Rapsodia Negra for piano and orchestra
Rapsodia Argentina for piano and orchestra
Rapsodia Cubana for piano and orchestra
Rumba-Rhapsody for piano, voices, orchestra and chorus
Danzas Afro-Cubanas
Danzas Cubanas
Tres Valses
Álbum de Valses
Siempre en mi corazón
Como presiento
Allá en la sierra
Tu no tienes corazón
Mi corazón se fué
Dame de tus rosas
!No es por ti!
!Mira!
Dame el amor
Que risa me da
La comparsa
Al fin
Se abrieron las flores
Conga Cuba
Amor tardio
En una noche así
Devuélveme el corazón
Primavera de ilusión
Un amor vendrá
Me has dejado
No me enganarás
Rumba mejoral
No me mires ni me hables
Mi amor fue una flor
Canción del amor triste

Released in 1995 – the centenary of Ernesto Lecuona’s birth – the first instalment of Thomas Tirino’s pioneering survey of the composer’s piano music caused a sensation. All but forgotten (with notable exceptions such as Canto Siboney or Malaguena), these pieces exuded a charm and vitality which, combined with the highly idiomatic interpretations, enchanted audiences and critics alike and brought the disc onto Time Magazine’s list of the 10 best discs of the year. First impressions were confirmed by the following discs, which also gave further proof of the painstaking editorial care taken by Tirino himself in his efforts to discover the composer’s original thoughts beneath the encrustations of later arrangements. Fifty years after the death of Lecuona – often described as ‘the Cuban Gershwin’ – this box set provides a timely opportunity for a new generation to discover the qualities that made him a legend in his own time. For this purpose, Thomas Tirino’s five-disc series is complemented by soprano Carole Farley’s selection of some of her favourite Lecuona songs, including Always in My Heart (Siempre en mi corazón) and La comparsa – an album originally released in 2003, and described as ‘a real gem of a disc!’ in Gramophone, where it was named an ‘Editor’s Choice’.