LEO BROUWER (b.1939): Guitar Quintet, Beatlerianas for Guitar and String Quartet, JAVIER ÁLVAREZ (b.1956): Metro Chabacano for String Quartet, MIGUEL DEL AGUILA (b.1957): Presto II for String Quartet.

Description: Easy, melodic listening here, as you can tell from the presence of seven Beatles songs arranged by Brouwer in 1986. His early (1957) quintet is based on Afro-Cuban melodies and rhythms. The short companion pieces for string quartet alone (both commissioned for the Cuarteto Latinoamericano) are Álvarez' intricately rhythmic piece from 1988, spiced with fragments of melody, conceived to be played as a loop in a Mexico City subway station, and Del Aguila's ironic piece of the same year beginning with 1920s jazz elements and turning into a Latin dance. Ahmed Dickinson Cárdenas (guitar), Santiago Quartet.