• Submitted by: manso
• Arts and Culture
• 10 / 02 / 2011

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HAVANA, Cuba, Oct 1 (acn) It is the third festival honouring the oustanding musician, the event opened Friday with a concert named "From Barcelona to Havana" at the Basilica Menor of the San Francisco de Asis Convent in the Cuban capital.

As host Leo Brower had told the public before the concert, the program featured new, authentic pieces, some of them with a Baroque touch and rigorous ornamentation or instruments that chamber music lovers haven't heard live for a long time.

The concert opened with "Ballad for flute and piano" by Cuban duet Ondina, and followed with Spanish Federico Mompou's "Altitud for violin and piano" interpreted by Habana de Camara.

In this evening of premieres, the festival brought "Variaciones" and "Spiritual for cello and piano" in an exquisite performance by up-and-comers Aristides Porto, Alejandro Martinez and Yanner Rascon.

Following the intermission, Leo Brower left his seat on the audience and came on stage to direct the "Concert No. 2 for six arch instruments" in honor of composer Jose Ardevol, on his centenary. The piece was written by Ardevol at 21 in 1932.

In the last minutes of the concert, the Cuban chamber choir "Exaudi" interpreted a version of Brouwer's "Canciones Amatorias" for mixed choir and paid tribute to Joan Manuel Serrat with the performance of four of Catalan musician's songs,among them Penelope and Mediterraneo, featuring Cuban singer Augusto Enriquez.

Exaudi's director Maria Felicia Perez was also honored for her sixtieth birthday and received the Cubadisco 2011Award of Honor from the Cubadisco Festival's director Ciro Benemelis.

Dedicated to the 70th birthday of Cuban Grammy-award winner jazz player and composer Chucho Valdes, the festival will take place until October 7.

Source: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/message/126741