"Desde el Malecon" - Central American Suite for solo clarinet and orchestra, by Esteban D'Antona
- Gabriel Blasberg
- Oct 29
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 9
VIDEO YOUTUBE
VIDEO
One morning in September 2024 I received a Whatsapp message from the composer Esteban D'Antona saying:
"Hi Gabriel, I just finished composing a piece for solo clarinet and orchestra. It's a suite in four movements (Cha-cha-cha, Bolero, Guajira and Salsa)." I'm sending you the score and a digital recording for you to review. If you like it, I'd be happy for you to premiere it with an orchestra. Of course, there's no obligation."
I had already heard a work by Esteban for clarinet quartet and I had liked it very much. For this reason, his proposal seemed attractive to me from the very beginning, and I quickly started reviewing the recording and score he had sent me. I liked what I heard and read; I was drawn to the mixture of popular music and academic language. I also saw considerable potential value in it, in the sense of imagining that it could be given a lot of wings in a real performance.
I also felt a special thrill because the composer thought of me to premiere it (and dedicated it to me!), and it's quite an ambitious work, with four movements plus an extensive cadenza for solo clarinet. Its length is over twenty minutes of music.
During my process of studying the clarinet part, I talked quite a bit with Esteban about the piece, and this helped me a lot to understand his vision of it. I made quite a few inquiries, observations, and suggestions to him about some details to review in the solo clarinet part or the score in general, etc. The author trusted me 100% and gave me the necessary freedom to feel comfortable studying his composition.
On Sunday, September 28, 2025, we were able to premiere "Desde el Malecon" Central American Suite for clarinet and orchestra, and on this occasion in a re-instrumented version for band instead of orchestra, since it was chosen by the director Fabio Zurita to perform it in a concert of the cycle of the Municipal Band of San Martín (Province of Buenos Aires).
The concert took place in the beautiful and spacious hall of the Plaza Cultural Complex before a packed audience who enthusiastically applauded the performance, even between movements. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert; we were all very pleased and happy.
You can watch and listen to the concert in the YouTube video above.
Let's look at some thoughts from composer Esteban D'Antona about "Desde el Malecon" Central American Suite for clarinet and orchestra: "My composition style merges academic language with Argentine folk melodic turns, as well as a wide variety of South American styles. But in Desde el Malecon - Central American Suite for clarinet and orchestraI I fully immersed myself, for the first time, in the seductive rhythms of Central America! I chose the most representative ones and ordered them according to their intensity:
1st movement. Cha cha cha: moderately rhythmic.
2nd movement. Bolero: calm and romantic.
3rd movement. Guajira: melodically sweet.
4th movement. Salsa: wildly energetic!
I made an effort to capture the entire Caribbean soul with its rhythms and melodies, and I also added subtle polytonal touches by the high-pitched instruments.
When I began sketching this work, I thought the concert format would work, and that the versatility of a B-flat clarinet would be ideal as a solo instrument, especially if played by Gabriel Blasberg!"
About the composer:
Esteban Ariel D'Antona was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a Viola Professor, having graduated from the J. J. Castro Provincial Conservatory with Maestro Alejandro Elijovich. He studied composition with Alfredo Otero, Mario de Rose, Cecilia Fiorentino and Ariel Hagman. As a viola teacher, he currently works at the J. J. Castro Provincial Conservatory (San Isidro), the Alfredo Schiuma (San Martín) and the Frederic Chopin (Pilar). In addition, he actively works as an arranger of repertoire in school orchestra programs, in the Buenos Aires Province Program and the San Martín Municipality Program.
As a violist, he was a member of various symphony orchestras and popular music bands.
As a composer, his works have premiered in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Finland. His compositional language draws on Latin American rhythms and melodic turns, fused with European academic techniques.
The following orchestral and musical institutions have premiered and performed his works: the Río Negro Philharmonic Orchestra, Santa Fe Provincial Symphony Orchestra, UNCUYO Symphony Orchestra of Mendoza, Misiones Knowledge Park Orchestra, José C. Paz Municipal Orchestra, National Gendarmerie Symphonic Band, Chamber Orchestra of the National Congress, Chile Chamber Orchestra, University of Concepción Symphony Orchestra of Chile, Los Ríos Philharmonic Orchestra of Chile, Marga Marga String Orchestra of Chile, the CASTVLVM Orchestra of Spain, the "Honvéd Férfikar" men's choir of Hungary.
He has won awards in the following competitions:
● 2021 - Special Mention in the 2nd National Composition Competition for the
Argentine Air Force Band 2021 with the work “Nunca se rindieron, nunca se rendirán.”
● 2021 - 1st Prize in the 8th Marga Orchestra Composition Competition
Marga - Puente Festival - Chile - with the work “Wira” for double bass soloist and string orchestra.
● 2017 - 1st Berisso School Orchestra Composition Competition: 1st Prize in two categories: Symphonic Choral Work “Markay” and Choral Work “Sombrita Engualichada.” Additionally, a mention in the Symphonic Work “Waynakay.”
● 2014 - the work for band “Mal Presagio” was one of the winning works of the “First National Residency for Musical Composition of the Pampa Program” for military bands.
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