Ludovic Lamothe (12 May 1882 - 4 April 1953) was a Haitian composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of Haiti's most important classical composers. As a composer, Lamothe wrote exclusively for his own instrument, and became known especially for his songs and short piano pieces. Lamothe's repertoire included a range of méringue, from the most formal, elite-oriented forms to the méringue of the low orders. He was not only influenced by traditional European classical music, but he was influenced by local traditions including Haitian Vodou ceremonial music and carnivals and Haitian peasant culture and influences which reflected a shared African heritage. One scholar has described Lamothe's repertoire as "predominantly classical in form, but creole in inspiration. Another musical scholar, Claude Carré of the online magazine Boutoures has described Lamothe as "representing the nationalist movement in Haitian classical music" and being "an emblematic figure, a piano virtuoso and a performer of Chopin, who left us a number of important compositions for piano."

Ludovic Lamothe (Haiti) - La Dangereouse (Haitian Meringue)

Statius Muller, born in Curacao, 1930, was a student of Jacobo Palm, and has been influenced by Palm, whose grandfather Jan Gerard Palm initiated the popularity of salon music and Caribbean dance music based on classical music. Also, waltzes and Frédéric Chopin's mazurkas were played a lot in Curaçao, and have strongly influenced his work.[4][5]

Statius Muller especially composed music for dancing, in settings for piano, not only waltzes and mazurkas, but also Caribbean dances such as the tumba derived originally from the Congo. Tropical, syncopated rhythms are clearly apparent in virtually all of his works. The works are, however, no longer intended to dance to, but are stylized and refined into concert music.

Many of his over 200 compositions are not published. A well-known published work is the Antillean Dances for piano (opus 2, 4, 5, 6). He performed many of his own compositions.

Wim Statius Muller (Curacao) Nostalgia (Waltz Op.2 N. 22)

BENJAMIN GUTIERREZ was born in San José, Costa Rica on January 3rd, 1937.  At a very young age he began his musical studies with his maternal grandmother, the daughter of Pilar Jiménez, a well known cellist and composer within Costa Rica.  In 1953 he entered the Conservatory of Music at the University of Costa Rica where he studied piano with Miguel Angel Quesada.  He left to Guatemala in 1957, after receiving a grant, and studied piano and composition with Augusto Adenois at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música de Guatemala.
Mr. Gutiérrez continued his musical studies at the New England Conservatory of Boston where he obtained a Master of Music degree in 1960.  In 1961 he continued his composition studies in Aspen, Colorado with the French composer Darius Milhaud, and in Ann Arbor, Michigan with Ross Lee Finney.  The early sixties were a period of great musical productivity for this composer. His most important works from this time period are Improvisation for String Orchestra, Symphonic Prelude, Pavana for strings, Absolutio Post Missam Pro Defunctis for choir, soloists and orchestra. Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Trio for Clarinet, Bassoon and Piano, and Woodwind Quintet with Piano and Percussion for seven instrumentalists. As will characterize his entire career as a composer, there is a good variety of music, ranging from pieces exclusively for strings to pieces that encompass more instruments.

Gutiérrez reports that he employs different techniques but does not consider himself follower of a particular style and does not feel compelled to use anything in particular as a composer. He is a great admirer of the lyricism of Brahms (to whom his first symphony - winner of the national prize in 1980 - is dedicated) and emphasizes that it is important to write what one feels. His orchestration is considered to be clear and precise. Gutiérrez's works utilize different harmonic styles and a great variety of genres that are enriched by how he treats the harmony. While not abandoning tonality, Gutiérrez often plays with polytonality. Divergent tonalities move his music into post-romanticism. Las tres canciones para soprano y piano, for example, contains climaxes that remind us of Wagner and delayed resolutions reminiscent of Wagner and Richard Strauss. Overall the harmonic techniques and polyrhythms heard frequently in Gutiérrez's works remind us of the music of Bela Bartók and Bartók appears to constitute a key influence on Gutiérrez's musical production. An example that comes to mind is La danza de la pena negra, a short piece for piano, which is also influenced by the driving rhythms and harmonis of some of Ginastera's works.

Benjamin Gutierrez (Costa Rica) - Danza De La Pena Negra

Jesús Castillo (b. 9 September 1877; d. 23 April 1946), Guatemalan composer and student of native Indian music. Castillo was born in San Juan Ostuncalco, near Quezaltenango in the western highlands of Guatemala. As a young man he became interested in traditional Indian music. He composed his "First Indian Overture" based on the Dance of the Little Bulls, a traditional dance at fiestas. Traveling from village to village in the highlands, he collected data about the music of the different Indian groups. Castillo used themes and melodiesin a classical tradition to compose his symphonic poems, suites, operas, and ballets. He became a leading authority on Indian music and instruments. His writings include La música Maya-Quiché (1941) and Legado folklórico a la juventud guatemalteca (1944). He died in Quezaltenango.

Jesus Castillo (Guatemala) - Fiesta De Pajaros

Wim Statius Muller (Curaçao)- Chuchubi (Rumba op. 4 No. 5)

Professor Oswald Russell accomplished musician and composer was born in Jamaica, August 16th 1933.  He was educated at St. George’s College and pursued his musical studies at the Royal Academy in London and Julliard School of Music in New York where he met Leonard Bernstein and other modern American composers. He performed concerts all over Europe and retired from the Geneva Conservatory of Music where he was a Professor.

Before migrating to Switzerland in 1964, Mr. Russell taught at the Jamaica School of Music and was Director of the Holy Trinity Cathedral Boys Choir. He also directed such distinguished choreographers as Martha Graham, Agnes DeMille and George Balanchine. One of his popular compositions ‘Three Jamaican Dances,’ a classical work that incorporates folk music based on Jamaican folk songs is described by many experts as ‘brilliant’.

Oswald Russell (Jamaica)-Jamaican Dance No. 2

Oswald Russell (Jamaica) - Papillons

BENJAMIN GUTIERREZ was born in San José, Costa Rica on January 3rd, 1937. At a very young age he began his musical studies with his maternal grandmother, the daughter of Pilar Jiménez, a well known cellist and composer within Costa Rica. In 1953 he entered the Conservatory of Music at the University of Costa Rica where he studied piano with Miguel Angel Quesada. He left to Guatemala in 1957, after receiving a grant, and studied piano and composition with Augusto Adenois at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música de Guatemala.
Mr. Gutiérrez continued his musical studies at the New England Conservatory of Boston where he obtained a Master of Music degree in 1960. In 1961 he continued his composition studies in Aspen, Colorado with the French composer Darius Milhaud, and in Ann Arbor, Michigan with Ross Lee Finney. The early sixties were a period of great musical productivity for this composer. His most important works from this time period are Improvisation for String Orchestra, Symphonic Prelude, Pavana for strings, Absolutio Post Missam Pro Defunctis for choir, soloists and orchestra. Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Trio for Clarinet, Bassoon and Piano, and Woodwind Quintet with Piano and Percussion for seven instrumentalists. As will characterize his entire career as a composer, there is a good variety of music, ranging from pieces exclusively for strings to pieces that encompass more instruments.

Gutiérrez reports that he employs different techniques but does not consider himself follower of a particular style and does not feel compelled to use anything in particular as a composer. He is a great admirer of the lyricism of Brahms (to whom his first symphony - winner of the national prize in 1980 - is dedicated) and emphasizes that it is important to write what one feels. His orchestration is considered to be clear and precise. Gutiérrez's works utilize different harmonic styles and a great variety of genres that are enriched by how he treats the harmony. While not abandoning tonality, Gutiérrez often plays with polytonality. Divergent tonalities move his music into post-romanticism. Las tres canciones para soprano y piano, for example, contains climaxes that remind us of Wagner and delayed resolutions reminiscent of Wagner and Richard Strauss. Overall the harmonic techniques and polyrhythms heard frequently in Gutiérrez's works remind us of the music of Bela Bartók and Bartók appears to constitute a key influence on Gutiérrez's musical production. An example that comes to mind is La danza de la pena negra, a short piece for piano, which is also influenced by the driving rhythms and harmonis of some of Ginastera's works.

Benjamin Gutierrez (Costa Rica) - Añoranza Para Piano

Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar (8 December 1882 – 24 April 1948) was a Mexican composer active in the 20th century. His work as a composer, music educator and scholar of Mexican music connected the concert scene with a mostly forgotten tradition of popular song and Mexican folklore. Many of his compositions are strongly influenced by the harmonies and form of traditional songs. Ponce wrote music for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and orchestra. His piano and guitar works outnumber those dedicated to other solo instruments.

Manuel Ponce (Mexico) - Preludio Tragico

Carlos Vieco Ortiz (March 4, 1904 - September 13, 1979) was a musician and composer from Medellín, Colombia. 
From a young age grew up with a strong dedication towards art. 

His compositions are close to three thousand, among them the most recognized are: Arable land, to Calvary, bye little white house, slave romance, sad and distant, water night God, prayer to the sun, the last letter, cultivando roses, soul indígena, offering, winter and spring.

Carlos Vieco Ortiz (Colombia) - Oracion

Carlos Vieco Ortiz (Colombia) - La Raza

Chopin's etude, known as the Revolutionary etude in the key of c minor. It features a powerful combination of fast and furious left hand running passages with right hand intense chords. Towards the end, and after an unexpected change of key to G-flat major, the music suddenly struggles between major and minor keys, ending triumphantly in a powerful "victory" chord of C MAJOR. Chopin did not call the etude "Revolutionary" but it is said to represent the struggle of his native country, Poland, as it was being invaded by Russia. The ending in a big, loud C Major Chord is very meaningful, as it could represent victory to his homeland.

Frederic Chopin (Poland)- Etude op. 10, No.12 in c minor "Revolutionary"

Opposite to the Revolutionary etude in the previous track, this etude features the fast running passages in the right hand, and powerful chords in the left hand. The motion of the running passages is constantly changing from upwards to downwards, creating a wind whirling effect. This etude is popularly known as the Winter Wind etude, and it uses a big range, spanning the entire keyboard. It is considered one of Chopin's most challenging etudes. By the way, don't be fooled by the beginning, as a few "pianissimo" chords represent the quiet before the storm.

Frederic Chopin (Poland)- etude op.25, No.11 in a minor "Winter wind"

Spanish Dance No. 5 by Enrique Granados is a piece rich in native elements, e.g., repetitive rhythmic effects suggestive of the footwork, the clapping, the powerful dancing of the Flamenco dancers. This first section is in e minor. It transitions smoothly into a middle section in E major. This short section features an innocent, playful, but peaceful melody, suggesting perhaps childhood memories or perhaps a vision of children at play, but it transitions back to the more lively, rhythmic dance, as if the dancers returned to the main stage after a break.

Enrique Granados (Spain)- Spanish Dance No. 5, "Andaluza"

A slow, expressive etude. There is a beautiful duet between right and left hand. However,  the right hand chords can make it difficult to hear, unless the chords are played really soft. We expect etudes to be fast and loud, as most etudes are, but Chopin's genius presents us with a different challenge: play the chords soft enough, as background harmonic support, in order for us to enjoy the duet. ENJOY!

Frederic Chopin (Poland)- Etude op. 25 No.7 "Cello Etude"

A habanera is a cuban slow dance. Many composers wrote habaneras, which have a soothing, relaxing effect. The rhythm pattern in this habanera, as in most others, has a swinging effect, as if  inspired by the delicate swing of the palm trees in a hot, breezy summer afternoon. Oh! the tropics! no wonder so many composers were inspired by this evocative rhythm.

Ernesto Halffter (Spain)- Habanera

This Etude, known as the "Harp" Etude because of its broken chord patterns imitating the harp, features the melodic line as part of that same broken chord pattern. The difficulty lies in having to play the melody as expressively as possible with only one finger (the 5th or pinky) while trying to keep the rest of the accompaniment as soft as possible.  This etude is traditionally considered easy by pianists, but some difficulties are more subtle.  "Not everything that is fast and loud is difficult, and not everything that is difficult is fast and loud"
(Martin Soderberg)

Frédéric Chopin: 24 Etudes

Frederic Chopin (Poland)- Etude in A-flat Major, op. 25, No. 1

La Comparsa describes a Carnival procession coming from a distance and drawing closer and closer to you, the listener, then  moving away to an almost imperceptible sound of drums.  The music describes this scene with a huge crescendo as well as a quick decrescendo. The first section in F-sharp minor starts with a drum announcing the coming of the procession, as the procession draws closer and closer, the music turns to F-sharp major, when the music is loudest and noisier only to fade away gradually until we hear only the distant drums again.

Ernesto Lecuona (Cuba) - La Comparsa (from Afro-Cuban Dances)

Ernesto Lecuona (1885 - 1963) was the son of a newspaper reporter from the Canary Islands who settled in Cuba – Child prodigy- Studied with Joaquin Nin and later with Ravel in Paris- Wrote many vocal works, including Zarzuelas (a type of Spanish Operetta), but also many piano pieces –  He introduced the first Latin orchestra in the USA, the Lecuona Cuban Boys in the 1930’s. 

Lecuona’s piano music is unique in its blend of elements. His style features a mostly European harmonic vocabulary, and a romantic pianistic treatment with native and African-Cuban  rhythms and folkloric elements. 

Y LA NEGRA BAILABA (And the black lady danced) is part of the Afro-Cuban Dances.

Secion A – Starts  with a drumming, percussive effect in left hand with a constant rhythmic pattern, which features a very syncopated rhythm. The melody is first presented loud and played in chords, over a very rhythmical left hand accompaniment.

Section B – A very short section B in very fast octaves, seems to interrupt the hypnotic dance, as if to take a break from it. A new rhythmic pattern is introduced in the left hand, and the fast octaves present a technical challenge to the performer, but it all leads back to the fast and furious section A, starting out very loud but getting softer and softer to the end, where the last two chords in fortissimo seem to say, It’s the end!.

Ernesto Lecuona (Cuba)- Y La Negra Bailaba

A work  by Rafael Landestoy based on themes from the popular merengue "La empaliza" by Luis Kalaff Perez, author of many merengues, boleros, salves and other popular forms. Landestoy's piano work presents a perfect blend of classical harmonies, technical passages (parts of the Fantasia Dominicana could have easily come from Franz Liszt's Spanish Rhapsody) with the popular theme of La Empaliza.

Rafael Landestoy (Dominican Republic)- Fantasía Dominicana sobre "La empaliza"

With directions such as furiosamente ("furiously"), violente ("violent"), mordento ("biting"), and salvaggio ("wild"), Ginastera left no doubt as to how the third dance, Danza del gaucho matrero ("Dance of the Arrogant Cowboy"), should be performed. Ginastera makes use of gratuitous dissonance in this piece, opening it with a 12-tone ostinato and frequently using minor seconds to harmonize otherwise simple melodies. The structure is an approximate rondo (ABACDACD), and the thematic material alternates between chromatic passages (sections A and B) and highly tonal, melodic passages (C and D). The jubilant sound of the C section is achieved by harmonising every single melody note with a major chord, even if they are totally foreign to the tonic key. The D section, by contrast, does not use a single accidental; here, jubilance is expressed through the use of brisk tempo, strong rhythm, fortissimo, and a simple, majestic chord progression. As might be expected from the savageness of the rest of the piece, the coda is anything but subtle: ffff dynamics and a tremendous glissando bring the dance to a close.

Alberto Ginastera (Argentina) - The Arrogant Cowboy

Entusiasmo is a "Pasillo" (Little step)for piano by Colombian composer Luis A. Calvo (1882- 1945) Pasillo is a Colombian genre of music extremely popular not only in Colombia, but in Ecuador and parts of Venezuela. It feels like a walts (in Venezuela it is called Vals), but as it spread during the Gran Colombia period, pasillo also absorbed the individual characteristics of isolated villages. This gives it an eclectic feel; however, the style, tone, and tempo of the music differ in each village and indeed between each country.

Luis A. Calvo (Colombia) -  Entusiasmo

JUAN MOREL CAMPOS  (1857 – 1896)
Juan Morel Campos was a Puerto Rican composer, considered by many to be responsible for taking the genre of danza to its highest level. He composed over 550 musical works before he died unexpectedly at age 38.

Morel Campos had his own dance orchestra, "La Lira Ponceña." Most of his danzas were written for dancing. He modified his compositions so that they may also be played on piano. Morel Campos is best known for his danza compositions, but he also composed waltzes, operas, symphonies, marches and overtures.
Women and the theme of love inspired most of his musical compositions. His great love was a lady named Mercedes Arias, but her family did not approve of their relationship.[8] It was from that frustrated "love" that many of Morel Campos' beautiful danzas were born, "Maldito Amor" (Damned Love) is an example. Among his best-known compositions are "Felices Dias' (Happy Days), "No Me Toques" (Do Not Touch Me), "Idilio," and "Maldito Amor" (Damned Love).

Juan Morel Campos (Puerto Rico) - No me toques

This track features Martin Soderberg's piano arrangement of Danza Paraguaya No.1 by Agustin Barrios (1885- 1944), a composer from Paraguay, who wrote almost exclusively for the guitar. Barrios is considered one of the greatest composers for the guitar.

Agustin Barrios (Paraguay) (arr. Soderberg) - Danza Paraguaya No. 1

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Martin Soderberg

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