WE CONGRATULATE OUR MAESTRO, DANTE CUCURULLO, WITH THE LAUNCH OF HIS MASTERPIECE “GARRICK, SYMPHONIC POEM” 

Article repost from Diario Libre

The maestro Dante Cucurrullo finally materialized an old wish: to produce a symphonic record production, which contains five works of his authorship, three of them winners of the National Composition Prize.

“Garrick, symphonic poem” gives title to the record material that he recorded without a commercial spirit and that became a reality thanks to the collaboration of many people, among noting, the intellectual José Alcántara, who for years put his effort to make reality the dream of maestro Cucurullo.

The Manuel Rueda Hall of the Corripio Foundation welcomed the guests who attended the event in which the release of the album was announced. Accompanied at the main table of his teacher and friend, the symphonic conductor Julio de Windt and the writer José Almánzar, Cucurullo opened his soul to those present by sharing the details about those who had marked his life in music.

He expressed eternal gratitude to his late father, Dr. Dante Cucurullo who always supported him.

He also recalled his arrival at the National Music Conservatory , thanks to a scholarship he received after the recommendation of the now deceased teacher Manuel Rueda, who in 1971 served as director of that musical institution.

“Special thanks to all the members and friends of the National Symphony Orchestra who were present at each of these concerts. To my friend and admired teacher Manuel Tejada, fellow student of composition and orchestration studies at the National Conservatory of Music, and Mike Fuller FullerSound, who worked on the re-mastering of the recordings of my works. To my teacher Manuel Simó who gave me everything to be what I am today. Thank you my dear teacher, you live forever in me, “he said excitedly.

The pieces were recorded with the accompaniment of the National Symphony Orchestra in live concerts at the National Theater.

“This is a work that tries to leave a testimony of the work that we have developed in favor of music in our country,” said Dante.

The musician and composer had words of recognition for the deceased teacher Carlos Piantini, as well as for Julio de Windt, his wife the teacher María Irene Blanco, the teacher Alvaro Marzano, the musician Víctor Mitrov, his children, brothers and Ralph Solano who designed the cover of the disc packaging.

“This material will be published on digital platforms for free. It was not done for commercial purposes, “he said.

Ponder contribution

The maestro Julio de Windt praised the recording and release of the album. “The putting into circulation with the excellent compositions of the maestro Dante Cucurullo is a valuable contribution to the national culture. The first Cucurullo that I admired was his father, because we were born in San Pedro de Macorís, that’s how I met him when he played the piano, this being the teacher of the today maestro Dante Cucurullo, an individual of an extraordinary human quality. I have directed several works here and abroad and in each of them his talent shines, “De Windt said.

The writer José Alcántara said that together with María Irene Blanco, they spoke years ago of the possibility of recording the album, however, it was not until now when it was achieved. “Listening to the music of Dante Cucurullo is a unique experience that highlights the conceptual strength and breadth of its formation, its harmony with the most advanced currents of Latin American and universal music. But he, very aware of his Caribbean origin, remains in search of the essence of his own culture. The intellectual rigor of his totalizing learning is evident in each of the facets in which he stands out with his own light as an interpreter, composer, educator, orchestral director and animator, fields in which he has left an indelible mark in recent decades ” .