Image: Outside the birthplace of composer Ernesto Lecuona in Guanabacoa, Cuba
Rich, erudite, original...
PROF. NEIL KENNY,
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Helen Glaisher-Hernández holds a first class degree from the University of Cambridge where she spent five years studying French and Spanish, taking papers in Iberican History, Critical Theory, Literature, Theatre, Film and Art History. Her MPhil dissertation achieved one of the highest marks in its class, and was described by one of its examiners, Prof. Neil Kenny, as 'having made an original contribution to Shakespeare studies'.
Helen also spent the third year of her BA studying Piano at the Conservatorio Nacional Superior in Buenos Aires, Argentina, followed by subsequent Master's studies in Piano at Trinity College of Music in London.
Previous research interests encompass Canarian Studies, Spanish Golden-Age Theatre, Argentine film, the music of Joaquín Nin-Culmell, cultural contextualisations of the tango, and the postcolonial politics of Iberican classical music reception. Her work extends to the writing of various concert programme notes, CD liner notes, and the organisation of numerous academic talks, lectures and symposia. See below for a full research history.
COURSEWORK
Latin American Piano Archive
MMus Dissertation, Trinity College of Music, June 2008
The Socio-Psychopathology of the Argentine Tango
PGDip Paper, Leeds College of Music, May 2006
Canarian Cross-currents in Shakespeare’s The Tempest
MPhil Dissertation, University of Cambridge, June 2005
'Hailing to the Thief' in Argentine Film: Crime and Capitalism in Nueve Reinas and Caballos Salvajes
MPhil Essay, University of Cambridge, March 2005
Nature and the Telluric in Lope de Vega’s Los Guanches de Tenerife
MPhil Essay, University of Cambridge, March 2005
CONFERENCE PAPERS
The Popular Idiom and Issues of Interpretation in Ernesto Lecuona’s ‘A la antigua’
Latin American Study Day, Royal Musical Association (RMA), Huddersfield University, November 2011
Cuba Inside a Piano: Postcolonial Dialectics of Latin American Classical Music
Conference, 'The Language of Art and Music - A Three-Piece Puzzle: The Relationship between Culture, International Relations and Globalization over the next Two Decades', Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, Bulgarian Embassy, London, August 2011
A Tango with the Camera: Culture, Identity and Visual Seduction in Tango Film
Latin American Music Seminar (LAMS), Institute for the Study of the Americas, May 2006
CD LINER NOTES & TRANSLATIONS
Isabel Martínez | Noche andaluza
Liner-note translation, Brisé, 2019
Chen Reiss & Charles Spencer | La rossignol et la rose
Text translation, Onyx Classics, B009AXXGLS, December 2012
Dukas: Ariane et Barbe-Bleue
Liner-note translation, Opus Arte, OA1098D, November 2012
Ferdinand Rebay: Sonatas para flauta y guitarra
Liner-note translation, Brilliant Classics, 9291, October 2012
Joaquín Nin-Culmell: Symphonie des mystères
Liner notes, Toccata Classics, TOCC0011, October 2011
CONCERT PROGRAMME NOTES
'Panamericana': Musical Border-Crossings Through the Americas
Barbican's Milton Court Concert Hall, London, November 2017
'Goyescas': Music in the Time of Goya
St John's Smith Square, London, November 2016
Celebrating the Revolutionary Spirit of Latin American Music
'A "Revolutionary" Concert', Southbank Centre's Purcell Room, London, May 2012
MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATIONS
Getting to Know Ibero-American Classical Music: Five Pieces to Start You Off
Article, Cervantes Institute London Blog, June 2020
Piano-Yoga®: The 21st-Century Answer to Playing the Piano
Article, Yoga & Health Magazine, December 2011
Andrés Ruiz Tarazona: The Enigma of Atlántida
Monograph translation from Spanish to English, ILAMS, April 2008
CONFERENCE & LECTURE FACILITATION
Alessandro Santoro | 'A Musical Microcosm': The Piano Preludes of Cláudio Santoro
Lecture-Recital, Chancellor's Hall, Senate House, University of London, October 2019
Walter Aaron Clark | 'Spain the Eternal Maja': Goya, Majismo, and the Reinvention of Spanish National Identity in Granados' 'Goyescas'
Lecture, Music Faculty, Cambridge, November 2016
Trevor Walshaw | Exile and Solitude in the Texts of Robert Gerhard
Pre-concert talk, Instituto Cervantes, London, June 2015
Estela Telerman | Argentine Classical Composers and the Tango (1867-2008)
Recital-lecture, Schott Recital Room, London, May 2015
Ricardo Lorenz | Latin America's Art Music: a Simultaneous Expression of Reverence and Irreverence towards the West
Pre-concert talk, 'A "Revolutionary" Concert', Southbank Centre's Purcell Room, London, May 2012
Tomás Luis de Victoria
Symposium & round-table featuring Noel O'Regan, Owen Rees, Javier Marín López & Carlos Fernández Aransay, Tomás Luis de Victoria Festival, Bolívar Hall, London, October 2011
John Williams | John Williams Explores the Life and Music of Barrios
Lecture-recital, London Classical Guitar Festival, Bolívar Hall, London, May 2010
Graham Wade | Perspectives on Joaquín Rodrigo, Ten Years after his Death
Lecture, Rodrigo Festival, Canning House, London, October 2009
Walter Aaron Clark | Francisco Tárrega and the Art of Guitar Transcription
Pre-concert talk, London Classical Guitar Festival, Bolívar Hall, London, September 2009