Enrique Pardo Fuentes

Composer and clarinetist. Professor at the Alejandro García Caturla and Amadeo Roldán conservatories, and at the music section of the Escuela Nacional de Arte. He was a teacher of notable Cuban clarinetists.

He was born in Caibarién, in the former province of Las Villas. He studied solfège and theory with his father. In 1916 he entered the Academy of the Municipal Band of Caibarién, where he studied clarinet with José María Montalván, studies which he continued in La Habana in 1925.

To expand his knowledge he took harmony classes with Pedro Sanjuán, Félix Guerrero, and Waldina; and later counterpoint with Federico Smith, cello with Fabio Landa, and orchestra conducting with Jan Constantinescu and Alexander Frolov.

For thirty-two years he was principal clarinetist of the Orquesta Filarmónica de La Habana, with which he participated in concerts as a soloist, conducted by Pedro Sanjuán, Amadeo Roldán, Massimo Freccia, Erich Kleiber, Igor Markevich, and Frieder Weissman.

He was also solo clarinetist with the Banda de Música de la Policía Nacional. He was part of chamber groups, opera and ballet orchestras, and radio and television orchestras.

As a clarinetist, Enrique Pardo was a member of:
The Orquesta Filarmónica de La Habana
The Chamber Orchestra of Alberto Falcón
The RHC Cadena Azul Orchestra
The CMZ Orchestra
The Banda de Música de la Policía

He founded, together with his father, the Academy of the Banda de Música de Bauta. He is a clarinetist of refined technique, which he transmitted to his students at the Alejandro García Caturla and Amadeo Roldán conservatories and the Music School of the Escuela Nacional de Arte. As an orchestra conductor, Pardo directed the symphonic orchestras of Oriente, Camagüey, Las Villas, and Matanzas.

Works
"Concierto fantasía para clarinete y piano"
"Fantasía sinfónica"
"Pieza cubana de concierto"
Themes and six variations.