JANUARY 2021 | Yamilé Cruz Montero | Piano Cubano | Grand Piano GP758
JANUARY 2021 | Yamilé Cruz Montero | Piano Cubano | Grand Piano GP758By RAY PICOT
Just over two years ago I met the Cuban pianist Yamilé Cruz Montero, at the UK concert launch of her first solo recording, Piano Cubano, as part of our Echoes Festival. She showcased the diversity of Cuban art music, through its fascinating fusion of different music traditions. This music is quite simply in her blood, and she carried the audience with her, despite introducing many unfamiliar names and pieces.
The feeling of strong self-assurance, which carried the music live does so equally in this recording. I am not sure how I overlooked posting a review at the time, though I am aware that she is busy working on a follow-up album which promises to be quite different.
Piano Cubano was first released in November 2017 and has garnered international critical praise since that time. Whilst the concert traversed six composers, Cruz Montero has decided wisely not to overload the palate with half that number; once more the familiar and less well known rub shoulders harmoniously.
The perfect place to start is with Ernesto Lecuono, who for many embodies Cuban art music, and from whom we hear the evergreen Suite Andalucia and a selection of dances from the Danzas Afro-Cubanas. Cruz Montero plays them quite irresistibly, conveying an understated charm, though always with a strong sense of rhythm; the popular pieces are refreshed and not overworked, ending with a delightful rendition of Malagueña.
I first came across the Sones Sencillos by Carlos Fariñas Cantero in an orchestral version by Gonzalo Romeu, but in its piano original as played here, the simplicity and pungency of these colourful pieces is more evident, clearly inspired by Cuban 'son' and 'cancíon'. The pieces were collected together over several decades, the first six written between 1954 and 1964, and the final one in 1998; though there is a certain progression in the degree of sophistication and harmonic treatment, this does not affect the overall consistency of their impact. The disarming simplicity, vibrant colours and rhythms of these pieces are captured to perfection in this performance. We also hear Alta Gracia, a recreation of an Argentine tango and of course the place where Manuel de Falla lived after leaving Spain. A very effective and demanding piece offering an interesting stylistic juxtaposition to what was played before, played with a great sense of control and virtuosity.
The mood visibly relaxes with the music of Andrés Alén Rodríguez, a pianist/composer who is now 70 and lives in Madrid. His resources are quite eclectic - classical romantic, jazz and Cuban/Latin-American popular music, which he blends seamlessly in the Variations on Silvio Rodríquez’s Theme. The famous Cuban folk singer’s song La vida is treated with great invention, traversing many different rhythms and styles. This 15 minute piece is given an excellent performance by Cruz Montero who has a clear sense of the flow of the variations and the piece's overall structure. We end with the world premiere recording of Alén’s Emiliano, dedicated to the eminent Cuban pianist Emiliano Salvador, who's mastery of Cuban 'son' and American jazz is portrayed with irresistible virtuosity and carried off with aplomb by Cruz Montero, including her own short passage of improvisation.
This has proved to be highly enjoyable journey across a varied Cuban landscape played with style and élan by this wonderful pianist, from whom I await more in great anticipation. The recorded sound is also very natural and I am delighted to give the album my warmest recommendation.
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