Leo Brouwer

Born in Havana, Cuba in 1939, Leo Brouwer was introduced to the classical guitar by his father, a doctor who was a keen amateur player. Before long Brouwer was giving public recitals and writing for the instrument. His early compositions were strongly coloured by Afro Cuban folk music, and include the incisive Piezas sin título (Pieces without title) and Danza Característica. But Brouwer gravitated to the spikier sonorities of contemporary classical music, too—Bartók and Stravinsky in particular. Their influence can be heard in the series of Estudios Sencillos (Simple Studies) Brouwer began in his thirties, and in the harmonically adventurous Guitar Concerto No. 1 (1972). Brouwer has also written widely for instruments other than the guitar, and has over 80 film scores to his credit. The gently melancholic guitar piece “Un dia de Noviembre” (“A Day in November”) was extracted from the 1972 movie of that name, and is Brouwer’s most frequently recorded composition.