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Barroso, Sergio (b. March 4, 1946, Havana). Cuban composer, now resident in Canada, of mostly stage, orchestral and chamber works that have been performed throughout the world; he is also active as a keyboardist.
Mr. Barroso studied composition, organ and piano with Alfredo Levi, César Pérez Sentenat, Edgardo Martín, and Alfredo Díaz Nieto at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana from 1950–66. He had post-graduate studies in composition with Václav Dobiáš, Alois Hába and Karel Janeček at the Academy of Music in Prague from 1966–68 and also studied conducting with Manuel Duchesne and Gonzalo Romeu at the Instituto Superior de Música de la Universidad de La Habana. He then studied computer music with John Chowning and Jean-Claude Risset at Stanford University.
Among his many honors are a prize in the Bourges electroacoustic competition (1980), the New York Cintra/Arts International Composition Award (1999) and the Victor M. Lynch-Staunton Award from the Canada Council for the Arts (2000). His music has represented both Canada and Cuba at the UNESCO TRIMALCA (1979), the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Paris (1980, 1995) and the UNESCO International Rostrum of Electroacoustic Music (1990, 1994). His works have been performed throughout the Americas, as well as in Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Monaco, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.
As a keyboardist, he has primarily performed his own music and much baroque music, although he has also premièred works for harpsichord, piano and synthesizer by many composers.
He is also active in other positions. He worked as a broadcaster of new music at the Instituto Cubano de Radio y Televisión and as a music critic for the daily newspaper Juventud Rebelde in Havana from 1969–80 and served as music director of the Biblioteca Cubana Nacional José Martí from 1970–72 and the Universidad de La Habana from 1972–74. In addition, he served as chairman of the development department of the Ministerio de Cultura de Cuba and as secretary-general of the Cuban section of the UNESCO International Music Council from 1976–80.
Mr. Barroso taught composition and music theory at the Conservatorio Nacional de La Habana, the Escuela Nacional de Música in Havana and the Instituto Superior de Música de la Universidad de La Habana from 1968–80. He has also taught at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Mexico City and at Trent University, the University of Victoria and Simon Fraser University in Canada.
He has lived in Canada since 1981.
CONTACT INFORMATION
E-mail address: ireme@latinmail.com
SELECT LIST OF WORKS
STAGE: Plásmasis (ballet, choreography by Alicia Alonso), orchestra, tape, 1970; Dinamia (ballet), tape, 1972; La casa de Bernarda Alba (ballet, choreography by Alicia Alonso, after Federico García Lorca), small orchestra (14 winds, 8 brass), tape, 1971–75; Ireme (ballet, texts from Cuban Abakwá folklore), mezzo-soprano, percussion, tape, 1975 (may be performed as a concert work); Neverland (dance music), tape, 1976; The Tempest (incidental music, play by William Shakespeare), tape, 1984
ORCHESTRAL: Concierto, oboe, orchestra, 1967–68; Oda al soldado muerto, large orchestra, 1968; Concerto for String(s) and Four Sound Sources, 1972; Yantra VII, large orchestra, 1977; Tropical Sweet, string orchestra, 1986; La fiesta grande, synthesizers (1 player), orchestra, 1990; Jitanjáfora, violin, orchestra, 1993; Concerto, viola, orchestra, 1995–96 (also version without orchestra as Viola Desnuda)
CHAMBER MUSIC: Cuarteto de cuerdas, string quartet, 1967; Concierto, piano, percussion, audience, tape, 1968; Yantra I, guitar, tape, 1972; Yantra III, guitar, tape, 1972 (also version for 2 guitars, 1973); Yantra II, 14 winds, 1973–74; Yantra IV, flute (+ piccolo, alto flute), tape, 1975; Yantra V, guitar, 1975; Yantra IX, soprano saxophone (+ alto saxophone), tape, 1979; Yantra X, bassoon, tape, 1981–82; Quince Miradas a Don Quijote, 2 guitars, 1984; Danzas coloniales cubanas, French horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, 1984; En febrero mueren las flores, violin, tape, 1987; Canzona, synthesizers (1 player), tape, 1988; La fiesta, synthesizers (1 player), tape, 1989; Crónicas de ultrasueño, oboe/clarinet/trumpet, synthesizers (1 player)/tape, 1992; Sonatada, synthesizers (1 player), 1992; Charangas delirantes, synthesizers (3 players), 1993 (also version for synthesizers [1 player], tape, 1993); Viejas voces, viola, tape, 1993–94; Crónicas II, viola, synthesizers (1 player)/tape, 1995; Viola Desnuda, viola, 1995–97 (version of Concerto [viola]); La noche, bass clarinet, viola, tape, 1997 (also versions for bass oboe, bass clarinet, tape, 1997; 2 bass clarinets, tape, 1997; tape); Sandunga, viola, tape, 1997 (also version for clarinet, tape, 1997); Cuartetas, bass clarinet, viola, piano, synthesizers (1 player)/tape, 1999; Callejos, bass clarinet, tape, 1999; Pregones, cello, tape, 2000; Rocambole, violin/viola, cello, tape, 2001
VOCAL: El ángel desengañado (text by Rafael Alberti), alto, piano, 1963; Tres Canciones azules (text by Rafael Alberti), soprano, piano, 1963; Tres Canciones grises (text by Federico García Lorca), alto, piano, 1963; Grietas (text by Xiomara Funes), soprano, piano, 1965; Noema II, voice, guitar, violin, double bass, piano, tape, 1972; Ireme, mezzo-soprano, percussion, tape, 1975 (concert version of ballet); Verdehalago (text by Mariano Brull), high soprano, alto flute (+ piccolo), violin, double bass, percussion, live electronics, 2004–06
PIANO: Microsuite, 1965; Variaciones del Motoriongo, 1966; Música para pequeños oídos, 1966; Yantra VIII, 1978; Yantra VI, piano, tape, 1976–79
ELECTROACOUSTIC: Las barricadas misteriosas, tape, 1982; Soledad, tape, 1987; Tablao, guitar ad libitum, tape, 1991; La noche, tape, 1997 (version of chamber work)
MULTIMEDIA: Rumbos, tape, slide projections (by Sandú Darié), 1975
DISCOGRAPHY
Variaciones del Motoriongo. Nancy Casanovas, piano (Areito: LDA-3589) (LP)
Concierto (piano, percussion, audience, tape); Yantra I, IV. Luis Bayard, flutes; Flores Chaviano, guitar; Sergio Barroso/percussion of the Orquesta Sinfónica de La Habana (Areito: LDA-3631) (LP)
Yantra III (original version). Flores Chaviano, guitar (Areito: LDA-3721) (LP)
Yantra VIII. Ileana Peña, piano (Areito: LDA-3800) (LP)
Oda al soldado muerto. Enrique González Mántici/Orquesta Sinfónica de La Habana (Areito: LDA-7000) (LP)
Crónicas de ultrasueño (version for oboe). Lawrence Cherney, oboe; Sergio Barroso, synthesizers (Centrediscs: CMCCD 4793)
La fiesta; Crónicas de ultrasueño (version for oboe); En febrero mueren las flores; Charangas delirantes; Sonatada; Viejas voces; Tablao (version for tape); Yantra X; Canzona. León Biriotti, oboe; Jesse Read, bassoon; Adele Armin, violin; Laura Wilcox, viola; Sergio Barroso, synthesizers (empreintes DIGITALes: IMED 9628/29)
Yantra I, III (original version)-IV, VI, IX. Luis Bayard, flutes; Miguel Villafruela, saxophones; Flores Chaviano, guitar; Jorge Gomez Labraña, piano (IREME: 19732001)
La noche (version for tape); En febrero mueren las flores; Sandunga (original version); Las barricadas misteriosas. Adele Armin, violin; Laura Wilcox, viola (IREME: 19822002)
Concerto (viola); Jitanjáfora; La casa de Bernarda Alba (excerpts). Adele Armin, violin; Laura Wilcox, viola; Alex Pauk/Esprit Orchestra; Sergio Barroso/Orquesta Sinfónica de la Ópera Cubana (IREME: 19962001)
La fiesta. Sergio Barroso, synthesizers (Radio-Canada International: ACM-37)
Soledad; Canzona. Sergio Barroso, synthesizers (Société de Nouvelle Enregistrement: SNE 556)
Viola Desnuda. Laura Wilcox, viola (Société de Nouvelle Enregistrement: SNE 654)
(Last updated on April 21, 2007)
