World renowned pianist Donna Coleman has just released “Don’t Touch Me,” comprising the complete solo Danzas Cubanas by the great Cuban composer Ignacio Cervantes, who lived in Havana, Paris and New York between 1847-1905. The music can be described as Cuba’s answer to Frédéric Chopin in sultry, habañera-infused miniatures that play like the precursors of Scott Joplin’s rags. Thirty-seven tracks that unfold like episodes in a steamy romance novel, steeped in Afro-Cuban rhythmic verse, Chopin’s pathos, Bach’s contrapuntal detail and voice-leading, sumptuous French harmony, and sensuality redolent of rum, cigar smoke, sea air, sweat, and tears.
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Don’t Touch Me
October 8, 2018