Abstract
This project examines the intricate connections between national identity, vanguardismo, and politics in modernist and avant-gardist Cuban art music throughout a period of intense historical events. The chronological scope is limited to the two decades preceding and the two decades following the Cuban Revolution, 1940 through 1980. The Cuban Revolution brought about drastic changes in state cultural politics. Several of the composers who were active during Fulgencio Batista’s presidency in the 1950s welcomed the new, post-1959 regime with the hopes that the revolution would provide better conditions and institutional support for national artists. These composers already held leftist political views and were persecuted by Batista’s regime for promoting art and literature that reflected them.
This project also traces the changing definitions and uses of two concepts throughout this time period, Cubanness and vanguardia. These terms were rooted in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Cuban intellectual tradition. The Cuban intelligentsia used these terms at various times to label their artistic and cultural endeavors, acquiring specific political meanings depending on the political context. As we move into the 1960s, politicians, artists, and intellectuals use these concepts in political discourse to legitimize the values of socialism and the revolution. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, composers also defended and promoted individual aesthetic interests through the multivalent definitions of Cubanness, vanguardismo, socialism, and the revolution.
Examining the pre- and post-1959 compositions and writings on musical aesthetics of the most active composers during this period shows that artistic innovation was a central concern for these individuals, and that it was an important facet of Cubanness. The pre-1959 writings and compositions of José Ardévol, Harold Gramatges, Argeliers León, and Juan Blanco show a group of individuals frustrated with the state’s lack of support and keenly aware of international artistic trends. The post-1959 materials—concert programs, recordings, magazine and journal articles, and compositions—present Cuban composers who were fully engaged with the revolutionary cultural politics through their participation in state cultural institutions. The strong historical association of Vanguardismo with both innovative aesthetic approaches and leftist cultural politics allowed a select group of composers in post-1959 Cuba—mainly Leo Brouwer and Juan Blanco—to promote avant-garde and experimental music as a product and in the service of the revolution. Not all composers engaged in musical avantgardism, but those who did had privileged access to state resources, including the nationalized press, major ensembles, and the recording industry. Their activities projected within and outside Cuba the image of a politically committed and artistically liberated revolutionary and socialist art music scene.