Lecuona, Mazurka in Glissando
This short encore performed by the Cuban pianist Jorge Luis Prats provides a good opportunity to discuss the concert encore in general. The word simply means “again” in French, but in the concert setting, it is universally understood to be a request for the performer to play something additional. That request is implicitly communicated by a an enthusiastic response to the main work, although you sometimes also hear shouts of “encore” from the audience.
Most often, a performer will offer something that contrasts with the programmed work. After a highly energetic and virtuosic work, the performer might turn to something ethereal and sublime, or offer something of a novelty piece. Performers may also opt to showcase their skills with a highly virtuosic work or a piece that has become something of a trademark in their career.
I recently attended a concert of the Winston-Salem Symphony that featured the pianist Ray Ushikubo playing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. He took the idea of contrast to an extreme, returning to the stage with his violin to play a virtuosic arrangement of Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm.
Jorge Luis Prats has earned a reputation for virtuosity and has championed works by Spanish and Cuban composers, so it makes sense for him to turn to this short work by Ernesto Lecuona (1895-1963). It checks all the right boxes, a novel and humorous work, virtuosic in a different way, and tied to Prats’ native country.
Lecuona composed numerous serious and large-scale works, but also wrote Cuban songs and Latin jazz. Desi Arnaz helped to popularize his music in the United States.
I will also observe that American audiences rarely sustain their applause beyond one curtain call—in stark contrast to European audiences that will carry on for quite some time. On the other hand, I don’t think I have been to any concert recently that did not receive a standing ovation. That gesture, which used to mark a superlative performance, has lost its meaning now that it is tossed about so indiscriminately. An encore almost inevitably follows.