| Label: BIS Catalog: CD1854 Format: CD Ernesto Lecuona (1895-1963)
Disc 1 Rapsodia Negra for piano and orchestra Andalucía (Suite espagnole); Ante el Escorial; Zambra gitana; Aragonesa; Granada; Zambra; San Francisco el Grande; Aragón (Vals España); Preludio en la noche; La Habanera; Mazurka en glissando; Canto del guajiro; Three Miniatures; Canto Siboney; Noche azul
Disc 2 Rapsodia Argentina for piano and orchestra Diary of a Child; Adiós a las trincheras; Cuba and America; Black Cat; Cuba at Arms; Crisantemo; Vals del Sena; Locura; Barba-Azul; Vals de los mares; Ojos triunfadores; Bésame; Soñaba contigo; Voilà; Suite from 'El Sombrero de yarey'; Quasi Bolero; Dame de tus rosas ('Two Hearts that Pass in the Night')
Disc 3 Rapsodia Cubana for piano and orchestra Danzas Afro-Cubanas; Siete Danzas Cubanas Típicas; ¡Échate pa'allá, María!; Valses fantásticos; Vals del Nilo; Gardenia; Porcelana China; Polka de los enanos; Noche de estrellas; Yo te quiero siempre
Disc 4 Rumba-Rhapsody for piano, voices, orchestra and chorus Danzas Cubanas; Amorosa; Futurista; 19th-Century Cuban Dances; Vals gitano; A media noche; Parisiana; Musetta; Vals del Danubio; Broken Blossoms; Noches de primavera; Vals de la mariposa; Vals azul (from 'Lola Cruz'); Paso doble de los mantones
Disc 5 Danzas Afro-Cubanas; Danzas Cubanas; Tres Valses; Álbum de Valses; Vals rosa; Vals del Rhin; Vals de Pierrot; Pasa Calle and Java; Lamento Africano (from 'El Cafetal'); La ronda del amor (from 'María la O'); La mulata chancletera (from 'María la O')
Thomas Tirino, piano also appearing on discs 1-4: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra / Michael Bartos and on disc 5: various instrumentalists
Disc 6 Siempre en mi corazón; Como presiento; Allá en la sierra; Tu no tienes corazón; Mi corazón se fué; Dame de tus rosas; ¡No es por ti!; ¡Mira!; Dame el amor; Que risa me da; La comparsa; Al fin; Se abrieron las flores; Conga Cuba; Amor tardio; En una noche así; Devuélveme el corazón ; Primavera de ilusión; Un amor vendrá; Me has dejado; No me engañarás; Rumba mejoral; No me mires ni me hables; Mi amor fue una flor; Canción del amor triste
Carole Farley, soprano; John Constable, piano Released in 1995 - the centenary of Ernesto Lecuona's birth - the first instalment of Thomas Tirino's pioneering survey of the composer's piano music caused a sensation. All but forgotten (with notable exceptions such as Canto Siboney or Malagueña), these pieces exuded a charm and vitality which, combined with the highly idiomatic interpretations, enchanted audiences and critics alike and brought the disc onto Time Magazine's list of the 10 best discs of the year. First impressions were confirmed by the following discs, which also gave further proof of the painstaking editorial care taken by Tirino himself in his efforts to discover the composer's original thoughts beneath the encrustations of later arrangements. Fifty years after the death of Lecuona - often described as 'the Cuban Gershwin' - this box set provides a timely opportunity for a new generation to discover the qualities that made him a legend in his own time. For this purpose, Thomas Tirino's five-disc series is complemented by soprano Carole Farley's selection of some of her favourite Lecuona songs, including Always in My Heart (Siempre en mi corazón) and La comparsa - an album originally released in 2003, and described as 'a real gem of a disc!' in Gramophone, where it was named an 'Editor's Choice'. Price: $86.98 |