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About this Piece

Venezuelan cellist and composer Paul Desenne fuses Latin American and European elements in his music, such as his Sinfonía Burocrtáica ed’Amazzonica, a tropical chamber symphony in five movements. The title refers to the clash between the extremes of modern South American mythology: the untamed wilderness and corrupt “civilization.” “Bananera,” the fourth movement, is propelled by cumbia, the predominant dance genre of Colombia’s Caribbean coast and often heard in Venezuela. The composer writes, “The poignant, recurrent theme in the clarinets is set in a laid-back and sometimes frail dance structure, delivering sudden changes in mood and intensity, some of which are unexpectedly pompous and awkward, others ironically shabby.”