Before the revolution Havana was part of the international classical concert circuit. More recently cubans popular music has been heard across the world but is there still a thriving classical music scene? Andrew Mcgreggor visits Havana to find out, meeting performers, students, academics and broadcasters, revealing some of the more unexpected sounds of music in Cuba today.

#Transcript

This is Havana Vieja, old Havana, I’m on Obispo, central havannas busiest street, between cobbled squares, colonial mansions, ornate restorations springing up all around here, standing proudly between the many crumbling apartment blocks. It’s a cuban national holiday, it’s friday night, the locals are out in force mingling with the visitors, they were all flocking to Obispo for the bars, for the nightlife and for sounds like this, for the live cuban music here, the salsas song cuban jazz and covers of the internationally famous bueno vista social club but i’m here to find another side to cuban music a different set of sounds, another musical history so come with me to a quitter part, just a few streets from here.

This is the plaza de san fransicsco it’s just about within sight of havanas sierra maestra ferry terminal which is where the carribean cruise ships sometimes dock for their taste of cuba, but on the south side there’s a large statue of st francis in front of one of havanas deconsecrated churches, it’s on the side of a 16th century missionary school for franciscan friars but 20 years ago the church of saint francis of assisi was restored by the state as a concert venue and its become home of one for cubas more unusual ensembles, the all female camerata romeu, they’re rehearsing inside so lets go in and meet them.

Well here’s the camerata’s conductor and founder Zanaidu romeu: We’ve just been listening to your orchestra rehearsing piasola, you founded this orchestra back in 1993 why did you need to make this orchestra?

“My mother used to be a pianist and a lot of female people were professionals and I thought there are a lot of female young musicians in Cuba and it’s quite rare in other countries so I decided to show it and express ourselves with our own cuban music first of all, and after that other latin american music and of course universal music because it’s a reference point in our education, our classical education, and in most of the parts that we’ve been playing they have been very surprised about the music that we play.

When you began the ensemble how hard was it to find the money, as you have a lot of competition for government resources?

“My orchestra is the only orchestra that was founded by a foundation. But that foundation disappeared one year later and the government pays salaries.