Ernesto Lecuona | |
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| Born | Ernesto Lecuona y Casado (1896-08-07)August 7, 1896 Havana, Cuba |
| Died | November 29, 1963(1963-11-29) (aged 67) Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain |
Ernesto Lecuona y Casado (Spanish pronunciation:[eɾˈnestoleˈkwona]; August 7, 1896[1] – November 29, 1963)[2] was a Cuban composer and pianist, many of whose works have becomestandards of the Latin, jazz and classical repertoires. His over 600 compositions include songs and zarzuelas as well as pieces for piano and symphonic orchestra.[3][4]
In the 1930s, he helped establish a popular band, theLecuona Cuban Boys, which showcased some of his most successful pieces and was later taken over byArmando Oréfiche. In the 1950s, Lecuona recorded several LPs, including solo piano albums forRCA Victor. He moved to the United States after the 1959Cuban Revolution, and died in Spain in 1963.
Lecuona was born inGuanabacoa,Havana, Cuba, Kingdom of Spain,[5] to a Cuban mother and aCanarian father. There are inconsistencies surrounding his birthdate, with some sources indicating the year 1895, and others still giving the day as August 6. He started studying piano at the age of five,[1] taught by his sisterErnestina Lecuona, a famed composer in her own right. As a child prodigy, he composed his first song at the age of 11.[6] He later studied at thePeyrellade Conservatoire under Antonio Saavedra andJoaquín Nin. Lecuona graduated from the National Conservatory of Havana with a gold medal for interpretation when he was 17 years old.[5] He performed outside of Cuba at theAeolian Hall (New York) in 1916.[5]
In 1918, he collaborated with Luis Casas Romero, Moisés Simons, Jaime Prats, Nilo Menéndez and Vicente Lanz in setting up a successfulplayer piano music roll factory in Cuba producing Cuban music and also copies from masters made byQRS in the US. The brand label was "Rollo Autógrafo".
He first traveled to Spain in 1924 on a concert tour with violinist Marta de la Torre; his successful piano recitals in 1927 and 1928 at theSalle Pleyel in Paris coincided with a rise in interest in Cuban music.[5] His popularity brought him to concert halls in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Lima in South America, as well as Paris, Nice, Barcelona, Madrid, and London in Europe, followed by more engagements in New York.[1]
María la O, Lecuona'szarzuela, premiered in Havana on March 1, 1930. He was a prolific composer of songs and music for stage and film.[5] He scored some of the film music forThe Cuban Love Song,Always in My Heart, andOne More Tomorrow.[7] The entire musical score of the filmCarnival in Costa Rica was penned by Lecuona.[1] His works consisted of zarzuela, Afro-Cuban and Cuban rhythms, suites and many songs which are still famous. They include "Siboney" ("Canto Siboney"), "Malagueña" and "The Breeze And I" ("Andalucía"). In 1942, his hit, "Always in my Heart" ("Siempre en mi Corazón") was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Song; however, it lost to "White Christmas". Lecuona was a master of the symphonic form and conducted the Ernesto Lecuona Symphonic Orchestra, employing soloists including Cuban pianist and composer Carmelina Delfín. The Orchestra performed in the Cuban Liberation Day Concert atCarnegie Hall on October 10, 1943. The concert included the world premiere of Lecuona'sBlack Rhapsody. Lecuona gave help and the use of his name to the popular touring group, theLecuona Cuban Boys, though he did not play as a member of the band. He did sometimes play piano solos as the first item on the bill.
In 1960, unhappy with Castro's new régime, Lecuona moved toTampa, Florida and lived on West Orient Street inWest Tampa with his relative, singer Esperanza Chediak. Lecuona lived his final years in the US. While traveling in theCanary Islands he died of a heart attack on November 29, 1963, in the town ofSanta Cruz de Tenerife, where he had gone to recuperate from a lung ailment.[2] He was interred atGate of Heaven Cemetery inHawthorne,New York, but his will instructed that his remains be repatriated after the Cuban régime changes. A great deal of Lecuona's music was first introduced to mass American audiences byDesi Arnaz, a fellow Cuban andLucille Ball's spouse.
Lecuona's talent for composition has influenced the Latin American world in a way quite similar toGeorge Gershwin in the United States, in his case raising Cuban music to classical status.
Ernesto and Ernestina's cousinMargarita Lecuona was another accomplished musician and composer. She was the author of the song "Babalú", made popular in the Latin American world byMiguelito Valdés, and in the United States by Desi Arnaz.
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