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"

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)

This piano work by Rafael Landestoy, a Dominican born composer,  has a distinct Spanish flavor. His inspiration in Spanish folkloric elements is obvious.  The use of the Phrygian mode (or scale) beginning with the half step is typically Spanish. Certain percussive effects remind us of the castanets, a national instrument in Spain. plus a few strong chords in the left hand sound like the zapateado from flamenco dancers(strong, almost violent foot work)

Rafael Landestoy (Dominican Republic)- Reminiscencias De España No.1

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"

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

CARLOS CHAVEZ  (1899 – 1978)
Mexican Composer, Conductor, Music Theorist, Educator, Journalist 
Founder, Director of the Mexican Symphony Orchestra.
Chavez was Influenced by native Mexican cultures. At a young age he went on family vacations to were he was exposed to the cultural influence of Mexican indigenous people. Of his six symphonies, the second, known as the Sinfonia India uses native Yaqui percussion instruments (most popular)
After the Mexican Revolution, Chavez became one of the first exponents of Mexican nationalist music with ballets on Aztec themes.

Prelude No. 5 for piano features quartal and quintal harmonies (harmonies based on chords at the fourth and fifth) giving the music a "indian" feel. He also uses counterpoint throughout the short prelude for an interesting "dialogue" effect between the voices.

Carlos Chavez (Mexico)- Preludio No. 5

ALFONSO LENG  (1884 – 1974)
Alfonso Leng Haygus (11 February 1884 – 11 November 1974)was a post-romantic composer of classical music. He was born in Santiago, Chile. He wrote the first important symphonic work in Chilean tradition, "La Muerte de Alcino", a symphonic poem inspired by the novel of Pedro Prado. He composed many art songs in different languages and important piano pieces, like the five "Doloras" (1914), which he later orchestrated and are normally played in concerts in Chile and Latin America. He won the Nacional Art Prize in 1957.

The Doloras for piano are short pieces based on poems by the Chilean poet Pedro Prado. The Dolora No. 2 is inspired by the following poem: "Come closer, come closer, closer, closer. Give me your hand  and through my hand enter my heart. Listen to my trembling words that fall in the air. They carry my most pure feelings. Keep them keep them, be the tender beach embracing the water. Come closer, come closer. But what will happen to me when I realize that you are in my heart, will I look out and see no one there with me?"

Alfonso Leng (Chile)- Dolora No. 2

Eduardo Caba (Potosi, Bolivia, 1890 - La Paz, Bolivia, 1953) was a Bolivian nationalist composer, a pianist and a music professor. He spent the most part of his professional life in Buenos Aires and his last ten years in La Paz.

The musicologists Salas and Pauletto consider Caba as an "intuitive composer with the vernacular motives of his homeland". The vernacular aspects are probably the most characteristic of Caba's musical language.
But the intuitive character of Caba's work is probably the most interesting, and it is interesting to understand the origin of this "intuition". Salas and Pauletto, who knew personally Eduardo Caba, explain it in the following way:

"Born close to the Indians, he spent time with them in his early years. 	It is not strange that he would assimilate their musical expression. He 	is not a folklorist, but an intuitive composer that creates music the 	same way the indigenous people do, trying to transmit their traditions, dances and songs, since he feels Indian as well.

Eduardo Caba (Bolivia)- Aire Indio No. 5

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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