In November it hosted Britain's first Latin American Piano Festival; now Cuban pianist and composer Eralys Fernandez, a key organiser of that event, returns for the UK premiere of the Alta Gracias tango by Carlos Farinas. She will also perform works by the renowned Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona and 'the Schubert of the Pampas', Argentinian Carlos Guastavino as well as her own arrangement for piano of Quirino con su tres by Eliseo Grenet.
The evening opens with Cuban guitarist Ahmed Dickinson playing Cavatina by Stanley Myers – best known as the theme from The Deer Hunter – followed by Catalan composer Isaac Albeniz's Asturias and Koyumbaba by Carlo Domeniconi. After the interval, violinist Emma Blanco joins Dickinson for Historia del Tango, followed by Bartok's Five Romanian Dances and the Allemande and Gigue for solo violin from Bach's Partita II. The evening will be rounded off with a recital from mezzo soprano Sarah-Jane Lewis, accompanied by pianist Neus Guiu.
Proceeds from the evening will go towards buying sports equipment for Cuban school children, to be donated later this year as a contribution to mark London's Olympic year.
Cuban Classical Concert, Friday 20 January, 7.15pm at Bolivar Hall, 54 Grafton Way, London W1T5DL (two minutes from Warren Street tube). Tickets £10 at the door or from www.ratb.org.uk Tel: 0207 684 7463
