Juan Leovigildo Brouwer was the birth name of the composer, classical guitarist and conductor the world knows as Leo Brouwer. He began playing guitar at 13, and was the great-nephew of the composer and pianist Ernesto Lecuona. “Prelude” (1956) and “Fugue” were among his early compositions. Brouwer studied at Juilliard and at the Hartt College of Music. He then held major positions in Cuba’s television and film industries. His works for guitar have been recorded by some of the world’s leading guitarists and have often been performed at guitar festivals. Brouwer has dozens of film scores to his credit. In 1993 he wrote the score for the film “Like Water for Chocolate”. He founded and directed the Orquesta de Cordoba in Spain. Brouwer’s sixth concerto for classical guitar was Concierto de Volos, written in 1996 at the request of the Greek guitarist Costas Cotsiolis.

(Contribution by wzick <wzick@ameritech.net>.)

Leo Brouwer, who studied at the Juilliard School and at the University of Hartford, has performed in every continent in the world and has made over a hundred records. Principal conductor of the Cordoba Symphony (Spain), artistic director of the Havana Symphony and member of the International Council of Music.