We're in Loja, a city in southern Ecuador, considered by many to be the country's musical heart, so numerous are the ensembles, groups and "banda" (brass bands) in this metropolis popular with European expatriates, which also boasts the distinction of being Ecuador's first green city. Meet Ecuadorian composer Leonardo Cardenas.

I arranged to meet Leonardo at a popular spot for young artists in Loja: Lemon Trip, an alternative venue reminiscent of Berlin squats, with lemon trees and exotic plants in the large patio occupied by stoned armchairs and vintage posters. Lemon Trip, run by drummer and keen cyclist Pablo, is both a "Casa de ciclistas" for touring cyclists and a cultural center where Pablo organizes concerts, theater performances and poetry evenings.
He arrives right on time, a stack of records in his hands.

Hello Leonardo Cardenas! Your career spans over thirty years. Let's start with your career as a composer...
I like to say that I learned both academic composition, which comes from the European tradition, and popular composition, a crossbreeding that can be found in my music. For me, music is one and indivisible, and I don't like to compartmentalize in this way, but these two tendencies, these two traditions, let's say, do exist and coexist in Ecuador, and more generally in South America.
I may have been born in Guayaquil, but I'm a pure Loja musician! I studied piano, guitar and composition at the conservatory, one of the most dynamic in the country.
I spent several years in Quito, the capital, where I wrote for the Symphony Orchestra. I have also created a series of chamber music concerts to perform and record my own music, as well as that of Ecuadorian composers of the 19th and 20th centuries, who are still under-performed, such as Luis Salgado, Antonio Neumane/ (who, incidentally, is of French origin!), Carlos Ortiz or even my contemporaries such as Gerardo Guevara (who worked with Nadia Boulanger editor's note) and whose work on the memory of Indian songs is important.

You spoke of "métissage". More specifically, what influences does your music have?
My training is academic, but I really come from popular music. That's what nourished me. As a teenager, here in Loja, I was part of an Andean folk music group. I continued this work later in Quito, working with performers of traditional music, but in a more advanced, experimental direction. Whether in my pieces for solo violin, trio, quartet or orchestra, I like to blend traditional Ecuadorian melodies with the chamber and symphonic tradition inherited from the 19th century. In my music, I always reflect on notions of identity and globalization. Today, a composer has access to countless musical traditions... The field of influences, and therefore of possibilities, is immense. I love Ravel, Debussy, Fauré, Spanish music, North American minimalism, as much as Latin American folklore and, more specifically, Ecuadorian indigenous music, which I've researched a lot. Incorporating it into my music is a way of preserving its memory and, I believe, bringing it to life. I'm thinking in particular of my "Triptico" for flute orchestra, a famous instrument in our folklore. I've called the suite's three beats "Amazonia", "Andes" and "Tropico".

I also wrote "Natem, Ayahuashca", a work with a Quechua name that I subtitled "voyage à l'intérieur de moi", for mixed flute quintet.

Is it difficult to make a living from music, to be a composer in Ecuador?
All musical professions are difficult here. As the pandemic has shown once again, there is very little public support for artists. There are very few funds to support artists, and especially creative artists. We're pretty much on our own. We need more festivals and competitions!
The Ecuadorian school of composition is recognized in South America. Thanks to this, there's a real network of composers: we share information and exchange a lot. We meet regularly. More importantly, the world of academic composition and that of traditional, folk music are not watertight, as you will have understood. Musicians often have a foot in both worlds and enjoy working together. Many universities, in Loja, Quito, Cuenca..., host real folk music centers, which train and support young composers. 

And what about the public?
Ecuadorian audiences love popular music above all. More academic contemporary music - even if it draws inspiration and inspiration from our folklore - attracts a more limited audience, for the moment. The challenge, although I don't think it's specific to Ecuador, is to attract new audiences and enable musical creation to reach a wider audience. This brings us back to the question of public support.

Interview by Suzanne Gervais