Leo Brouwer defends that of “a man who has a friend has it all” because his did not leave him when most needed. For example, thanks to his friendship with Paco de Lucia that world champion flamenco guitarist will play again in Cuba after 26 years from his previous concert. And thanks to his friendship with other Cuban music legends like Juan Formell and Silvio Rodriguez, the Paco concert is a go. And you you can bet on it.
Brouwer himself confirmed on the eve of perhaps the most awaited moment of the festival that bears his name: the recital of Paco de Lucia and his team, which includes the legendary dancer Antonio “Farruquito” Fernandez, singer Antonio Flores and bassist Alain Pérez, a Cuban that if has worked for nine years with the king of flamenco, “he must have something” Brouwer says… he added it will be unique ensemble, with piano insertion included.
In the press conference everyone expected that at any moment appeared a sort of flamenco David Carradine Paco de Lucia is, but we were disappointed. However, Brouwer said his guest was happy to be in Cuba, and that he had noted it. Therefore he invited us to go to Karl Marx to live “an experience that will never be repeated, because Paco is always evolving,” he said.
Without giving details of the program Lucia will have, Brouwer announced only they will have two hours of good music. “I asked him to make us remember his things, which have contributed so much to the plural development of flamenco” he said. But while the team reiterated that Paco is something unbelievable, warned that it is not the only one here, referring to Venezuelan ensemble Gurrufío, star of one of the “jam sessions” of the event.
Among other pieces of news, the Maestro joked, recommended certain concerts, praised several interpreters and criticized certain trends in contemporary musicology, guilty of that certain “blunders become musical realities”, by focusing on superficialities and circumvents the actors of live music.
Another interesting chapter in the morning was the opening of the exhibition “First Class” by artist Esterio Segura, who confirmed that the V Festival Leo Brouwer Chamber Music is a luxury event, and is celebrated as such: toasting with champagne, the health of intelligent music.
