Ricardo Lorenz: A Post-Colonial/Modern Latin(o) American Composer

This article examines Venezuelan composer Ricardo Lorenz (b. 1961), whose music and writing both focus around the concept of transculturation. First used by Fernando Ortiz ([1947] 1995) to describe the cultural evolution of Cuba in the mid-twentieth century, transculturation is understood by Lorenz as the phenomenon of two mutually influential musical cultures; it “entails the circulation of ideas in both directions, resulting in an interdependent network of mutual influences” (Lorenz 2000a, 93). This article explores the role of transculturation in Lorenz’s work, putting it in the context of his relocation from Venezuela to the United States in the 1980s, as well as his own writings on the subject. Even though Ricardo Lorenz has an outstanding career as a contemporary composer, his works and artistic persona still remain under-explored in musicology. This article seeks to establish groundwork for further scholarly study of Ricardo Lorenz’s music; at the same time, it aims to demonstrate the contributions of Latin American/Latino composers to Western art music, which they have accomplished by bringing forth a subtle universe of sounds shaped by its cultural history. 1