Concerts in New York

The new Performance History Search feature at the New York Philharmonic's website is really useful. There were impressive Villa-Lobos concerts in the 1950s especially, that sometimes included works that are rarely programmed today.

A "Villa-Lobos" search returns 36 works, and it's interesting to look at some of the programmes. Here's one from the Subscription Series at Carnegie Hall in March of 1957 (the 28th & 29th) that featured the Schola Cantorum:

Villa-Lobos / Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1
Schmitt / Salammbo, Suite No. 2
Villa-Lobos / Choros No. 6
Intermission /
Guarnieri / Abertura Concertante
Villa-Lobos / Mandu-çarará

I wish we'd see more performances (and recordings) of the cantata Mandu-çarara. This concert was conducted by the composer.

And here's one from the New York World's Fairgrounds on September 1939, conducted by Walter Burle Marx. [pictured above: a photo of the Perisphere by Alfred Eisenstaedt taken at the Fair in July 1939, from the Life Magazine archive © Time Inc.]

Liszt / A Faust Symphony
Intermission /
Mignone / Maracatu de Chico Rei
Villa-Lobos / Caixinha de boas festas (Magic Windows)
Villa-Lobos / Choros No. 10 (Rasga o Coracao)