Motivic Construction in Leo Brouwer’s Concierto Elegíaco

Abstract

Abstract: This article examines Cuban composer Leo Brouwer’s use of motivic construction in his Concierto Elegíaco . Firstly, the concepts of motive and cell are analyzed based on the definitions proposed by some 20th-century music theorists. It is shown that a cell— understood as a minimal musical material—can also be a motive. The term motivic construction is proposed to refer to the process by which a musical work is built with motives. Subsequently, Leo Brouwer’s use of motivic construction in some early compositions is analyzed. In the analysis of the Concierto Elegíaco , it is illustrated that the treatment of its motivic cell a) is nourished by Afro-Cuban musical elements, raw material of the Brouwerian aesthetic; b) uses self-citation , a resource with which Brouwer uses fragments of previous compositions to create new works; and c) is part of a compositional stage self-described by Leo Brouwer as new simplicity —contemporary of post-minimalism.