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| Quaternaglia – Photo: Gal Opido |
The renowned Quaternaglia (http://quaternaglia.com.br) has just released a new work by Leo Brouwer, at the Bahia dos Vermelhos Cultural Center festival in Ilha Bela (SP) - on 4th August. As a result of an order from Quaternaglia to Brouwer, received last June, the group now has a year of exclusivity with the piece, being in the future published by Espiral Eterna Ediciones. The work ¡Así era la Dancita Aquella! (Divertimento), in a unique movement, will integrate the group's new CD and join the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of Leo Brouwer in 2019. The relationship of the Quaternaglia with the Cuban composer is long-standing (see details in Sidney Molina interview for Concerto magazine http://www.concerto.com.br/noticias/musica-classica/quaternaglia-estreia-em-ilhabela-obra-do-compositor-leo-brouwer-leia) and it is undoubtedly one of the musical bridges of Brazil and Cuba.
The new CD of that chamber group, which has already turned 25 years, will have, in addition to Brouwer’s premiere, arrangements of works by Leonard Bernstein and Astor Piazzolla (from an original string quartet) and an unpublished recording - "Memorial para um regreso"- by Javier Farías (see here the excellent video of this work on GuitarCoop https://guitarcoop.com.br/en/).
Now, let's talk to Sidney Molina of the Quaternaglia.
Teresinha Prada (TP) - Sidney, Quaternaglia–25 years, is there a recipe for that longevity? What is the secret of that success? What must be fundamental in this relationship...
Sidney Molina (SM) - The first secret is the relationship between people, the willingness to play together, to learn with the other, rehearsals. We always believe that chamber music can be one of the most precious musical practices that exist, but that happens, for us, by such a meticulous work and as much involvement as that of the solo one, and it doesn’t happen just thinking about the stage: there’s affinity, and also friendship between musicians who intend to build a unique sound from four hearts. The second secret is, of course, the activity itself. The quartet never stopped playing, recording, thinking new projects, dreaming. It's what keeps him alive ... and young!
(TP) - The work "Memorial para un regreso" especially dedicated to Quaternaglia by the Chilean Javier Farías (based in Washington D.C.) has a strong point with Latin American literature. Explain a bit about the author and this piece, as you classify it in contemporary trends... In addition, I’ve had an impression listening the resulting sounds linked to the titles of the "Memorial ..." that Farías wants to reintegrate our past (Latin American) to the present. In such difficult times, a work like this is positioned in favour of dialogue, right? - Talk a little about it.
(SM) - You touch on a fundamental point, and I think there have been factors such as those that determined the artistic approach between Javier Farías and Quaternaglia. I would like to emphasize that we (still) don’t know each other personally; the piece was born from an exchange of exclusively artistic, musical (and also literary) experiences, among us. Javier Farías won the main composition contests for the guitar of the world, has received various orders and prestigious academic scholarships for the composition of new pieces, and although not yet well known in Brazil, has many works published and is quite played by the guitarists for the world. Memorial para un regreso is part of his project dedicated to the 6 Latin American writers who won the Nobel Prize for Literature, in which eminent international guitarists participate. The work dedicated to the Quaternaglia has 3 movements, with more than 15 minutes in total, and is inspired by Pablo Neruda. At the same time that it tends to references to current issues, the movements are inspired by passages from Neruda's life: "Brava mar" is the poet's relationship with the sea, specifically with the Chilean Pacific near Isla Negra, where he built his house and he is buried; "Spain in the heart" deals with the role of the poet as a defender of human rights, with the personal help he offered to friends (like Lorca) during the Spanish Civil War, it is a very painful music; and the title "Exile" of the third movement, which speaks for itself, evokes the implacable persecution to which the poet was victim when, in the 1940s, he was Senator of the Republic for the Chilean Communist Party.
(TP) - Sidney, going back to talking about Brouwer, I saw in your interview for the Concerto magazine how you described that new work ... the Brouwerian traces, but I'm curious about the title - is the theme emerged to the composer's memories? What is the story?
(SM) - Our relationship with Brouwer, cultivated over many years – in which we recorded his original pieces for guitar quartet on our first CD, which went through the prize in the International Competition of Havana, the premiere in Brazil of his two concerts, our solo performance under his regency with different orchestras here and abroad, and that culminates with the work dedicated to us – always had humorous moments. In addition to the seriousness and rigor in the work, Brouwer is always very happy in the moments in which we live together. As we are here in a written media, and with the admiration I have for your work as a guitarist, teacher, researcher and journalist, I take the liberty of transcribing, at first-hand for this blog, in the original in Spanish, the text that he himself sent us about the title of the new piece:
“En un Festival Leo Brouwer de Música de Cámara elaboré una danza cubana que ya existía en mi Trio (de título Sones y Danzones) y le hice partes a un segundo cello y a una flauta para que dos excelentes solistas se divirtiesen un poco con el Brouwer Trio de Valencia, España. En uno de los ensayos traté de recordar el título de la contradanza de Manuel Saumell (s.XIX) que dio origen a uno de los movimientos de mi Trio, Cómo se llamaba la dancita aquella?... y uno de los músicos dijo con gracia: dancita? jaja...! Así nace este título para el divertimento compuesto para Quaternaglia en el que desarrollo formantes rítmicos similares. Algunas células podrían ser comunes a músicas de nuestra América, siempre decantado por lo africano llegado a estas tierras.
Leo Brouwer.”
["In a Leo Brouwer Chamber Music Festival I elaborated a Cuban dance that already existed in my Trio (title Sones and Danzones) and I made parts to a second cello and a flute so that two excellent soloists had a little fun with the Brouwer Trio of Valencia, Spain. In one of the essays I tried to remember the title of the contradanse of Manuel Saumell (s.XIX) that gave rise to one of the movements of my Trio, what was the dancita called that? ... and one of the musicians said with grace: dancita? LOL...! This is how this title was born the divertimento for Quaternaglia in which I develop similar rhythmic formations. Some cells could be common to music of our America, always decanted by the African who came to these lands.
Leo Brouwer."]
(TP) - The Quaternaglia returns to Havana then in March 2019 for the Brouwer 80? How is the group's 2018-2019 agenda?
(SM) - This year is particularly intense for us. It began with an American tour and the world premiere of the piano quintet Song of the Universal, based on the poem by Walt Whitman, by Sérgio Molina, with the pianist James Dick. We followed our premiere as soloists of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Minas Gerais, in the new hall Sala Minas Gerais, presentations in the Sala Cecília Meireles (Rio de Janeiro), in the series of Cultura Artística in the MuBE (Brazilian Museum of Sculpture and Ecology, at São Paulo City), Baía de Vermelhos Festival, in the new hall SESC Paulista Avenue, back to Rio de Janeiro in the BNDES Auditorium, and the CD’s recording in the middle of all that ... We still await several important confirmations for 2019, and we hope that it will be a very intense year too!
(TP) - Thank you for the collaboration! And Leo Brouwer's first-hand text!
Mais:
Quaternaglia’s Entry in the Acervo Digital do Violão Brasileiro Encyclopaedia (Brazilian Guitar Digital Archives):
http://violaobrasileiro.com/dicionario/visualizar/quaternaglia-guitar-quartet
Quaternaglia’s Schedule:
http://quaternaglia.com.br/all-events/2018-2/
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See news about Brouwer 80'
http://musicacontemporaneaparaviolao.blogspot.com/p/brouwer-80.html
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