Kyan Quartet + Ahmed Dickinson | Cuba Negra: Afro-Cuban Classics for Guitar and String Quartet

In a new collaboration between Conway Hall and the Echoes Festival's African Diaspora series, acclaimed classical guitarist Ahmed Dickinson joins forces with the Kyan Quartet to explore the vibrant Afro-Cuban repertoire of Cuba's most prominent contemporary composers. Their programme brings a classical touch to the traditional string quartet format, with effervescent syncretism of African, Cuban and European influences that exploit the expressive possibilities of the strings and guitar. 

The programme includes the world premiere of Eduardo Martín's heartfelt "Recordando a Piazzolla", along with several UK premieres: Walfrido Domínguez's "Moforibale a Oshosi", a powerful tribute to the Yoruba deity of hunting, inspired by traditional Afro-Cuban rituals and songs; López-Gavilán's famous "Cuarteto en guaguancó", a vibrant fusion of classical string quartet writing with Cuban rumba rhythms; and Roberto Valera's concise but intense "String Quartet". "Acrílicos", two captivating sound paintings also by Martín, fuse Caribbean lyricism with surprising modernity, a combination also employed in Leo Brouwer's "Quintet", a piece brimming with African rhythms that anticipates the swing of 1970s salsa, mixed with the 20th-century techniques of composers such as Bartok and Stravinsky, refracted through the unique lens of this legendary Cuban composer.