Leo Brouwer’s Elogio de la danza (1964): Imprints of Dance, Stravinsky, &

the Unison of Contraries

Clive W. Kronenberg

Introduction: Analytical Procedure 1

An in-depth academic scrutiny of Elogio de la danza, Leo Brouwer‘s advanced solo guitar
work composed close on fifty years ago, has remained relevant for a number of reasons.
As a start, the Cuban artist is widely considered as arguably the most significant living
twentieth-century composer for the guitar. 2 Linked to this, scholars of the guitar have
praised the work for varying, weighty reasons:

Elogio de la danza must be acknowledged as a one of the pieces - if not the piece-by which
a soloist‘s playing of Brouwer is judged.3

This is one of the most played of contemporary guitar pieces, and this fact makes this an
important historical document. 4

1 Special thanks are due to Leo Brouwer, Nicole Prieme, Mario Fernandez, The Cuban Ministry of
Culture, as well as the Research Directorate of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, for their
kind assistance in brining this project to fruition. My appreciation especially goes to Emeritus Professor
James May for his professional guidance with the analytical component of this work. To my knowledge,
this is the first comprehensive analytical study of Elogio de la Danza to appear in a musicological journal in
the English-speaking world. In this regard, the interest and support of the Editorial Board of Musicology
Review are highly valued.
2 See Rodolfo Betancourt, 'A Close Encounter with Leo Brouwer', http://www.musicweb-

international.com/brouwer/rodolfo.htm (1997), accessed 1st January 2000; Paul Century, ‗Idiom and
Intellect: Stylistic Syntheses in the Solo Guitar Music of Leo Brouwer‘, Masters Thesis, (University of
California at Santa Barbara, 1985); Colin Cooper, ‗A Meeting of Talents: John Williams Plays Leo
Brouwer‘s 4th Concerto‘, Classical Guitar, (December 1988), 12-14; Armand Dumond, and F. Denis,
‗Entretiens avec Leo Brouwer‘. Les Cahiers de la Guitar, (4e trimester 1998), 12-20; Clive Kronenberg,
‗Cuban Artist, Leo Brouwer and his Solo Guitar Works: From Pieza sin titulo to Elogio de la danza.‘ M.Mus.
Thesis, (South African College of Music, University of Cape Town, 2000); Clive Kronenberg, ‗Guitar
Composer Leo Brouwer: The Concept of a Universal Language‘. Tempo, (62) 245, (2008), 30-46;
Constance McKenna, ‗An Interview with Leo Brouwer‘. Guitar Review, 75 (Fall1988), 10-16; Roberto
Pinciroli, ‗Leo Brouwer‘s Works for Guitar Part 3‘, (transl. P. Possiedi), Guitar Review, (Fall 1989); Kim
Tran, ‗The Emergence of Leo Brouwer‘s Compositional Periods. The Guitar, Experimental Leanings, and
New Simplicity‘. Senior Honours Thesis, (Music Department Dartmouth College, 2007); Dean Suzuki,
‗The Solo Guitar Works of Leo Brouwer‘, Masters Thesis, (University of Southern California, 1981);
Bryan Townsend, ‗The Music of Leo Brouwer for Guitar and Orchestra‘, Guitar Review No. 98, (Summer,
1994).
3 Chris Kilvington, ‗Step by Step: An Analysis of the Techniques Employed by both Hands in Six Bars of

Leo Brouwer‘s Elogio de la Danza‘, Guitar Review (August 1995), 45.

4 Cooper, ‗A Meeting of Talents‘, 43.

45
Notwithstanding Elogio de la danza‘s enduring prominence, musicological journals in the
English-speaking world have yet to subject it to stringent, scholarly assessment. This,
likewise, is reflective of the fact that such publications have rarely ventured into the
general affairs of the instrument. Elogio de la Danza quite surprisingly was composed in a
matter of one or two days only. 5 This factor, naturally, may give rise to speculation about
its artistic ‗worth‘. As such, an analytical scrutiny should, to some degree, be able to delve
into its underlying musical value, given its acclaimed standing in guitar literature. In view
of these factors, and others, the analytical inspection presented here is thus long overdue.
It is, however, largely guided by the creator‘s own thoughts on his masterpiece.

During my conversation with the artist in early August 1998 at the Nürtingen Guitar
Festival (Germany), he expressed his views on ‗Eulogy of the Dance‘ as follows:

This is a piece everybody has told me is obligatory. There are not many guitarists,
professional or not, who never played it. It is truly a success and has been employed in a
number of choreographic interpretations. Since the early 1970s many recordings have
been made of it. I composed the piece in one or two days, because it had to be recorded
for TV for a forthcoming event. A great friend of mine, a choreographer, had to arrange
his choreography with this music.6 The piece is in two movements because the
choreographer wanted to pay homage to the Grand Adagio from classical ballet, and to
Ballet Russess, including Stravinsky. That is why the second movement makes reference to
this composer. As in most of my works, I was guided by the law of opposites - like man-
woman, day-night – so the music is also composed in this sense. In terms of harmony, I
tried to escape a stable sense of tonal awareness, so I avoided the continuity of tonality. I
started very much with my feet on earth, but later I go flying a bit, a little dance-like with
some atmosphere.7

From Leo Brouwer‘s commentary here a few significant ‗topical‘ aspects emerge for
analytical consideration. Among other possibilities, the following are chosen as the main
points of reference:

 Ballet: though the work‘s intention or purpose is not in dispute, how compliant is it
with this art form? How did the composer go about creating the supporting pillars
– ‗temperament‘ or ‗ambience‘ – for what really is intended as a dance
presentation?
 Harmony and Tonality: what is the nature of the composer‘s deviation from his
customary ‗stable sense of tonal awareness‘?

5 Clive Kronenberg, Audio & Digital Recordings of (1) Interviews conducted with Leo Brouwer, and (2)
Leo Brouwer‘s Composition Classes, Nürtingen Guitar Festival, Germany, (August 1998).
6 Reference is made to the distinguished Cuban choreographer Louis Trapaga.
7 Kronenberg, Audio & Digital Recordings.

46
  Stravinsky: as an explicit ‗tour de force‘ imported from beyond Cuba‘s borders,
what musical qualities depict his presence in Elogio de la danza? 8
 Law of opposites: in which manner is this unequivocally, self-professed philosophical
goal (see below) manifested in the work? What are its roots? and what are its
implications for musical composition?

These are among the main areas the analysis endeavours to address. 9 These are but
broad points of reference which, furthermore, inevitably are not discussed in that order
since individual aspects certainly intersect. The introductory section below inspects the
work‘s formal structure and place within the artist‘s stylistic periods. Prior to this, the
article briefly considers further essential matters, which, it is reasoned, may better explain
the work‘s conceptual process. Hence, given the work‘s close association with ballet, the
latter‘s idiosyncratic place in Cuba warrants some consideration. Further, Leo Brouwer ‘s
unwavering adoption and espousal of ‗the law of opposites‘ similarly call s for some prior
contemplation.

Cuban Ballet
Although details of the actual ballet production (particularly its styles and techniques)
wherein Elogio de la danza had featured have been difficult to verify, the work‘s close
association with the broader world of dance appears to have been a fairly natural
occurrence, at least in Cuba. It was since the mid-1930s that Ballet Russes gained a firm
footing in the country‘s performing arts tradition. 10 Following the initial visit and
performances of the Ballet Russes de Montecarlo in 1936 in the capital Havana, the Ballet
Russes de Basil landed there in the early 1940s after an extensive world tour. Its renowned
Hungarian conductor Antal Dorati together with a number of the dancing cast chose to
extend their stay indefinitely and was joined later by Cuba‘s best -known dancing
personalities Fernando and Alicia Alonso. In later years the island‘s national dancing cast

8 Cuban Cultural Policy strongly advocates the ‗import‘ and employment of ‗cultural successes‘ from
beyond the island‘s borders. See Clive Kronenberg, Manifestations of Humanism in Revolutionary Cuba:
Che and the Principle of Universality, Latin American Perspectives, 165(36), (2009), 66-80; and Revolutionary
Cuban Culture in Review: Theories, Tensions, Triumphs, and the Struggle for Universal Social Change,
Critical Arts, 25(2), (2011), 141-163.
9 The music score used for this analysis is Leo Brouwer, Elogio de la Danza, (Mainz: Schotts Sohne, 1972).

All musical examples appearing in the text are from this source.
10 Though Ballet Russes‘s origins were in Russia, it never actually took off in that country itself. After the

1905 Revolution, its creator Diaghilev made Paris its home in 1909. This modern genre spread beyond
the confines of the Parisian stage and performances and new developments took place across three
continents. Consequently, its characteristics became as varied as was its audiences. Experiments in the
Ballets Russess resulted in new ideas in the domains of theme, movement, set design, music, and
costuming. Ideas frequently originated from artistic spheres other than dance, such as painting, avant-
garde performance, and ‗new drama‘. (J. Gorman, and Chris Sippel, Ballet Russes,
http://www.stanford.edu/~gfreidin/gallery/ballet_Russes, (n.d.), accessed 25 May 2011.

47
would be complemented by established international stars Tatiana Stepanova, Nina
Stroganova, April Olrich, Carlota Pereyra, Kenneth MacKenzie, and Vladimir
Dokoudovsky. After the demise of the Ballet Russes de Basil in the early 1950s the Ballet
Russes de Montecarlo continued its activities there until 1962. 11 The contentment and delight
Ballet Russes brought in its wake among Cuba‘s dancing fraternity are amply portrayed in
the memoirs of a retired prima ballerina:

How can one not treasure the bold neoclassical choreographies of Fokine, the
captivating symphonic ballets of Massine, the elegant scenic demeanor of Baronova, the
technical virtuosity of Riabouchinska, the radiant warmth of Denisova, or the vibrant
partnering of all those handsome men?12

The revolution‘s cultural desk in 1961 re-established The Cuban National School of
Ballet, with Alicia Alonso tasked to manage and direct its teaching programme. 13

Under the revolution emphasis seemed to have shifted to the expansion of classical
ballet, which, though reasonably well developed by the late 1950s, predominantly served
Cuba‘s higher classes. Despite severe economic restriction and hardship, under the
rousing leadership of Alicia Alonso (currently the island‘s prima ballet assoluta), the Cuban
National School of Ballet to date has staged some of the world‘s greatest classical ballets,
performed in some of the most famous theatres globally, and showcased the
extraordinary skill of scores of international visiting figures. 14

Leo Brouwer’s philosophical orientation

The composer‘s initial admiration and espousal of the avant garde 15 over time gave way to
sober, critical reflection. 16 In later times he reasoned that the avant garde sought to
communicate an ‗atomized, crisp and tensional language‘; that it suffered from a ‗defect‘
in terms of ‗compositional balance‘. 17 This idea, which flows from ‗the law of opposites‘,
is present in ‗history‘, where ‗movement, tension, with its consequent rest and relaxation,
exists within all circumstances of humankind‘. In basic terms, ‗if someone talks, the other
listens; like day-night, man-woman‘, the composer clarifies. For him, then, the avant -

11 Célida Villalón, ‗The Other Ballet Russes: Let‘s Not Forget‘ (transl. Vivien Villalón),
http://www.danzaballet.com.(2008), accessed 15 February 2011.
12 Célida Villalón, ‗The Other Ballet Russes‘.
13 Ramona De Sáa Bello (Director), Escuela Nacional de Ballet. Cuban National Ballet Company, Havana,

Cuba, (2005).
14 De Sáa Bello (Director), Escuela Nacional de Ballet; Kronenberg, Ph.D. Field Research, Havana, Cuba,

(2005).
15 See Neil Leonard, Juan Blanco: Pioneer of New Music, Rhythm Music Magazine, (3)4, (April 1994),

http://neilleonard.com/articles/blanco_rmm.htm, accessed 15 March 2011.

16 Betancourt, 'A Close Encounter‘.
17 This quotation and next, Betancourt, 'A Close Encounter'.

48
garde lacked the ‗relaxation‘ made necessary by all tensions. ‗The principle in general in
my music‘, Brouwer says, is that the ‗law of opposites‘ manifests itself as ‗a ‗question and
answer‘ – as ‗tension and resolution‘. In a creative sense, the artist initially applied it
‗unintentionally‘, and not ‗intellectually‘, since it is ‗organic‘. 18 As he reiterates, ‗there is
no living entity that doesn't rest‘. 19 This philosophical-creative idea carries some weight,
for as we shall see below, its ‗presence‘ is positively perceptible in Brouwer‘s 1964 solo
guitar piece.

The Style Factor

There has been some contention about which of the composer‘s three guitar styles Elogio
de la danza more appropriately belongs to. 20 Markow contends that this work ‗straddles
the division‘ between his first and second stylistic periods. 21 Townsend, on the other
hand, argues that Elogio de la danza effectively launches Brouwer‘s second (atonal/avant
garde) period.22 The position adopted here – that this is the artist‘s last solo guitar piece
written in his first style – is based on Century‘s 1985 overview of Brouwer‘s general
guitar works, Pinciroli‘s 1989 summary of the composer‘s three stylistic periods, 23 and an
independent, in-depth examination of a wide range of Brouwer‘s guitar scores. 24 Fairly
significant too during my conversation with Leo Brouwer, was his indication that
Canticum para guitarra, his solo piece composed in 1968, in effect marks a decisive break
from his initial, tonal writing phase. 25 As can readily be seen, the great impact of the 1961
Polish Warsaw Festival, for instance, is hardly perceptible in this piece. 26 Nonetheless, it
is perceptible that the works followi ng his ‗intellectual growth‘ at the Julliard School (US)
and in Warsaw display a superior academic awareness of compositional practices in
modern music. 27 Nonetheless, it is perceptible that the works following his ‗intellectual
growth‘ at the Julliard School (US) and in Warsaw display a superior academic awareness

18 Kronenberg, Audio & Digital Recordings.

19 Betancourt, 'A Close Encounter'
20 The three periods are roughly summarised as follow s: The first, predominantly tonal period, 1956–

1964; followed by the second from 1968–1979, the composer‘s avant garde, primarily non-tonal style; and
last, his current ‗neo-romantic‘ approach wherein limited avant garde elements are combined with a return
to the tonal harmonic idiom.
21 P. Markow, Program Notes: Leo Brouwer Guitar Music Volume 1, Perf. by Ricardo Cobo, Naxos:

B0000014EJ, (1998).
22 Brain Townsend, The Music of Leo Brouwer, 22–27.
23 See Century, ‗Idiom and Intellect.; Roberto Pincirolli, Leo Brouwer‘s Works for Guitar Part 3, (trans.

P.Possiedi). Guitar Review, (Fall 1989), 8-12.

24 Kronenberg, Cuban Artist Leo Brouwer.
25 Kronenberg, Audio & Digital Recordings.
26 Leo Brouwer was Cuba‘s representative at this historic festival, an experience that greatly influenced

not only his own styles and techniques, but the development of the broader contemporary art music
tradition of the island as a whole.
27 Kronenberg, Audio & Digital Recordings

49
of compositional practices in modern music. 28 Elogio de la danza is in fact Brouwer‘s
longest and most developed formally structured solo guitar work at the time. The work‘s
uniqueness is portrayed particularly in the composer‘s imaginative fusion of traditional
tonal structures with a range of modern techniques.

Formal Structure
Elogio dela danza is set in two contrasting movements of approximately equal duration,
collectively spanning some six minutes. The profile of the first movement Lento is
broadly A-B-C-A. Whereas each new section embodies an individual character, important
linkages and common features contribute to the movement‘s cohesion. On the face of it,
the second movement Obstinato is structured in an A-B-C-A-B form. Viewed more
globally, the familiar arch form A-B-A similarly surfaces (whereby the aforementioned A-
B simultaneously constitutes A, and C becomes B). A detailed scrutiny of this movement
follows the discussions on Lento below.

1ST Movement: Lento

Section A: bars 1-9
From the outset the work employs pedals, a feature characterising many of Brouwer‘s
earlier works, and notably his three miniature sketches, Tres apuntes (1959).

In Elogio de la Danza pedals are brought into operation either through obvious usage or
indirect suggestion. The initial pedals are announced on the low E, which also launches
the tonic throughout much of the work. From early in the ensuing section the previously
established B – announced initially in the opening chord and later sounded as harmonics
in bar 8 – now takes on the role of pedal. However, the formerly sounded Es still
resonate which are now articulated within broken chordal figurations (bars 10 onwards).

Brouwer‘s explicit intention to deviate from the tonal convention is manifested on a

number of fronts. Besides the obvious sounding of clashing intervals, he skilfully creates
important harmonic associations and linkages, both within, and across, the two
movements. The opening E bass, followed by the upper level pitches F#-A#-B-D-C#,
asserts itself as the primary cell of the work overall ( Fig. X). This statement remains
static for the first four bars as the high C# articulates an irregular rhythmic figure. A
closer scrutiny of this unit reveals a mildly dissonant, six-note arpeggiated chord,
extending from the guitar‘s lowest pitch, E (open 6 th string) to C#, two octaves plus a
major 6th above (1st string, 9th position). Though many permutations can be derived
from the cell, as the music progresses and develops, intervals of thirds, tri-tones, 7ths, as

28In 1959 the Cuban government sponsored the artist to pursue studies in composition at the Julliard
School in New York and later at the Hartt College in Connecticut.

50
well as the cell‘s rising contour, emerge as the work‘s key building blocks. The distinctive
arrangement of thirds in large measure determines the work‘s bi-tonal harmony, which
becomes prominent from time to time. In effect, with the E bass the music announces
the first tri-tone with the sounding of A#, whereas the combination of thirds results in
the possible merger of F# major and B minor (see Fig. X). The fusion of major and
minor – albeit horizontally – is implicit in the melodic contour of bar 7 where t he pitch
descent generates interlocking major and minor thirds (B–G, A#-G; see Fig. 1). As can
be discerned, this austere blending later asserts itself as a further underlying attribute of
the piece. The brief G pedal in bar 7 copies the latter part of the irregular rhythm from
bar 4; thereafter it rises a major third, to B, thus establishing the ‗new‘ pedal, albeit
fleetingly.

FIG. X. The work’s ‘Cell’, announced in the opening bars of Elogio de la danza

FIG. 1. Bars 5-7. Interlocking major/minor thirds, tri-tones, and escalating sevenths

Besides the opening cell containing several 7ths of varying dissonance, this interval
becomes isolated, and hence highlighted – melodically and rhythmically – in later bars.
Bar 5, however, exhibits a rising major second (notated as diminished third), a falling
minor second, introducing, further, the declining tri-tone (see Fig. 1). As the second
statement varies the first interval, which now becomes a minor third, the third statement
is an exact copy of the first, sounded a major sixth down. Following this are downward
leaps on major sevenths which, in turn, expand into rising sevenths, escalating in perfect
fourths (Bb -Eb, A b-Db, noted as C#). The initial two sevenths emphasise the tri-tone
with the sounding of fourth chords, while the minor sevenths, in turn, yield chords
incorporating perfect fourths (see Fig. 1). This neo-classical resonance in part can also be
associated with the natural sounds o f the guitar, a further feature that arises now and

51
again.

Section B: bars 10-24

This section retains the B pedal in the top voice in bars 10-15, emphasising each beat
until bar 14. The accompaniment is at first based on the perfect-fourth chord E-A–D-G-
C (bar 6 onwards), thus re-evoking the sounds of open guitar strings, the bottom four in
this case. Bar 12 continues the white-note announcements from the previous two bars,
later calling to mind earlier tonal conflicts (bars 1, 5 and 6) with the sounding of the two
tri-tones, A b-D, and C-Gb.

Bars 13 onwards draw chiefly from previously introduced material, thus repeating,
expanding, as well as manipulating earlier announcements. More pronounced from bar
21 onwards, is the linkage of major and minor, which now recalls G# (notated as A b)-G-
E from bars 17 and 20. Besides the dominant presence of the aforementioned intervals,
the work is replete with 6ths, 5ths, 4ths, and 2nds, all of which are announced in quick
succession right from the start (see Fig. X).

In bar 21 the E pedal of the opening re-emerges, and following, is a repeated four-note
cluster ordered on the rhythm introduced in bar 4. Incorporated in this cluster are two
thirds (minor and major), set a minor second apart (see Fig. 2). Pitches B-D are sounded
at their original registers (Fig. X) and added are pitches C and E, with the latter pitch
doubling the pedal two octaves higher. Of some significance, all of these pitches can be
extracted from the arpeggiated figures from bar 10.

FIG. 2. Bar s 19-22. Four-note clusters i ncorporating major and minor thirds.

Bar 23 interchanges the minor/major thirds, thus generating greater tonal conflicts. The
cluster now comprises a major third coupled with a minor third, set a major second apart
(B-D# and C#-E). Bar 25 transforms this concept when C# is reinstated an octave
below and E doubled one octave down as well. Thus two major thirds are generated, set
a major seventh apart (C-E, B-D#).

Section C: bars 25-44

The low E pedal makes a rhythmically gripping return in Allegro moderato, thereby
elevating the harmonic focal point of the work. Bar 26 diverges with the initiation of a
52
single-voiced melodic statement in regular eighth notes (12/8) in the lower register. This
appears to be set in E minor. Prominent here, again, are melodic thirds (also stated as
sixths), thus preserving their earlier significance.

Bar 28 presents an escalating curve, strongly reminiscent of the opening of the work.
Whereas this mounting figure recalls pitches F#, B, D and C# from Fig. X, the addition
of pitches A and G reinforces the bi-tonal/major-minor harmonic effect, in this instance,
the combination of F# minor and G major.

Bar 33 is answered by bar 34 recalling pitches A#, B and F# from Fig. X. The
reiteration of the latter two pitches highlights their link with the opening chord.
Important duplications of previous, distinguishing segments occur in bars 33 -43.
Substantially structural, these repetitions retract (1) the E pedal (2) the rising figure from
bar 33, and (3) pitches A#-B-F# from Fig. X. The musical design (bars 33-43) as a result
generates the following irregular pattern: 1 -2-3, 1-3, 2-3, 1-3, 2-3 (Fig. 3). (Note that this
unbalanced design contains five parts, of which their total components equal 11).

FIG. 3. Bar s 31-44. Retraction, rearrangement, and amalgamation of preceding material.

Section A (Returns)
Reinstating the initial tempo (Lento), bar 45 also copies the opening announcement. Here
the low E pedal is retained and most of Fig. X is now sounded a major or minor third
lower. At the same time synchronized minor and major thirds (set a minor second apart)
are embedded in the score once more (bar 45).

53
With slight rhythmic modification, bars 51 -54 restate Fig. X three times. The unchanging
harmony yet again is counterbalanced with soaring C#s, which, in this instance, acquire
greater prominence in the absence of the usual pedal. This pitch plays an essential role in
both lingering and ultimately concluding the delicate flow of the movement‘s last bars.

***
What emerge predominantly thus far, are (1) the proclamation of a primary cell, which
sets the foundation for the creation of (2) erratic, dissonant, and often elevated melodic
material, (3) clashing intervallic elements, (3) jarring bi-tonal harmonies habitually based
on the fusion of major and minor chords, and (4) chords composed of 4ths, including
‗elite‘ tri-tones, as well as perfect 4ths. The latter intervals, quite evidently, suitably echo
the arrangement of the guitar‘s open strings. The emergence of an unequivocally atonal
harmonic design, however, is offset fundamentally by the incorporation of an all-
important pedal. Launching itself from the instrument‘s open bass string, it also marks its
presence in the music‘s higher register and sometimes merely as a recollection from
earlier passages. In terms of its intended purpose, the movement appears to make a
determined attempt to create the basic temperaments conducive to the more ceremonial,
classical style of ballet (discussed below).

2ND Movement: Obstinato

Section A: bars 1-16
As can be expected, this movement‘s primary structural feature is an ostinato, which is
exhibited in different ways. On the one hand, the ostinato is projected on repeated
rhythmic and melodic figures (Fig. 4).

FIG. 4. Opening bars of Obstinato. Note the composer’s use of bi-tonality (E maj./min.) , and the
incorporation clashing, parallel bi-tonal clusters.

On the other hand, the E pedal once more is prominent, often sustaining, elevating, or
launching the ostinato element. The pedal makes a perceptive return after being ‗absent‘,
both periodically, as well as in extended sections in the previous movement (see the
closing section of the first movement, for example). Rhythmically it is now more defined
and commanding, whilst harmonically its tonic status, equally, assumes greater authority.
Bars 1-3 sound the pedal in the bass as the upper voices herald in the major/minor
permutation, set on the customary E. Announcing a distinguishing, expanding driving
54
beat, furthermore incorporating four-note parallel clusters in triplets, these permutations
are sounded both harmonically, as dyads of sixths (B-G and G#-E), and melodically, as
thirds (G-E and G#-B, see Fig. 4).

FIG. 5. Sequential interface between F# maj./min. and D maj./mi n. in the upper regi ster.

The two harmonic dyads yield the quartad G#-B-E-G, which also contains the now-
familiar seventh (see Fig. X: D-C#). The initial major/minor variation resurfaces
sequentially, first on F# (bars 7 & 8), then on D (bar 9 onwards, Fig. 5). The primary E
tonality subtly reappears prior to the bar of silence that closes this section.

Section B: bars 17-61

Bars 17-61 re-employ the accustomed E major/minor procedure from earlier. Prior to
the reappearance of the pedal, a well -defined minor second cadential figure (A#-B-A#-B)
is announced, culminating directly in the low E (Fig. 6). This feature is employed a
number of times in this section (see bars 17, 18, 21, 22, 38, 39, etc.) and its pitches,
likewise, make their original appearance (though in higher register) in the work‘s
preliminary statement (see Fig. X).

FIG.6 .Bars 17-21. Cadential figure culminating on E mi n/maj. & the sounding of transparent major
harmony

Quite novel, however, is that Brouwer, for the first time in the piece, introduces clear,
traditionally tonal harmony. Conspicuous then are the unambiguous, uncomplicated E
major chords sounded in bars 20-21, and again in bars 41-42 (Fig. 6). These unadorned
concords linger across bar lines after having stabilised cadential imbalances. The latter are
generated by the combination of thirds now sounding the hitherto rare diminished chord

55
[C#-E-(G)-Bb]. Additionally, D major triads reinstate the major tonality in bars 35
onwards. Here the E pedal resurfaces in the lower register, thus generating a more
delicate discord. Texturally, Brouwer also displays his partiality towards a contrapuntal
style of writing, which is manifested in bar 28 onwards, and more demonstratively, in his
early solo work, Fuga No. 1 (1958).

FIG. 7. Bar s 56-58. Glissando figure, fusion of the openi ngs of both movements.

The arrangement of the upper melodic pitches G and A (bars 19-20) recollects the major
seventh from Fig. X. Following the single statement of the A#-B-E figure, bars 53-55
isolate the melody from bars 23-24, with E sounded an octave lower. The openings of
both movements are thus juxtaposed and arranged paradoxically as a falling figure,
expiring on low E (see the glissando, bars 56-57, Fig. 7). Here the composer resourcefully
brings together pitches A#-F#-B (from the opening Lento, which therefore also includes
the A#-B-A#-B element from the start of this section) with the G#-B combination from
the opening of the Obstinato (Fig. 7). All of these share the E pedal. Note that the
performer is instructed to let these notes vibrate across the bar line (l.v.). At this point in
the music the solitary and prolonged E reinforces the tonality of the work.

Section C: bars 62-92

This section presents several punctuations structured on previous dissonances, but now
additionally incorporating C major, (see bars 62 onwards, Fig. 8). The consequential
austerity is made quite prominent as it is announced on harsh, piercing rasguedos.

FIG. 8. Bar s 62-64. Combination of harmonies built on the pitches of the C major chord.

Bars 62 and beyond verticalize the pitches from bar 1 (2 nd Movement) at their initial

56
register. The addition of the C pitch intensifies the work‘s erratic bi-tonal character,
elevating in the process the proverbial interval of t he third. This chord yields three major
thirds, built on each of the notes of the C major triad, plus two minor thirds (C -E, E-G#,
G-B and E-G, G#-B, see Fig. 8).29 At bar 65 the melodic notes from bars 23 -24
resurface, whereas the chordal figure from bar 62 is restated in bars 71-76. In addition,
the offbeat rhythmic texture from earlier is copied. The melodic announcement in bar 77
calls back interlocking major and minor thirds, as well as the peculiar tri-tone, sounded in
succession on F#-C (bar 77), C#-F (bar 78) and D#-A (bars 78-79) (Fig. 9). Whereas
bars 80-82 emphasise this aspect with C -F# featuring three times an octave higher,
interconnected major and minor thirds in the melodic line once more drive the work‘s
projected bi-tonal asceticism (see C#-F-E, bar 78; Bb -D-Db; A-Db, bar 79; etc.).

FIG. 9. Bar s 74-86. Prominence of the tri-tone and return of interlocking major/minor thirds.

The end of this section sees the music recalling section A with slight modification.

Section B: bars 109-131

FIG. 10. Closing of Elogio de la danza

The return of the B-section mostly repeats previously introduced material. (Bars 109 to

29 Alternately, this cluster could be construed as combining C major, E major, and E minor..

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the beginning of bar 131, predominantly restate bars 17 to 39). As the music builds to a
powerful climax – pp rising towards fff – the ultimate harmony encompasses a prolonged
fourth chord on pitches E-B-E-A-B-E, thereby re-inducing the instrument‘s organic
sounds. The E pedal – perhaps the most prominent structural element of Elogio de la
Danza – is thus doubled in the outer voices of the upper four notes (Fig. 10). This
typically neo-classical quartal formation recollects its earlier appearance as Brouwer‘s
masterpiece concludes. 30

The Law of Opposites

Imprints of Dance
I: Grace, Sense of Line and Balance
It was most natural arguably, for Brouwer (one of Cuba‘s most prominent music
personalities at the time the work was composed) to have caught the attention of one of
the island‘s most prolific and applauded expressive arts domains. Besides Elogio de la
danza‘s explicit dance connection, Brouwer also composed a full-scale, modern ballet.

Tasked to compose music honouring the Grand Adage from classical ballet, the composer
would have been mindful of this genre‘s elongated, elegant, and poised lines. Further
features include, alert, raised postures with occasional alluring feet movement and body
leaps. 31 As the Royal Academy of Dancing (RAD) sums it up: the Adage is that part of
ballet where ‗slow, flowing, controlled movements are combined to develop grace, sense
of line, and balance, especially on one leg‘. 32

The start of Elogio de la danza exudes a somewhat mysterious, dark mood, while its
musical compass is both spacious and inactive, thus emitting the basic freedom to
execute ‗gracefulness‘, ‗composure‘, and ‗balance‘. This is achieved by recurring pitches
which are both low and drone-like, as well as soaring and irregular. The unhurried metre
reinforces the sense of autonomy that prevails here. The B-section is more structured as
well as active, incorporating continual arpeggiated motives, the durations of which are
doubled in speed at times. This, certainly, sets the scene for the dance performer to
become more ‗alert‘, and thus ‗mobile‘ and ‗vibrant‘. 33 Appropriately entitled allegro
moderato, the C-section of the first movement conveys more energy and motion. Though
elements from the opening re-emerge, they are now subservient to the vitality generated
by melodic flurries in the low-register. A bar of silence is followed by the music‘s return

30 In this regard see Fig. X and more particularly bars 10 and beyond of the 1st Movement.
31 See Gretchen Warren, Classical Ballet Technique, (University Press of Florida: Florida, 1989); Gail Grant,

Technical Manuel and Dictionary of Classical Ballet, (Barnes and Noble: Ohio, 2009).
32 Royal Academy of Dancing (RAD), Ballet Class, (Ebury Press: London, 1984.), 98.
33 See Grant, Technical Manuel.

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to the opening. The movement dissipates as remnants of the opening cell are repeated
three times, each articulated progressively quieter, finally transpiring on morendo and ppp.
In this respect, numerous, carefully-positioned expressive markings enhance the
movement‘s intended theatrical/balletic spirit, something the composer clearly was
mindful of.34

Elogio de la danza‘s endorsement of suitable, poignant dance temperaments 35 is sustained

furthermore by multiple metric variations located throughout the work. This creative
approach likewise contributes to work‘s broad, dance-like nature. In the opening
movement Lento the initial indication is ¾, followed by ¼ (bar 12), with a reversion to ¾
in the following bar. 3/8 (bar 15) is followed by 4/4 in the following bar, etc. Entangled
in these irregular metric settings and changes, are returning melodic motifs, broken
chordal articulations, as well as notated bars of silence (discussed below).

II: Dissonance and Turmoil

The broader nature of Diaghilev‘s inspired Ballet Russes indicates that, in its departure
from tradition - long and graceful lines, dazzling feet movement, body raised, etc. –
performers‘ limbs were more frequently sharply bent, movement occurred more from the
pelvis than feet, and body components tended to proceed inward, no longer primarily
outward. Whereas general physical activity became more ‗pulled down‘, deviating from
customary upward movement, dancing steps became strong and heavy, no longer mainly
feathery and light. 36

Creators and performers of Ballet Russes at times also focused on the ‗grotesque‘, not
merely the elegant. As a result, on occasion the music would emulate scenes of pagan
violence and primitivism, 37 as so remarkably portrayed in Stravinsky‘s Sacre du printemps.

As noted, reports of Elogio de la danza‘s first performance - as part of a ballet production -

have been hard to come by. Gaining insight into the nature and character of Cubans‘
interpretation of Ballet Russes, in itself, has been near fruitless. In his review of Cuba‘s
National Ballet School‘s recent production of Swan Lake Macaulay concludes that the
impact of Ballet Russes has been fairly decisive. The reviewer observes that many of its
features have prevailed, even in a ‗classical‘ work like Swan Lake. 38 Macaulay‘s report is

34 See Warren, Classical Ballet; Fig’s 1,2, 3, 4, etc.).

35 See Grant, Technical Manuel.
36 Peter Lieven, The Birth of the Ballets Russes, (Dover Publications: New York, 1963); Lynn Garafola,

Diaghilev's Ballets Russess, (Oxford University Press: Oxford,1989).

37 Gorman and Chris Sippel, Ballet Russes; Russian Ballet History Collection (RBHC), Diahilev‘s Ballet

Russes 1909-1929, http://www.russianballethistory.com/ (2011), accessed 15 May 2011.

38 Alistrair Macauly, ‗Cuban Company Taking on Its Traditions and Ballet‘, Cuba Headlines,

http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2010/04/05/20983/a_cuban_company_taking_its_traditions_and_balle

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both interesting and helpful since it offers a glimpse into the style and techniques implicit
in the ballet Elogio de la danza consciously was created for. Here‘s an extract from
Macaulay‘s review and towards aiding the reader, some of the more pertinent points are
emphasised.

The main impression left by the Friday-evening performance was that of a lively but old-
fashioned provincial troupe. In most respects the work is Havana-accented Russian: half old
Soviet, half touring Ballet Russess. The women mostly avoided high extensions of the leg…. the
swan-maidens of Act II looked alternately mechanical or martial… [performers‘] hands
made heavily angled effects that didn’t continue the body’s line into space. The feet weren’t elegant,
but the footwork was brisk... the swan-maidens were solemnly regimented [;] they pranced in
very emphatic clip-clop steps, hold[ing] a static balance on point…. There were several good
signs of fluidity and freedom but often there was an inexpressive stiffness. 39

As a start, Obstinato follows the 1st movement without pause, with the music springing to
life with (its) forward-moving rhythms, off-beat accents, percussive dissonance, and tonal
clashes. Here Cuban and at times Spanish elements emerge. The previously established
low E pedal is retained and its pulse is now more definitive and pointed. The periodic
sounding of sixths in the upper register further determines the movement‘s more dance -
like texture. Substantial use is made of staccato on distinctly repeated motifs which, in turn,
are sounded within altered harmonic and melodic textures. This transformation fully
contributes to this movements‘ dissimilar, stricter structure, compared to the initial
unrestrained one.

It is perceptible that the composer was alert to this ballet genre‘s prefere nce for music
that supports arm and hand movements no longer purely refined, footwork that is
vigorous, or body motions portraying solemnity and sometimes strict discipline. 40 In
reality, with its ‗strict time‘ the opening of Obstinato immediately conjures up imaginings
of a military sequence, where ‗fluidity and freedom‘ are kept in check, and ‗heavily angled‘
limb movement is assuredly not conducive to ‗high leg extensions‘.

Harmonically, this movement elevates and punctuates decidedly non-diatonic sounds,

which in turn underpin the rhythmic disorder that prevails later in the piece. The
cadential motif in Vivace, the second part of this movement, is followed by
announcements in the higher register reiterating the movement‘s implied non-tonal/bi-
tonal character. The composer‘s persistent application of harmonic conflicts cleverly
conceals the possible presence of familiar national features, save for the unusual rhythmic

t.html, (05 May 2010) originally published in The New York Times, Accessed 15 May 2011.
39 Macauly, ‗Cuban Company‘, emphasis added.
40 See Lieven, The Birth of Ballet Russes; Garafola, Diaghilev's Ballets Russes; Gorman and Sippel, Ballet Russes;

RBHC, Diahilev‘s Ballet Russes.

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arrangements in later bars. 41

To add to the rising turmoil Obstinato similarly is saturated with metre changes. The
composer‘s early association with the flamenco guitarra is made prominent when yet further
timbral effects are introduced. 42 Following the glissando (bar 56), the climatic development
is greatly enhanced by the sounding of rasgueados and golpes, (the latter percussive effect
having already been introduced in bars 17, 18, etc.). Here the golpe creates not only an
additional timbral effect, but an innovative percussive result. The golpe moreover alternates
with the rasguedos, arguably the most dynamic guitaristic device (bar 62 onwards, see
Fig’s. 6, 8 & 10).

With the single voice incorporating pizzicato, staccato, sul ponticallo and metalico (bar 65
onwards), it fully augments the ‗dance sensation‘ generated in the movement. Inducing
‗emotion‘ and ‗passion‘, is the frequently rising contour of the melodic motifs. Apart
though from bar 5, where the melodic outline noticeably progresses downwards, the
composer deliberately intensifies the music‘s dramatic content through successive use of
soaring pitch material.

***

It is fair to conclude that Leo Brouwer consciously and imaginatively endeavoured to

invent the supporting pillars requisite for two diverging dancing styles. The two
movements readily illustrate how the ―law of opposites‖ is manifested both periodically –
within each of the movements, and more conspicuously – across the movements, as two
entities standing in stark contrast to each other (discussed below).

In sum, the fact that the concert guitar served as compendium for a number of divergent
artistic aims does not refute the view that an orchestral setting may have produced a
greater impact. An informed listening of this work unhesitatingly conjures up the sounds,
tones, images, textures, and colours of the symphony orc hestra, only now reduced to a
fairly delicate wooden instrument bearing half a dozen strings. 43

41 Elogio de la danza features, among others, the two familiar Afro-Cuban rhythmic figures, the cinquillo and
the tressilo (5 and 3 syncopated beats respectively). See especially the lower register notes of the Vivace
section of the 2nd Movement.
42 In his teens Brouwer initially was drawn to the flamenco guitarra, a style he subsequently ‗relinquished‘

after coming into contact with the famous Cuban concert guitarist/tutor Isaac Nicola, who then became
his guitar teacher.
43 In this regard, interested readers (unfamiliar with the work) can view and listen to the celebrated

Mexican concert guitarist Aristides Labadie‘s memorable performance of Elogio de la danza at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd4Fohb7JKM, accessed 15 May 2011.

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Tension & Resolution
A mere, ‗cold‘, visual scrutiny of the score instantly conveys an aura of ‗tension and
resolution‘ in Elogio de la danza. Furthermore, a sole auditory encounter (such as a concert
performance), or even a graphic (technical) depiction of the frequency generated by
fluctuating pitch material, will readily confirm the ‗philosophy‘ underpinning the
composer‘s craft. There are, however, instances where this concept appears more
complex and/or purposely masked. Beyond the artist‘s synthesis of notable conflicting
structures, large-scale harmonic associations seem to exemplify the notion of ‗tension and
resolution‘ (see 1 st Movement). The periodic points of stasis, for example, are connected
by the major third. Thus C# (bar 4) is followed by repeated A‘s (its major third down
displaced an octave), whereas the recurring high Gs (bar 7) are followed by both the
raised and downward displaced major third, B. On the other hand, these ‗moments of
repose‘ could allude to the open guitar strings. Note that the introduction – which already
marks a point of stasis – sounds repeated Es, followed by recurring pitches on A (bars 5
and 6), G (bar 7), and B (bar 8 onwards), the only ‗discrepancy‘ being the repeated C#s
from earlier (bar 4).

Imprints of Stravinsky
With Elogio de la danza, Brouwer, like Stravinsky, and indeed Schoenberg and others
before him, recognised that to sustain musical movement (compliant with dance genres, in
this case) an escalation in chromatic variation was entirely mandatory. It was primarily
with his use of chromaticism that the Russian composer (Brouwer‘s prime guiding force,
in this instance) succeeded in loosening the constraints of traditional, diatonic harmony.
On the other hand, with The Rite of Spring Stravinsky displayed with relentless vigour that
rhythm could be a new energy-infused stimulus. In that work‘s last movement ‗Sacrificial
Dance‘ the all-important ‗cell‘ offers the basis for the music to proceed. Under
Stravinsky, furthermore, the cell became subjected to reiteration, transformation, and
interjection, all of which demanded recurrent amendments in time signature. Thus the
traditional regulation of the bar line became ‗destroyed‘ by the music continuing without
a clearly discernible metre. 44 Notwithstanding his employment of various metric
indications, it appears that Brouwer certainly aspired to liberate guitar music from the
‗tyranny‘ of the bar line. Hence the regularity of constant two-or three-unit groups, or
traditional strong and weak accents, are not an overriding factor in Elogio de la danza. In
Petrushka Stravinsky shifted focus from the ‗cell‘ to ostinato, 45 the leading device used in

44 See Donald Grout, A History of Western Music. (rev. ed.), (Dent & Sons: London, 1973); Paul Giffiths,
Modern Music: A Concise History, (Thames and Hudson: New York, 1994); Pieter Van der Toorn, Stravinsky
Re-barred, Music Analysis, (7)2, (July 1988), 165-195.
45 See Anne Elizabeth Alwin, Ostinato in Selected Works of Stravinsky, Masters of Music, (University of

Wisconsin-Madison, 1988).

62
the second movement of Brouwer‘s piece.

Another novel category in Stravinsky‘s rhythm is his exploitation of silences. He used this
device multifariously, to create ‗a lift between chords, as a breath on the downbeat before
the onslaught of a new phrase, and sometimes merely as a rhetorical pause to add to the
build up in tension‘. 46 In Elogio de la danza this device first appears towards the close of the
B section of the first movement, where f, markato, followed by a rising crescendo, is
designated. The placement of the bar of silence here visibly contributes to the music‘s
accumulation of tension. Following the hush, the dramatic ethos continues somewhat
paradoxically, as though no interruption had occurred at all. At the close of the C -section
(1st movement) pp > ppp is designated, and here the bar of silence takes on an entirely
different guise. The purpose of this ‗void‘, clearly, is not only to emulate the real
disappearance of the music at this point, but to create some sense of anticipation of what
is to follow – the hesitant, discreet opening bars of the 1 st movement. A bar of silence
returns at the end of the 2 nd movement‘s A section. Here the device is abruptly inflicted
upon escalating four-note, clashing parallel clusters. Only this time the music does not
return to its formerly subdued state as yet another flurry of striking rhythms and timbres
follows in pursuit.

Unison of Contraries
In purely philosophical terms it is not too much to presume that Leo Brouwer, a self -
proclaimed, committed Marxist, 47 may have been guided by the premise that everything
can be rationalized by one article – matter. 48 Operating from this standpoint, Marxist
thinkers endeavoured to probe into such fundamental questions as the origin of life, of
species, and of the consciousness of mind. 49 Marx and Engels sought to answer these
questions with a number of laws, of which the ‗law of opposites‘ features significantly.
They proceeded from the perspective that everything in existence is but a permutation or
unanimity of opposites. 50 Accordingly, Marxist traditions have come to profess that

46 Grout, A History of Western Music

47 Paul Century, ‗The Principles of Pitch Organization in Leo Brouwer‘s Atonal Music for Guitar‘, Ph.D.
Dissertation, (University of California at Santa Barbara, 1991); Kronenberg: Audio & Digital Recordings;
Cuban Artist Leo Brouwer; Ph.D. Field Research Havana; Tran, The Emergence of Leo Brouwer‘s
Compositional Periods.
48 See Eberhard Conze, An Introduction to Dialectical Materialism, (NCLC Publishing Society Ltd: London,

1936); Anton Pannekoek, ‗Anthropogenesis: A Study in the Origin of Man.‘

http://www.marxists.org/archive/pannekoe/1944/anthropogenesis.htm, accessed 20 January 2010; and
David Hall, The Law of Opposites. http://www.davehall.force9.co.uk/contemps/contemp1.htm, (1998),
accessed 20 January 2010.
49 This notwithstanding, the humanist philosophical tradition of Marxist thought appears more

pronounced and prevalent in contemporary revolutionary Cuban circles (see Kronenberg, Manifestations
of Humanism in Revolutionary Cuba).
50 For example, atoms consist of protons and electrons which are unified but are ultimately contraditory

forces. Even humans, through self-reflection, are a union of contradictory qualities - masculine and

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everything contains two mutually incompatible and exclusive, but nevertheless equally
essential and vital parts or aspects. The basic concept is that this ‗unison of contraries‘
presents continual incentive for ‘movement and change’, an idea taken from Hegel who
rationalised that contradiction in nature is the root of all motion and of all life. Marx and Engels
ultimately saw this law as one of the keystones for the discovery of the origin,
development, and destiny of all humanity, previously seen and still seen by many as life‘s
greatest mystery of all. 51

feminine, selfishness and philanthropy, humbleness and pride, etc., an observation Brouwer repeatedly
turns to.
51 Conze, An Introduction to Dialectical Materialism, Pannekoek, ‗Anthropogenesis‘.

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