Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Marijn Simons and the Fantasia de movimentos mixtos

While I was updating the page on the Fantasia de movimentos mixtos on the Villa-Lobos Website, I came across this review of Dutch violinist Marijn Simons' concert with the Long Beach Symphony, back in 2002:
But it was the Long Beach Symphony that invited Simons to return to the Southland, and he appeared as soloist in a Villa-Lobos violin concerto titled "Fantasia de Movimentos Mixtos" (Fantasy of Mixed Movements) Saturday night at the Terrace Theater. Once again, Simons played quirky music to which he had a personal connection, and once again he proved irresistible.

Strangely enough, there was no mention in the program or even by music director Enrique Arturo Diemecke in his concert preview discussion that Villa-Lobos' concerto from 1941 was receiving its U.S. premiere. It had been lost for more than half a century and was only recently found by Simons' father at the bottom of a barrel in an Amsterdam secondhand music shop.

This is from an LA Times review by Mark Swed, April 17, 2002 (from Simons' website). It would be great if Simons would record this piece.

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