Leo Brouwer

Cuban composer and guitarist Leo Brouwer (born 1939) began composing at age 16. He took guitar instruction and studied composition at Juilliard, but Brouwer considers himself an autodidact. At the 1961 Warsaw Autumn Festival in Poland, Brouwer came into contact with experimental composition; this strongly influenced the next phase of his career. However, from 1976 he entered into a phase Brouwer calls "New Simplicity"; encompassing inputs from popular and classical music, Afro-Cuban music, and the avant-garde. When a hand injury interrupted Brouwer's career as guitar soloist, Brouwer moved into conducting. Brouwer has written at least eight guitar concertos and over 60 film scores.