Œuvres » Par titre » C » Cuban Lawyer, Juan Blanco, Variation 2: Preparing for an electroacoustic music festival (0:58 / 2000)

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Cuban Lawyer, Juan Blanco Suite, is a work comprised of eight variations and the Theme/Piece from which the variations are derived. The Theme/Piece is usually performed last, if accompanied by variations, or alone on the radio.

The Theme/Piece dedicated to Juan Blanco, Director of the Laboratorio Nacional de Musica Electroacoustica, was composed as a movement for The Velvet Hammers, Portraits of Lawyers. It was composed for Juan’s 80th birthday festival in 2000, because Juan Blanco was a lawyer before becoming a professional musician.

Adelberg Rudow asked Juan to send her a recording of his talking about being a lawyer in Cuba. He sent her a 15 minute tape which she edited to around 5 minutes of dialogue. The result was the Theme, or piece itself and eight variations. Vivian omitted dialogue that might have gotten Juan in trouble with Castro.

The music includes numerous excerpts of the composers previously recorded works layered together plus her new music to enhance the greatly edited dialogue. All of the music was composed by her except the Latin keyboard music played by Sherif Shaalan, some of which she transformed.

Stephen Kates, Tchaikovsky Silver Medalist, is the cellist playing Adelberg Rudow’s music The Bare Smooth Stone Of Your Love, which sounds throughout. Also The Garden Song is used often because Juan had a garden