makes Cuban music Cuban, explains why his music was and is so influential. His music had a Cuban nationalism that made him popular in his home country, and which introduced Cuban music to other countries.
Ernesto Lecuona’s pop songs, and popular music took the United States by storm. Eventually he would be hired to compose soundtracks for movies with MGM. One of these movies, Always in My Heart, would even be nominated for an Academy Award. Lecuona’s strong ties with the United States became important to his survival later in life when Fidel Castro rose to power as the authoritarian leader of Communist Cuba. Ernesto Lecuona was at odds with the new government. He emigrated to the United States, where he would spend the remaining years of his life. Upon his death, Lecuona was buried at a cemetery in New York. He left instructions to rebury his remains in Cuba if or when the communist regime ends.
Resources
de la Vega, Aurelio. “Lecuona, a Century Later.” Latin American Music Review / Revista de
Música Latinoamericana, vol. 19, no. 1, 1998, pp. 106–08. JSTOR, https://doi.org/
10.2307/780257. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024.
Rey, Mario. “The Rhythmic Component of ‘Afrocubanismo’ in the Art Music of Cuba.” Black
Music Research Journal, vol. 26, no. 2, 2006, pp. 181–212. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25433773. Accessed 2 Apr. 2024.
Songwriters Hall of Fame: “The Gershwin of Cuba”:
https://www.songhall.org/profile/Ernesto_Lecuona
