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Cuban Classical Pianist Heading to Paris
AP, Tuesday October 19.
For years, Cuban classical pianist Gabriel
Urgell Reyes played chords on an old upright
piano in his native Havana.
Now, the young talent will play on a brand-new
Bluthner grand worth tens of thousands of
dollars _ in Paris.
Urgell, 28, was one of six pianists and
the only Latin American granted entry to
this year's perfection course at France's
prestigious Conservatoire National Superieur
de Danse et Musique in Paris.
"He is brilliant, and could likely
be someone very famous in the future,"
said Herve Billaut, in charge of piano pedagogy
at the conservatory. "It's surprising
that he stayed so long in Cuba."
Of the six pianists chosen for the course,
two received unanimous votes from the jury
_ Urgell and a Russian woman. Of those two,
Urgell received the top honor _ the Bluthner
piano, which he will play for two years
in France then bring back with him to Cuba.
"This is a very sacred moment for
me," Urgell said in Havana before leaving
for Paris last weekend. "Cultural life
is very strong in Cuba, but in Europe, the
culture goes back centuries. That makes
a difference."
Cuba's musical tradition is rich and varied,
but classical music doesn't generally receive
much attention next to the salsa, traditional
"son" and jazz characterizing
the island's rhythms.
"Not only in Cuba, but in the Caribbean
in general, and I dare say even all of Latin
America, there is not a tradition of listening
to classical music," Urgell said.
Urgell hopes to capture a new audience
in Europe, where he already plans to give
recitals in Spain and the Netherlands _
performances he hopes will help him cover
the costs of living overseas.
But traditional Cuban rhythms are still
in his blood. While in Europe, he plans
to work on projects mixing contemporary
Cuban music with classical sounds.
Urgell, from a family of musicians, first
began playing piano at age 7. He was winning
national competitions by the age of 14,
then started training with one of the island's
top classical pianists, Teresita Junco.
"He has always really stood out,"
Junco said. "He is a very talented,
very tenacious young man. He is also very
communicative and very intelligent _ two
things that often lead to success in our
field."
Urgell's playing style is uniquely expressive.
As his fingers flow across the piano, his
body moves in rhythm, at one with the instrument.
He frequently smiles and moves his lips,
raising his eyebrows and displaying a look
of bliss.
"For me, (playing the piano) is a
language in which one talks about everything
one feels, and everything one does,"
Urgell said. "I have a very strong
desire that this be my method of communication,
my way of doing something in the world."
Urgell's talents have already taken him
to competitions and recitals in China, Chile
and European countries, including Spain,
Italy, France and the former Yugoslavia.
In Cuba, he gives recitals, and performs
with the national symphony.
A French benefactor who saw Urgell in one
such concert put him in touch with the conservatory
in France. Urgell used money won in previous
competitions to travel to Paris for the
entrance examinations.
He was a bit intimidated listening to the
other aspirants play before the jury, but
said everything came together when it was
his turn.
Urgell _ whose piano room hosts a framed
picture of revolutionary icon Ernesto "Che"
Guevara alongside images of Beethoven and
other musical greats _ said he knows he
can grow tremendously overseas but has no
intention of losing his "Cubanness."
"I would be very disappointed in myself
if one day people saw me as a European pianist,"
he said. "I would stop being myself,
and perhaps I would lose my expression.
I believe that one is nourished by where
one comes from."
Ex-Cuban Wrestler Pleads Guilty in Crash
AP. Tuesday October 19,
11:24 AM
A former Cuban Olympic wrestler pleaded
guilty Monday to ramming his SUV into a
ticket counter at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood
International Airport on the Fourth of July.
Alexis Vila Perdomo, 33, pleaded guilty
in Miami federal court to intentionally
using a motor vehicle to seriously damage
and disrupt an international airport, according
to the U.S. Attorney's office.
As part of the plea agreement, other charges
against him will be dropped after he is
sentenced Jan. 5. Vila faces a maximum 20-year
sentence and a maximum fine of $25,000.
Vila's motive remained unclear. He was
involuntarily committed for a psychiatric
evaluation after he was subdued by an air
marshal and three Broward County deputies.
He was found competent to go to trial.
His public defender, Robert Berube, didn't
return a phone call left after hours.
Vila drove through two plate-glass doors
at 45 mph and crashed through an unmanned
Southeast Airlines ticket counter. He suffered
minor scrapes and no one else was injured.
Vila won the bronze medal for Cuba in the
105.5-pound division in the 1996 Summer
Olympics in Atlanta. He defected after winning
a gold medal the following year at the Pan
American Games in Puerto Rico.
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