Martín, Edgardo

Martín, Edgardo, Cuban composer and music educator; b. Cienfuegos, Oct. 6, 1915. He began his initial musical training with his maternal grandmother, the pianist Aurea Suárez, in Cienfuegos (1925–35). Settling in Havana, he studied piano with Jascha Fischermann (1936–37), attended the Univ. (1937–41), and received training in composition from José Ardévol at the Cons. (1939–46). From 1943 to 1967 he was active as a music critic. He also taught music history and aesthetics at the Cons. (1945–68) and music analysis at the Escuela nacional de Arte (1969–73). From 1962 to 1971 he was executive secretary of the National Committee of Music for UNESCO. As a Castro partisan, he was a principal figure in the reform of music teaching under the Communist regime. He composed in an accessible style.

Works

dramatic: b a i l e t:El Caballo de coral (1960). orch.: 2 syms. (1947, 1948). chamber: Concerto for 9 Winds (1944); Trio for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon (1963); 2 string quartets (1967, 1968); Recitativo y aria for Viola and Piano (1979); guitar pieces. piano: Sonata (1943); 2 preludes (1950); 3 Soneras (1950, 1971, 1975). vocal:Los 2 abuelos for Chorus and Instruments (1949); Canto de héroes for Voices and Orch. (1967); La carta del soldado for Narrator, Tenor, Chorus, Speaking Chorus, and Orch. (1970); Granma for Chorus and Instruments (1976); cantatas; songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire