Barnet, Miguel: Brief an Henze, Hans Werner. La Habana, Samstag, 7. April 1973
author: Barnet, Miguel
language: es
availability: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

La Habana Abril 7, 1973
Querido Hans;

Abriendo un libro de los que te presté cuando estabas aquí, [It is unclear which book Barnet lent Henze when he was in Cuba, from 21 March to 16 April 1969 and from 8 November 1969 to 29 January 1970.] saltó este telegrama que me hizo recordarte terriblemente. Espero sepas que el telegrama me hizo feliz pues también rememoré la noche del estreno de la 6 sinfonía [The i has a dot as well as the acute accent.] en el Teatro García Lorca.[^1] H ans , he enviado el disco q ue tú me regalaste a la Universidad de Marruecos, pues quieren hacer una audición de la ópera allí, ya que han hecho un estudio del libro como tesis de grado. [The ópera Barnet refers to here is probably El Cimarrón, based on his book Biografia de un cimarrón.] Ellos dicen que me lo devolverán, pero tú sabes como es eso. Sé de ti por Music and Musician [The article published in Music and Musician to which Barnet is probably referring is Henze and the Revolution by Peter Heyworth.] y algo en The Observer[^2]. Pero todo es nada en comparación con la avidez que tengo de noticias tuyas. En estos días de formidable sol y playa deliciosa me he acordado enormemente de tí y de Fausto. Cómo quisiera que estuvieran aquí disfrutando el verano que comienza. Me imagino que habrás visto a Leo pues anda por Londres según noticias. [Brouwer was frequently in Europe for concerts and between 1972 and 1973 he also received a DAAD scholarship. The reasons for his trip to London could be investigated in his correspondence with Henze.] Con él, con Caita, con todos es que hablamos de ti a cada rato. Recientemente hubo un recital de canciones de Berroa con textos míos.[^3] Quisiera que tú las oyeras y me dieras tu opinión. Le he pedido que te mande las partituras.[^4] ¿Recibiste el ejemplar de Canción de Rachel en italiano, por Einaudi.? Les pedí que te mandaran uno a tí. Si no yo te mandaré uno mío.[^5] Hans, dile a Faustino que quisiera me comprara algún libro con láminas de perros de raza y me lo enviara. Tengo ahora un daschund y un miniautre pinscher.[^6] Eso me entretiene muchísimo. Y si pudieras enviarme una vacuna contra el moquillo(distemper) o contra la hepatítis canina te lo agradecería. S ó lo que tiene que ser por correo personal porque las vacunas pueden correr el riesgo de echarse a perder en el camino. Hay que refrigerarlas siempre. No creas que estoy loco por lo de los perros. Pero siempre ha sido mi hobby. Escribo ahora mucha poesía y un ensayo sobre el poeta cuban o del siglo pasado,Heredia . [It cannot be ascertained which poems and which essay Barnet is alluding to here.] Cuando puedas c uentame de tí [The i has a dot as well as the acute accent.], de tus [There is a little dot close to the t in the word tus on the left.]planes. Fariñas me dijo que vió e l ballet Ondina en Alemania pero que tú no estabas. [It is likely that Fariñas attended a performance of Undine at the Staatsoper in Hamburg, premierd in German on 31 October 1972.] Lo sentí mucho. Te quiere como siempre.

[^1: None of the telegrams preceding this letter that have been located to date explicitly mentions the premiere of Henze's Sixth Symphony, which was first performed in Havana on 26 November 1969 by the Cuban National Orchestra conducted by the composer.]

[^2: Henze's name can often be found in The Observer. The articles preceding this letter that Barnet might have read date from 27 May 1973 (the announcement of Henze's upcoming concert as conductor of the London Sinfonietta in the UK premieres of Compases para preguntas ensimismadas and the Violin Concerto No. 2) and from 17 June 1973 (an article by Peter Heyworth on new works by Henze).]

[^3: In his following letter of 30 May, Barnet repeats that Berroa had finished composing the songs and adds that they were sung by Alina Sánchez in the Teatro Amadeo Roldán. A few years earlier, Barnet had already mentioned his collaboration with Berroa in a letter with Berroa.]

[^4: Among the scores Henze owned, preserved at the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel is a score of a song by Berroa for voice and guitar entitled Para vestir el sueño from 1969, with the text from Barnet's poem Canto , published in La piedrafina y el pavoreal , p. 41. In Henze's library at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, Barnet's book is preserved with his handwritten dedication and numerous handwritten notes on the poem Canto .]

[^5: Among the books in Henze's library, now preserved at the Library of the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, is the book Canzone di Rachel, published by Einaudi in 1972 in Italian translation by Laura Gonsalez. There is no dedication from Barnet, so it is very likely that it was sent to Henze directly from the publishing house, since Barnet generally added a dedication to the books he gave Henze as gifts.]

[^6: Dachshund and miniature pinscher are two dog breeds, both originating from Germany. In other letters, Barnet's passion for dogs emerges (see for instance Barnet's next letter), shared with Henze and Moroni who owned greyhounds, a canine breed of English origin. Henze also informs Enzensberger in a letter on 5 January 1972 that Barnet has bought a dachshund.]

Rogelio estuvo en mi casa hace un mes. Es muy feliz con su carnet del Partido. [Barnet means Rodríguez's membership of the Communist Party in Cuba. See also Henze's letter to Enzensberger on 23 October 1973.] Te mandó un fuerte abrazo.

Miguel
Miguelito