The first concert during our holiday in London was a free concert which took place in the National Portrait Gallery. Ahmed Dickinson Cardenas played a program with guitar music from Cuba by Leo Brouwer, Eduardo Martin and José Antonio (Ñico) Rojas Beoto.
Ahmed Dickinson has transcribed may pieces by Nico Rojas and made those available for the guitarists. Some compositions by Nico Rojas can be found in the playlist below.
Eduardo Martin is another composer from Cuba whose compositions are played regularly by guitarists around the world. Ahmed Dickinson played some movements from the Calendar Suite, you can find some of those movements in the playlist as well.
For my post I have selected another composition by Eduardo Martin, Inevitable & Chacumbele:
Ahmed Dickinson Cardenas – Inevitable & Chacumbele – Eduardo Martin
Ahmed Dickinson has also played with a string quartet, this is a great video from the live performance of the Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet by Leo Brower.
Ahmed Dickinson and the Santiago Quartet: Quintet- Leo Brouwer
Live performance of the Quintet for Guitar and String Quartet by Leo Brouwer. Featuring renowned Cuban guitarist Ahmed Dickinson and the Santiago Quartet.
Ahmed Dickenson, guitar
Emma Blanco, violin
Matthew Elston, violin
Suzanne Evans, viola
Jonathan Hennessey-Brown, cello
Playliste Ahmed Dickinson Cardenas
Additional Information
Website: http://www.ahmeddickinson.com/
Recordings by Ahmed Dickinson Cardenas at soundcloud (shortened): http://soundcloud.com/ahmed-dickinson-cardenas
Artikel about Nico Rojas and Ahmed Dickinson: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/nico-rojas-guitarist-and-composer-whomixed-cuban-rhythms-with-jazz-1048762.html
It was while appearing at Havana’s International Guitar Festival in 2000 that Rojas met Ahmed Dickinson, with whom he struck up a friendship. Realising that the old master could not read music and was in danger of forgetting his own works, Dickinson transcribed 33 of Rojas’ compositions over the next five years, with help from Rojas and his son Jesús. Five of Rojas’ compositions were recorded by Marco Tamayo on the album Guitar Music From Cuba (Naxos Classical) in 2004, and in October this year Ahmed Dickinson – now based in London – released his début album, Ahmed Dickinson Plays Nico Rojas (Cubafilin Records), which consisted of 16 Rojas compositions.
About the composer Nico Rojas (with free download of sheet music and recordings of some of his compositions): http://www.jeffersonguitar.org/NicoRojas.html
About Nico Rojas, with two recordings: http://www.penultimosdias.com/2008/11/23/11539/
Biografie Nico Rojas and recordings: http://www.guitarraclasicadelcamp.com/partituras/nicorojas.html
Website Eduardo Martin: http://www.eduardomartin.com/