The Puerto Rican composer and guitarist Ernesto Cordero was born in 1946. His pieces for guitar, combining Caribbean elements with modern composition techniques, have gained him an international reputation. He has also written many art songs, chamber music, a concerto for cuatro and orchestra and two concertos for guitar and orchestra.

The concierto draws strongly on Cordero's heritage. The pastoral first movement portrays the idyllic Antillean landscape using a combination of continental Spanish and Antillean Spanish Creole influences, which are most discernible in the lush, romantic cadenza. The second movement is distinguished by the alternation of two melodies: one, a melody blending a number of ancient influences, and the second distinctly Cuban in nature. This movement was inspired by the peaceful summer calm of the Antillean seas. The third movement is the only one in the work to draw directly on Puerto Rican folklore, quoting a fragment of the seis milonga, a traditional dance. This excerpt is united in this movement with its familiar Argentinean counterpart. The last movement is the most challenging movement of the three for the guitar soloist, demanding a nearly virtuosic performance.

The score and solo part are available for purchase from Mel Bay Publications. A set of orchestra parts is also available for rental.

February 23, 2003 in Melbourne, Florida and
February 25, 2003 in Deland, Florida
Soloist: Stephen Robinson
Stetson University Orchestra

November 15, 2002
Soloist: Carlos Perez from Chile
Conductor: Piotr Wijatkowski
Lublin Guitar Society
H. Wieniawski Philharmony in Lublin, Poland

November 3, 2002
Soloist: José A. Lopez
Aver Hall, Indiana

March 10, 2002 - first US performance
Topanga Symphony
Greater Los Angeles Area
Soloist: Carlos Barbosa-Lima

Besides California, Carlos Barbosa-Lima played the Antillano in Summer 2002 in Costa Rica.