Yo-Yo Ma is explosive. He drops his scores to the floor and plays the cello as anyone. His colleague, the Mexican Carlos Prieto, is usually methodical in his execution; his excitement is drawn more subdued in his face. What is common to both instrumentalists, known on the world stage, is that they are just great.
Having them at one time, musically joined by the Suite for cello (1999), by Mexican Samuel Zyman; and for that fraternal friendship that binds them to Leo Brouwer it was undoubtedly an unforgettable moment for those who decided to challenge the whimsical Saturday rain in Havana.
In five movements, that seemed fragments of seconds, the duo Ma-Prieto managed to sharpen ears at the auditorium of the Martí Theatre, in Old Havana.
While Carlos played the sensitive chords written by Zyman, a Yo-Yo imbued with the same passion made from rubbing his bow with the cello, precise, energetic, expressive chords of the Suite come out, made for two unparalleled artists.
No wonder Ma and Prieto invited after the Brasil Guitar Duo -composed by Joao Luiz and Douglas Lora Rezende, to close with an edgy piece: The Bow and the Lyre (2013), by Brouwer. The work was the motivation of the whole concert so much that gave title to it.
The first of the three movements the composition has, Encuentro y celebración, is a beautiful segment that begins with a melancholy cello play, which then finds the joy and enjoyment in the binding of another similar instrument, and that beautiful coupling provided by the rhythm guitars.
Lyrical and The pulse of the earth are essential complements to the piece of Leo, held in the evening its world premiere, with four luxury performers. One of them, Yo-Yo Ma, was conferred the two highest honors awarded in the island: the CUBADISCO Prize of Honor and Harold Gramatges Distinction, from the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), because of the extensive discography of American musician and the quality of each of his public presentations.
Two “acts” lead up to this award. The first was performed by the Spanish Ricardo Gallen, who moved for his impeccable execution of Thinker Sonata No. 4 for Guitar (2012), specially designed for him by Brouwer and released last night.
To wrap up the meeting, a duet struck by its dynamic and cohesive interpretation of The traveler Sonata for two guitars (2009), by the Brasil Guitar. This time, Joao Luiz and Douglas Lora Rezende took the long road that traced its author, Leo Brouwer, and went a First trip to icy lands, passed through the El retablo de las maravillas. The Venus de Praxíteles, a beautiful passage whose essence is coupling of melodic guitars; made a visit to Bach in Leizig and retraced by the Sea of the Antilles with such finesse and variety of rhythms that have characterized the region. The bow and the lyre in his larger vision, we proposed navigate the infinite paths of two instruments, the performers and virtuosos that deep allegory of a writer who was able to give the art a highly prized value, Octavio Paz.
