wilma Alba Cal
cuba
“Hand in Hand Sonata” was composed in 2023 and will be premiered in 2024. Ms. Cal’s new work will be premiered in the fall of 2023. It is connected to Beethoven’s Sonata no. 25 in G Major, Op. 79.
Ernesto Lecuona In Memoriam
Dedicated to the memory of Ernesto Lecuona and Ludwig van Beethoven,
who through their work manifest the creative power of the independent artist to free our minds to be who we are.
Cuban Composer and Professor Wilma Alba Cal was born in Havana in 1988. She holds a Master in Music in Composition from the University of Arts of Cuba (ISA) and specialized in Choir Conducting at the Conservatory "Guillermo Tomas". She took part at an exchange program at the Academy of Music and Drama of the University of Goteborg in Sweden and has a Diploma in Sound Creation with New Technologies from Creación Sonora con Nuevas Tecnologías del Centro Mexicano para la Música y las Artes Sonoras.
Her catalog includes orchestral music, chamber music, choir works and electroacustic compostisions in addition to soundtracks for theatre, radio, television and audiovisual works.
She has received several national awards for composition in Cuba, as well as a creative residency sponsored by the Ibermusicas Organization.
Her works have been performed at various events and festivals in Cuba, Sweden, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Mexico, USA, Germany and Argentina. Her recordings includes “El canto quiere ser luz” with the Coro Nacional de Cuba and Entrevoces conducted by Digna Guerra (Echo Klassik Prize of the German Phonographic Academy 2012), “Cantos de Cuba y del Mundo” with the Ensemble Vocal Luna conducted by Wilmia Verrier, “Transfiguraciones” licensed by the record company Producciones Colibrí and “Mozart y Mambo: Cuban Dances” performance by Sarah Willis and the Havana Lyceum Orchestra.
Composer’s Note:
Dedicated to the memory of Ernesto Lecuona and Ludwig van Beethoven, who through their work manifest the creative power of the independent artist to free our minds to be who we are.
"Hand in Hand Sonata" links the music of Ernesto Lecuona with Ludwig van Beethoven's Sonata No. 25 in G Major, Op. 79. This work has a three-movement structure that shows a close relationship with Beethoven's sonata. The Sonata no. 25 was selected because of its special connection with the most important stage of my own musical studies, including my entrance exam recital to the University of the Arts of Cuba.
The connections of “Hand in Hand Sonata” with the work of pianist and composer Ernesto Lecuona are evident in the rhythmic material and predominance of ternary measures. Possibly the most widely known Cuban composer in the world, he stood out for his exceptional qualities as a performer and for the melodies present in zarzuelas, lieder and piano works. He was the first Cuban composer to be heard on the classical music radio station in Cuba, CMBF, and his music has been part of numerous international films. Even today, his work continues to be recorded and performed all over the world. The choice of his figure for this global project is a tribute and contributes to keeping his legacy in piano music alive from a new perspective.
Ernesto Lecuona was born in Guanabacoa, municipality of Havana, Cuba, in the same neighborhood where I was born. His scores sounding a century later in the old piano of the house where I grew up, are the direct impulse to connect both sound worlds (Lecuona and Beethoven) in one piece. Both creators, each in their own time, manifest in their work the creative power of the independent artist to free our minds and be who we are.
Additionally, the work includes a musical 'code' at the request of pianist Yael Weiss, which represents the universal aspiration for peace. This musical code appears in the final section of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. Here it is heard in the center of the work, combining the melody of the second movement of Beethoven's Sonata No. 25 with Lecuona's piano style, the motif of the Missa Solemnis (Dona Nobis Pacem) emerges clearly and expressively, this time harmonized with voices in my own harmonic language. This inclusion adds an additional dimension of meaning and connectivity to the work.
This commission was made possible by The Adele and John Gray Endowment Fund.
