The most important musician of this period was Ignacio Cervantes Kawanagh (1847-1905). He was the most important composer of 19th-century Cuban music, a disciple of Espadero, and the author of a Symphony in C and the Scherzo capriccioso, the finest Cuban work of that century, as well as the celebrated Danzas cubanas for piano. His compositions displayed a certain Chopinian influence, but without abandoning a Creole flavor; these dances continue the musical style of Manuel Saumell, although they are much more elaborate.

Laureano Fuentes Matons, a Cuban composer, violinist, and conductor, could be heard playing in the Music Chapel of the Santiago Cathedral (Heredia between San Félix and Santo Tomás, Santiago de Cuba) at the age of fifteen. He won the position of first violinist, a position he earned by competitive examination. From an early age, Laureano’s great virtuosity was evident, as he saw no insurmountable technical difficulties and was capable of interpreting any passage.

His works enjoy a strong European influence. With his operas, he followed Italian and French patterns. His liturgical works include masses, hymns, responsories, psalms, antiphons, lessons, invitatories, sequences, Benedictus, graduals, and other pieces.

Laureano Fuentes Matons was called the Cuban Paganini by his contemporaries. He was the first Cuban to compose an opera, as well as a symphonic poem, “América” ​​(1892).

José Silvestre White, Cuban musician and violinist, along with Ignacio Cervantes, was one of the greatest pioneers of 19th-century Cuban music, as well as of the habanera genre. He was expelled from Cuba in 1875, along with Cervantes, for dedicating several of his concerts to raising money for the Cuban independence cause. He was a teacher of great European virtuosos such as Jacques Thibaud and Georges Enescu, and of Cubans Rafael Díaz Alberti and Ignacio Sardiñas.

Gaspar Villate, Cuban composer, was born on January 27, 1851, in Havana. He was a disciple of Nicolás Espadero. He composed the opera “Angelo, Tyrant of Padua” based on Victor Hugo’s play of the same name when he was only sixteen years old. His theatrical output does not display many Cuban traits, with the exception of his pieces, which are considered the most accomplished of his repertoire: “La virgen tropical,” “Adiós a Cuba,” and “Contradanzas.” His music, in general, is characterized by its lack of or absence of Creole inspiration; it correlates with the Italian style of Verdi’s second period. Gaspar Villate is considered the most successful Cuban opera composer of the 19th century.

Hubertus Christian de Blanck Valet, known internationally as Hubert de Blanck, was a prestigious performer, composer, and educator born in Holland. He arrived in Havana in 1882. On October 1, 1885, he opened a music conservatory on Paseo del Prado, the first of its kind in the country. His creativity was revelatory in the field of teaching. One of his most important compositions is the opera Patria. This work is the first to address the theme of the Cuban independence struggle.

Hubert de Blanck compiled a comprehensive catalogue of works, including more than thirty works for the piano; also for voice and piano; violin and piano; symphony orchestra and band, chamber music and lyric theater; as well as several educational texts. His style was post-Romantic; he infused all genres with a prolific stylistic mastery and attention to form, maintaining a lyrical, fluid, and inspired melody of great musical tenacity. This important musician constitutes an irrefutable and unbreakable cultural link between the Netherlands and Cuba.

José Marín Varona, Cuban professor, composer, and conductor of orchestras and military bands, was born on March 10, 1859, in the city of Camagüey. Several of his compositions were introduced through performances by the buffoonery company. In 1900, he won a prize at the Universal Exposition in Paris for his piano dances entitled Tropicales; and in 1901, at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, United States, his concert waltz, Esperanza, won an award. He also founded the magazine Cuba Musical, where he cultivated criticism and also regularly contributed to other publications. His works have been performed by major musical figures such as Chalía Herrera, a Cuban soprano who recorded several of them. He was a great composer of zarzuelas, songs, and piano works.

Jorge Anckermann, Cuban pianist, composer, and conductor, led a small orchestra that enlivened silent films in the movie theaters of the Cuban capital.

He composed the music for the major premieres, the short scores for five or six musical numbers for the revues that premiered every Friday. He also composed the so-called Typical Cuban Concerts, Anckermann’s idea, which were offered four or five times a year.

He wrote numerous scores for zarzuelas, revues, and comic toys, as well as songs, criollas, and boleros. He is considered the creator of the “guajira” genre. Anckermann was described as one of the most prolific Cuban composers of all time.

Among other romantic figures of the time are: José Manuel Jiménez (1855-1917), piano professor at the Hamburg Conservatory, who has the merit of having been the first Cuban to approach the genre of the “lied.”

Women also stood out in 19th-century Cuban music. Among them was Catalina Berroa Ojeda (1849-1911), an instrumentalist, composer, teacher, and orchestra conductor. She was the first Cuban woman to achieve fame as a great musician, both as a composer and orchestra conductor. During the last quarter of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, she directed the musical chapel of the Major Parish of Trinidad. She was also the city’s foremost music trainer and teacher; her nephew Lico Jiménez stood out among her disciples. She played eight musical instruments, but excelled at playing the organ, which was her preferred instrument. She composed all kinds of music, including liturgical and sacred music. She possessed exquisite inspiration for composition, and among her popular creations was one of the first habaneras, entitled La Trinitaria.

Another notable figure in 19th-century Cuban music was Cecilia Arizti (1856-1930). This pianist and composer was the daughter of Fernando Arizti, a well-known instrumentalist of that century. Her teacher, in addition to her father, was the most distinguished pianist and composer of the mid-19th century, Nicolás Ruiz Espadero. From the same century was Ana Aguado, known as “La Calandria,” (1866-1921), an excellent singer and pianist who, together with her husband Guillermo Tomás, spread nascent Cuban music throughout the United States and Spain. La Calandria earned praise from Cuba’s National Hero, José Martí, for her efforts in support of Cuban independence.

Literature:

CARPENTIER, A.: Themes for the Lyre and Bongo. Ed. Letras cubanas. Havana, 1994.