The Sociedad Cultural Nuestro Tiempo

Abstract

Abstract This chapter discusses Cuban composers who were active in the Sociedad Cultural Nuestro Tiempo (SCNT) throughout the 1950s. The SCNT evolved out of the music-centered Sociedad Amadeo Roldán once composers began expanding their activities to include collaborations with artists in other fields. SCNT activities also coincided with a decade of political radicalization that reflected a leftist political agenda, presaged the ensuing Revolution, and led to the SCNT’s member’s persecution by Batista’s regime. The overlap in political and social ideology of SCNT members with that of the revolutionary leaders positioned SCNT members as leaders of the post-1959 cultural organizations. This chapter examines several collaborations and events that demonstrate the SCNT composers’ efforts in creating art that was Cuban and modern, of, in their words, “our time.” Case studies include Edgardo Martín’s Cuatro Fugas as choreographed by the Ballet Nacional, Juan Blanco’s Quinteto No. 1 and film score for El Mégano, and Harold Gramatges’s Tres preludios a modo de toccata.