Cowell in Cuba
Synopsis
Decades before the Cuban revolution, some decidedly revolutionary sounds had their birth in that country\u2019s capital city on today\u2019s date in 1930 during a concert of ultramodern music presented by the Havana Philharmonic.
The concert offered the premiere performance of a new Piano Concerto by American composer Henry Cowell, who also was the soloist. Cowell\u2019s concerto broke new ground \u2014 and perhaps a few piano strings \u2014 by employing what Cowell dubbed \u201ctone clusters.\u201d These dense, dissonant chords were produced by pounding the keys of the piano with the fist, palms or extended forearms.
Cowell also took his new techniques to the Old World in the 1920s and \u201830s, performing concerts of his works in Europe. These attracted the attention of Bela Bartok, who asked Cowell\u2019s permission to employ tone clusters in his works, and Arnold Schoenberg, who invited Cowell to perform for his Berlin composition classes.
Cowell\u2019s oft-stated goal was to embrace what he described as \u201cthe whole world of music,\u201d whether dissonant or consonant, radical or traditional, Western or non-Western. Perhaps that ideal was even more revolutionary than his Piano Concerto must have seemed back in 1930.
Music Played in Today's Program
Henry Cowell (1897-1965) Piano Concerto; Stefan Litwin, piano; Saarbrucken Radio Symphony; Michael Stern, cond. Col Legno 20064