14 Facts About Leo Brouwer

Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida was born on March 1,1939 and is a Cuban composer, conductor, and classical guitarist.

Leo Brouwer is a Member of Honour of the International Music Council.

Leo Brouwer's teacher was Isaac Nicola, who was a student of Emilio Pujol, who was himself a student of Francisco Tarrega.

In 1970 Leo Brouwer played in the premiere of El Cimarron by Hans Werner Henze in Berlin.

In Germany Leo Brouwer recorded a number of LPs for Deutsche Grammophon.

Leo Brouwer's playing career ended in the early 1980s due to an injury to a tendon in his right hand middle finger.

Leo Brouwer has written for guitar, piano, and percussion, and has composed orchestral works, ballet, and music for over one hundred movies, including the film Like Water for Chocolate.

Leo Brouwer is known for a series of studies called the Etudes Simples.

Leo Brouwer has performed and recorded works by Sylvano Bussotti, Hans Werner Henze, Maurice Ohana, Cristobal Halffter, Leni Alexander, Cornelius Cardew, and Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Leo Brouwer has been a conductor for many symphony orchestras, including the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Cordoba Symphony in Spain.

Leo Brouwer is involved in the Concurso y Festival Internacional de Guitarra de la Habana.

Leo Brouwer, according to the composer himself, has never been a member of the Communist Party of Cuba, but has nevertheless held a number of official posts in Cuba, including with the music department of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry.

Leo Brouwer is the grandson of Cuban composer Ernestina Lecuona y Casado.

Leo Brouwer is the great-uncle of Al Jourgensen of Ministry fame.