Search - Ernesto Lecuona :: Cuban Originals

ORIGINAL GOLD FROM AN ORIGINAL MASTER

Polly Chinela | Miami, FL | 08/02/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This release is part of the on-going Cuban Originals series, which so far has included about a dozen plus re-issues from the likes of Desi Arnaz, Perez Prado, Beny More, Xiomara Alfaro, etc. You will not find any CD debuts here. All the material in this series has been available on CD before. That said, let's move on to ERNESTO LECUONA, and simply state that he was the best composer that Cuba ever produced. His musical legacy is well documented, as is his prolificacy in all genres. His music ran the gamut from the classical, including zarzuelas and lieder, to the popular, including rumbas and afro-cuban pieces. This release spotlights his music for solo piano, and it gives us the composer himself playing his own compositions. Anyone familiar with Lecuona's piano playing will comment on two specific points: his virtuosity and his left hand. Both are on excellent display here. One marvels at the astonishing beauty of his playing and the uncanny use of the left hand, which seems to have a life of its own.I strongly recommend this CD as an introduction to the music of Ernesto Lecuona. It has nothing new to offer the hard-core Lecuona aficionado, but it makes a great gift for the casual listener of Cuban music or good music in general.BMG needs to continue its Cuban Originals series and add Lecuona's three complete zarzuela recordings to it. They are MARIA LA O, ROSA LA CHINA, and EL CAFETAL. They are the property of BMG Spain and feature the fantastic Dolores Perez as soloist. BMG also needs to give us their recordings of Bola de Nieve and Gonzalo Roig, remastered, as these two were also Cuban Originals."

Evocative and gorgeous

brooksie7684 | Nashua, NH | 07/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had heard another artist interpret Lecuona before listening to the composer play his own work. I was reminded of how much I enjoyed the music when I was reintroduced to Lecuona through the BEFORE NIGHT FALLS soundtrack. Not all the artists on the soundtrack have albums that are so thoroughly listenable. Beautiful music, not only Cuban in background but with traces of Chopin, jazz, and dance. Highly recommended simply for Lecuona's virtuoso solo style."

VINTAGE LECUONA

brooksie7684 | 07/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This release is part of the CUBAN ORIGINALS series, BMG's celebration of classic Cuban performers in tried-and-true repertoire. All of the tracks on this release have been available on CD before, and while there is nothing new here for Lecuona followers, there is still his incomparable piano playing with its one-of-a-kind left hand prodigiousness to contend with. If you already have the Lecuona oeuvre on CD, then this makes a great gift for the occasional fan of Lecuona or of Cuban music in general. Now, if only BMG would re-release on CD their complete recordings of his zarzuelas MARIA LA O, ROSA LA CHINA, and EL CAFETAL from the late fifties! These historical recordings featuring the great soprano Dolores Perez and originally on the Zafiro label are now the property of BMG through their acquisition of the Zafiro catalog. Giving us those three zarzuelas in a state-of-the-art remastering would be the most wonderful thing that BMG could do if they are really serious about the preservation of their CUBAN ORIGINALS."