London Philharmonic Orchestra – Tania Leon : Horizons; Raices (Origins); Stride; Paisajes

I really love the music by Cuban-American composer Tania Leon. His sound palette seems to be in a constant flurry of scattered ideas and motifs, but once you focus on the whole, you realize that everything is beautifully coherent, in addition to being rhythmically dynamic and catchy. Dance is at the heart of Cuban music, but Ms. Leon’s pages are not pastiches or rigid constructions. The sun and groove of the sound, of rumba or bachata, are distilled and amalgamated into complex symphonic frameworks that sometimes evoke Copland, sometimes something more avant-garde, but are always very evocative, and even “danceable.” Three of the four works on the program are world premieres (Raices, Stride, and Passajes).

Horizons dates back to 1999 and bears the mark of a more academic modernism, but the other three were written less than 5 years ago each and demonstrate the artist’s clear desire to get closer to her Cuban roots, and to the colors, scents, impressions, emotions, panoramas, and cultures that make up this inspiring country. The same attention to detail and thematic outbursts as in his previous plays, but here with a sophisticated, sublimated nationalist imprint. The Londoners seem to be having a great time with these scores.

A delightful album.