Cuban Fantasy Op.22

Composed in 1994, Cuban Fantasy was first performed by Lionel Sainsbury at a private concert for the Voices Foundation at Earls Court Square, London, and first broadcast in the composer’s own performance on Sean Rafferty’s ‘In Tune’ on BBC Radio 3. The work is included on Lionel’s piano album ‘Andalusian Fantasy’ (Navona Records NV5999).

In the words of the liner notes by Jeremy Nicholas, “its initial carefree character very soon enters into more complex emotional territory. In the middle section there are passages with a reflective, even hypnotic character, where the swaying rhythm of the music almost seems to be mesmerised by itself. The final pages surge towards a wild peroration that propels the music to a tumultuous conclusion.”