tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31752062024-02-18T21:51:28.973-08:00The Villa-Lobos MagazineNews about Heitor Villa-Lobos on the web and in the Real World. <br>Blogging Villa-Lobos since October 2001.Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.comBlogger972125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-69102732784193320262024-01-04T11:01:00.003-08:002024-01-05T09:23:50.711-08:00Etudes for Guitar by Turibio Santos on LP<p>In 2023 I got serious about collecting vinyl; so far I've managed to acquire about twenty Villa-Lobos LPs, mainly from thrift stores. I'll feature some of my favourites in the next few posts of <i>The Villa-Lobos Magazine</i>, and I'll copy these posts to my more general record blog: <i><a href="https://several-instruments.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Music for Several Instruments</a></i>.</p><p>Villa-Lobos wrote his 1<i>2 Etudes for Guitar</i> in Paris in 1928/29, but, according to the latest edition of <a href="https://villa-lobos.blogspot.com/2023/02/villa-lobos-sua-obra-4th-ed.html" target="_blank">Villa-Lobos: Sua Obra</a>, they weren't heard in a public concert until March of 1947, when Andrés Segovia played numbers 1, 7 & 8 at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. The first performance of the entire set of twelve Etudes took place on November 21, 1963, at the Auditório do Palácio da Cultura in Rio de Janeiro. They were played by the Brazilian guitarist Turibio Santos, who was only twenty years old at the time.</p><p>That same year, Turibio Santos's recording of the 12 Etudes was released in Brazil on the Caravelle label. and in 1969 Erato re-issued this wonderful World Premiere recording.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2d7c7a81b_mWNKL3Jip_GJLq6z5HNdcK4yO-japWH30IwlGldZG-EaAQwnpcuLTcP6U0XH8mg-UJDNb6A0r-L9d0_s0EEHMgPM8jXkAUqbddi0YHm6wOk1_VlK3jjis_eogY7FfH39L3dD8MdgdZAZOvPsQFNh-3HJKHMGBa7hkWIc5_8LpXrLQ/s1870/IMG_1762.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1831" data-original-width="1870" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2d7c7a81b_mWNKL3Jip_GJLq6z5HNdcK4yO-japWH30IwlGldZG-EaAQwnpcuLTcP6U0XH8mg-UJDNb6A0r-L9d0_s0EEHMgPM8jXkAUqbddi0YHm6wOk1_VlK3jjis_eogY7FfH39L3dD8MdgdZAZOvPsQFNh-3HJKHMGBa7hkWIc5_8LpXrLQ/w400-h391/IMG_1762.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Erato provided full notes, including a summary by Segovia, inside the gatefold cover. Alas, these are only in French.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmnKmQzvhiNrbfSkSyadOc-zbiAnMWtNjzKU7fgZrj7jyhCjwKqJxrUPypNuqdDMd5LdMz5imvd99T52j5MST-LBw-LhPBQD2p-So32GGwR-zZqZZ2nStAyzqhy4pY43rdZY2bHn6kUH-YeytV4m89yYArlWaw2S8W8fcIHF768Zt-q9WKNP3cg/s1870/IMG_1764.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1834" data-original-width="1870" height="629" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmnKmQzvhiNrbfSkSyadOc-zbiAnMWtNjzKU7fgZrj7jyhCjwKqJxrUPypNuqdDMd5LdMz5imvd99T52j5MST-LBw-LhPBQD2p-So32GGwR-zZqZZ2nStAyzqhy4pY43rdZY2bHn6kUH-YeytV4m89yYArlWaw2S8W8fcIHF768Zt-q9WKNP3cg/w640-h629/IMG_1764.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlFkUtgfDx0vItPOV3blZNlQvieBklXvQddvLDSiNmVq7uBeoV9yCHm8aJiZZuhg4VlIavn0Blkqu-Eh6K33IvpI0-FhNLT-o39a1neJ3wIWyEGNgiFRnaTQaE8Opwm7EtSpvani_jz44cnzWEKlwJYlspWZtnqOzn3D-mcJwHA2cy70BlxDg5w/s1915/IMG_1765.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1872" data-original-width="1915" height="626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlFkUtgfDx0vItPOV3blZNlQvieBklXvQddvLDSiNmVq7uBeoV9yCHm8aJiZZuhg4VlIavn0Blkqu-Eh6K33IvpI0-FhNLT-o39a1neJ3wIWyEGNgiFRnaTQaE8Opwm7EtSpvani_jz44cnzWEKlwJYlspWZtnqOzn3D-mcJwHA2cy70BlxDg5w/w640-h626/IMG_1765.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I'm experiencing all of the advantages of vinyl with my Villa-Lobos records: warm sound, a chance to pay close attention in a way that isn't always possible with streaming, and the ergonomic advantage of having to get up every twenty minutes to change sides :)<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Ff1IAw5ZOo6i0uubfTKP4-ziZjqRXDQ_zGv7tOgoYLXIWVKQrNhDqFIh8s05trLEKM4NaS8R_x3mEmr3nfgUXDY2544pDQI7W_9JX5FlrrVYMzuCzTjM_z9gvkGb9hJDQGelKzhvwNKA6nUeygHgUbZ1xlKDDr8EQ7GnriOWNrPgjrJYi3lZ5w/s2085/IMG_1763.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2085" data-original-width="2004" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Ff1IAw5ZOo6i0uubfTKP4-ziZjqRXDQ_zGv7tOgoYLXIWVKQrNhDqFIh8s05trLEKM4NaS8R_x3mEmr3nfgUXDY2544pDQI7W_9JX5FlrrVYMzuCzTjM_z9gvkGb9hJDQGelKzhvwNKA6nUeygHgUbZ1xlKDDr8EQ7GnriOWNrPgjrJYi3lZ5w/w385-h400/IMG_1763.jpg" width="385" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I should mention that the Erato recording was re-released - sometime in the late 1960s, I believe, by Musical Heritage Society. I always enjoy these MHS albums, with their stark black & white covers.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCww5QOPjM2PdoZQ7-P5YmA4-GDLDgsuvIqD_uGWJlXeaRTAU7_ZiWlMYYbpBbaByiesQEHlmgEdX7zt8budXOZ9Z93Fyy8SGUDe6erceuo2ITQZe1MY5P0yftIgvTWUlxHU9mnun8h23Qtb8wzbrZI-VC5SEGKzFX8rYZobxTdKdgCaOJw45M7g/s599/R-6846078-1471783039-9106.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="596" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCww5QOPjM2PdoZQ7-P5YmA4-GDLDgsuvIqD_uGWJlXeaRTAU7_ZiWlMYYbpBbaByiesQEHlmgEdX7zt8budXOZ9Z93Fyy8SGUDe6erceuo2ITQZe1MY5P0yftIgvTWUlxHU9mnun8h23Qtb8wzbrZI-VC5SEGKzFX8rYZobxTdKdgCaOJw45M7g/w398-h400/R-6846078-1471783039-9106.jpg" width="398" /></a></div><br /><div>The great advantage of this recording over the many very fine modern recordings of the Etudes - I love those by Norbert Kraft, Timo Korhonen, David Leisner and Andrea Bissoli, among others - is authenticity. Turibio Santos was the Director of the <i>Museu Villa-Lobos</i> for 24 years, from 1986 (he took over after the death of the first director, Villa's widow Mindinha, in 1985) until 2010. Though he was only 16 when Villa-Lobos died in 1959, he has been a major player in classical guitar - and more generally, in classical music - in Brazil since the early 1960s.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div>Turibio Santos followed this landmark issue with recordings of the rest of Villa-Lobos's rather small but absolutely outstanding guitar repertoire: the Preludes, Concerto, the Suite Popular Brasileira, the First Choros and the Sexteto Místico. I'll be looking out for those recordings in 2024!</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks to my brother Lane, who tracked this album down in a Vancouver record shop, and gave it to me at Christmas!</div><div><br /></div><div><p><br /></p></div></div>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-14153374151797541012023-02-10T14:17:00.000-08:002023-02-10T14:17:08.464-08:00Villa-Lobos: Sua Obra, 4th ed.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is exciting: the 4th edition of <i>Villa-Lobos: Sua Obra</i>, the catalogue of Villa-Lobos's complete works, published in 2022 by the Museu Villa-Lobos in Rio de Janeiro.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_eBDVborfPafMvtqJMK-TxQo_ZvE7a5HYC93J2hRkyUm1BEVqpQxXqef7-2YPi7ciHdoATnK7XDLcT1oQZR_AvG-XixNx-I8oGIv72rRNu2yHYMeuPuXnz2A6Yw3UcKFLIHc-Sz9dOO96Bw23hZ113ujn6O6pAaMtSpbdax3SXHUpfEzHFbk/s1114/Screenshot%202023-02-10%20at%201.57.58%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="848" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_eBDVborfPafMvtqJMK-TxQo_ZvE7a5HYC93J2hRkyUm1BEVqpQxXqef7-2YPi7ciHdoATnK7XDLcT1oQZR_AvG-XixNx-I8oGIv72rRNu2yHYMeuPuXnz2A6Yw3UcKFLIHc-Sz9dOO96Bw23hZ113ujn6O6pAaMtSpbdax3SXHUpfEzHFbk/w488-h640/Screenshot%202023-02-10%20at%201.57.58%20PM.png" width="488" /></a></div><br />You can download the catalogue in PDF format at <a href="https://museuvillalobos.museus.gov.br/index.php/catalogo-de-obras" target="_blank">the MVL website here</a>. This is obviously the result of significant scholarship. Though much exaggerated over the years, this is still a very large, and quite a chaotic body of work.<p></p><p>I'm looking forward to digging in to this, but one of the first things that struck me is how good this book looks. That's partly due to Marcelo Rodolfo's excellent choice of photos. Once again the Museu Villa-Lobos has done right by the maestro!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_OoS6zoWA4kz3BaSloF_7K6CjXBky347DU702sTVjkRU0i-JGnI3m20IyonqbQilrs8WhcK_0R6yvypCY5m0U8ty5yKl_YRxwWCQA4iO9EPi5f3ap4Jc7KLsiPovk7eIUtUS6_DqYbGVOKO-RbW39a4cI4Di-yVZ8JTelA_y-Qh36LFKPREw/s1680/IMG_2450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1680" data-original-width="1284" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_OoS6zoWA4kz3BaSloF_7K6CjXBky347DU702sTVjkRU0i-JGnI3m20IyonqbQilrs8WhcK_0R6yvypCY5m0U8ty5yKl_YRxwWCQA4iO9EPi5f3ap4Jc7KLsiPovk7eIUtUS6_DqYbGVOKO-RbW39a4cI4Di-yVZ8JTelA_y-Qh36LFKPREw/w490-h640/IMG_2450.jpg" width="490" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-41482898145225609332022-11-29T15:26:00.000-08:002022-11-29T15:26:02.054-08:00Erosion, Origin of the Amazon River<p> Here's another LP from Boston Public Library's vinyl LP collection, newly archived at Archive.org.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZ-8t2EQkJZAzd68hNtXJlfl8nLnWmRJwmvB9RrAFYHVA-wJOlO7c4oMiGFEi6jst44vkun6jKfxask2rEuQ9FgLDlaqJSffZ9UkQjRNu4sRB8mcB88IpH2g4oZ51xzj9uYx0ioC5oRfFFUw7-SYm5gMbckEqn9FS4U7UkC--GRVnpwj0xaE/s1528/Screenshot%202022-11-29%20at%203.07.03%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1528" data-original-width="1528" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZ-8t2EQkJZAzd68hNtXJlfl8nLnWmRJwmvB9RrAFYHVA-wJOlO7c4oMiGFEi6jst44vkun6jKfxask2rEuQ9FgLDlaqJSffZ9UkQjRNu4sRB8mcB88IpH2g4oZ51xzj9uYx0ioC5oRfFFUw7-SYm5gMbckEqn9FS4U7UkC--GRVnpwj0xaE/w640-h640/Screenshot%202022-11-29%20at%203.07.03%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>In the 1950s the Louisville Symphony commissioned orchestral works from composers in the Americas; one of the first was Villa-Lobos's <i>Erosion, Origin of the Amazon River</i>, from 1950. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbhExjizbtmhC6DtzVkporDg1izDGalMmhNZz54IBy9UQ0q7ZNCWTkxyzhiphOpN9Ax4SFKmid1hiBig8KbC45bSkoKnlz1HorvfYBd-zGXL7L1e1q4Gx8-5tUxLVk3gyv2PKX7XUKe0kPk4oBwiLJbuRI_ydL0DUZDj6C4Q-Kv7hWbFfulk/s1536/Screenshot%202022-11-29%20at%203.07.40%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="1536" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpbhExjizbtmhC6DtzVkporDg1izDGalMmhNZz54IBy9UQ0q7ZNCWTkxyzhiphOpN9Ax4SFKmid1hiBig8KbC45bSkoKnlz1HorvfYBd-zGXL7L1e1q4Gx8-5tUxLVk3gyv2PKX7XUKe0kPk4oBwiLJbuRI_ydL0DUZDj6C4Q-Kv7hWbFfulk/w640-h638/Screenshot%202022-11-29%20at%203.07.40%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Though during this period Villa-Lobos sometimes tossed off commissioned work rather hastily, this work is powerful, and full of incident. According to Prof. Tarasti, this was one of his own works that the composer was most proud of. There's a more recent recording, from 1991, with Roberto Duarte conducting the Slovak Radio Symphony on Marco Polo. It's more polished, and Duarte is certainly a more accomplished Villa-Lobos conductor, though the Louisville and Bratislava orchestras both seem to have a real connection with this music.</p><p>I can also highly recommend the other work on this Louisville LP: Norman Dello Joio's St Joan Symphony is wonderful. It's just one more American symphony that seems to have slipped through the cracks.</p><p>Listen up!</p><p><br /></p>
<iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/lp_erosion-origin-of-the-amazon-river-the-tr_heitor-villa-lobos-norman-dello-joio-the-l" width="500" height="30" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-6668133890424572852022-11-28T15:03:00.002-08:002022-11-28T15:17:30.716-08:00Mass of Saint Sebastian from Berkeley<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDRG4Tzv8ddMiQuASUFkisq5Qw5ma-EH5aHZuQbZCTsmN3VuuS-dGw84IXB27PAJA8Hw4wflyyE5UGpHj2NWVxuTWjjelXk4kN0_ZhOo8_-4YLyzZRafVKzMzBIP5oPqI0qYBZQ4Oscj1pFTpVrtg2GvGMnTCh0QO_eF-67incpL4gFOU7Os/s1524/Screenshot%202022-11-28%20at%202.26.26%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1524" data-original-width="1518" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpDRG4Tzv8ddMiQuASUFkisq5Qw5ma-EH5aHZuQbZCTsmN3VuuS-dGw84IXB27PAJA8Hw4wflyyE5UGpHj2NWVxuTWjjelXk4kN0_ZhOo8_-4YLyzZRafVKzMzBIP5oPqI0qYBZQ4Oscj1pFTpVrtg2GvGMnTCh0QO_eF-67incpL4gFOU7Os/w638-h640/Screenshot%202022-11-28%20at%202.26.26%20PM.png" width="638" /></a></div><p>The <i>Mass of Saint Sebastian</i> is one of Villa-Lobos's greatest choral works. It was written in December of 1936 and January 1937. In the 1930s the composer was in the middle of his Bachianas Brasileiras series, so it is no surprise to hear his typical combination of erudite European music (in this case Renaissance choral music, especially Palestrina’s <i>Missa Papae Marcelli)</i> and folkloric Brazilian themes (here, Amerindian chants). Saint Sebastian is, of course, the patron saint of Rio de Janeiro, but I couldn't hear anything here of Villa's own personal patron saint, Johann Sebastian Bach. Villa-Lobos's work was closer to Bach's time than Palestrina's work (written in 1562) was to Bach's. This is, like so much of Villa's music, Eclectic with a capital E.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1IvqCFDttop8LE6QuruqVFqlIucb2vVlJyyErMXN2zPPZnimkaez3SCaOkGqTlyk8jzofB18wnOgXH4eLdqNlBFnmwbQGQw065_Lxdhtn_7V5KguAVB9mXWI2fbOmVdldNSqMHFZCaDav8lskq8l133SM7Jok6BNH0Qa_PcAoSkQ2enTBY0/s1530/Screenshot%202022-11-28%20at%202.25.45%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="1530" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1IvqCFDttop8LE6QuruqVFqlIucb2vVlJyyErMXN2zPPZnimkaez3SCaOkGqTlyk8jzofB18wnOgXH4eLdqNlBFnmwbQGQw065_Lxdhtn_7V5KguAVB9mXWI2fbOmVdldNSqMHFZCaDav8lskq8l133SM7Jok6BNH0Qa_PcAoSkQ2enTBY0/w640-h640/Screenshot%202022-11-28%20at%202.25.45%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>I haven't been able to track down the date of this Columbia Masterworks album recorded by the Chorus of the University of California Berkeley, conducted by Werner Janssen. It was played on <i>The Voice of America</i> in May of 1952, and reviewed by Henry Cowell in the April 1953 issue of <i>The Musical Quarterly</i>, so I think we can safely date it in the early 1950s.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmnk5fj8U9u4ViWJcYy9lDclGks4PCR7Uz0NkczPLeeKE57seFTQ943XyOAITgmsKMcslPYZOmZbdCH71xplDYdTk0HhPNLtyFpPOz50XVvYnTNQtd6sw0v4aaDibsDTbLiCdYinVeTqsWv1ZDv3kxmCsvUSzyXZGYMO2GPsX66QEBCbGXrI/s1340/Screenshot%202022-11-28%20at%202.31.11%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1340" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmnk5fj8U9u4ViWJcYy9lDclGks4PCR7Uz0NkczPLeeKE57seFTQ943XyOAITgmsKMcslPYZOmZbdCH71xplDYdTk0HhPNLtyFpPOz50XVvYnTNQtd6sw0v4aaDibsDTbLiCdYinVeTqsWv1ZDv3kxmCsvUSzyXZGYMO2GPsX66QEBCbGXrI/w640-h512/Screenshot%202022-11-28%20at%202.31.11%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div>I was thrilled to see this album in the Boston Public Library's archive of their vinyl LP collection, newly digitized and available at The Internet Archive. This has never been reissued on CD, and I've never seen it at eBay. It's a noisy copy, but Janssen's personal connection with Villa-Lobos provides some real authenticity; the two were friends from Villa's first visit to Los Angeles in 1944. I'll be posting more Villa-Lobos albums from this valuable resource in the future.</div> <p></p>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/lp_mass-of-saint-sebastian_heitor-villa-lobos-werner-janssen" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="500"></iframe>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-54063969953473571782022-09-06T18:27:00.001-07:002022-09-06T18:28:44.498-07:00Villa-Lobos by Arnold Newman<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On September 15, 1951, Heitor Villa-Lobos sat in New York for one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 20th century, Arnold Newman. Villa was one of the most photogenic of composers, and he spent a good portion of his life creating and burnishing his own image. These photographs are outstanding.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3z0S74ET08xEb3dmn5bBfp7srIYfAjsTyKw6Xb5CM5NVzPS0VMgixPIIPC5XUjms_kft0XLndBo-kWQSKWSBBweIB88LBxMOaSLTVKg4AM6q6Z79QvpG8TBzoEVb9oqQOjia6gsj8RpaGgsg9KE05gNSbycZ_PNy3R8XNOANfS9m-M5L4sg/s1340/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-06%20at%205.46.49%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1340" data-original-width="1094" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3z0S74ET08xEb3dmn5bBfp7srIYfAjsTyKw6Xb5CM5NVzPS0VMgixPIIPC5XUjms_kft0XLndBo-kWQSKWSBBweIB88LBxMOaSLTVKg4AM6q6Z79QvpG8TBzoEVb9oqQOjia6gsj8RpaGgsg9KE05gNSbycZ_PNy3R8XNOANfS9m-M5L4sg/w522-h640/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-06%20at%205.46.49%20PM.png" width="522" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Newman pays special attention to Villa's famous cigar, or, rather, Villa wields it like a baton, and Newman is there to pick up on his vibe. He's like a rock star or Hollywood actor.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglubqXhlySO7OslnTOgwjCpRx4LA0H_AdYoELdclPnvMWCFCsVbCf5Az6RXBnSvHXvcdWbYGCr4MEnSdCl2032gjp1-uO05VCsyUfxRYwZ9-6cbp2cekMPtoYwzbU4N1aO2Aff_1_CqAj9IeIvxs3PomPkf_sq7fDLRPjCvv5N2ip0fkIbo8w/s836/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-06%20at%205.49.11%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="836" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglubqXhlySO7OslnTOgwjCpRx4LA0H_AdYoELdclPnvMWCFCsVbCf5Az6RXBnSvHXvcdWbYGCr4MEnSdCl2032gjp1-uO05VCsyUfxRYwZ9-6cbp2cekMPtoYwzbU4N1aO2Aff_1_CqAj9IeIvxs3PomPkf_sq7fDLRPjCvv5N2ip0fkIbo8w/w640-h494/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-06%20at%205.49.11%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhJN0YfkrLSUCNHLUcZKlHC2iGLaOz2qs-Ul3tCZE4gHruwu35SQ1Qv2GFA2C5iygJxrvjOOVuipDx4p2XBTU8FeZpnMrJ94hsQhwPpl5r4EmN6-N4eT1_buYtwajjTAZiL1grWYkQ_RMt-O3FDwB9TaLbXLZow4b6Xh75wZqKT8v0kCcWzI/s786/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-06%20at%205.50.18%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="786" height="538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhJN0YfkrLSUCNHLUcZKlHC2iGLaOz2qs-Ul3tCZE4gHruwu35SQ1Qv2GFA2C5iygJxrvjOOVuipDx4p2XBTU8FeZpnMrJ94hsQhwPpl5r4EmN6-N4eT1_buYtwajjTAZiL1grWYkQ_RMt-O3FDwB9TaLbXLZow4b6Xh75wZqKT8v0kCcWzI/w640-h538/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-06%20at%205.50.18%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And this is my absolutely favourite portrait of Villa-Lobos. Total relaxation; complete self-possession.</div><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5z9KqRKYTr_HkQr-XBYS51OeG5e6FzWVuLlJwgXmTN2hZTmvSywy2O3MAnSRv9kHDg77-RCVjqmXRYYdkwJ08qNolFrRyrWww6SbYdhE1i14ApZmRz3BpCOnYqLaaegN_MnzPlzwibc3_tTRrHKBsfnghBdoDaKHzLjYfB9Vvp1bB7f10398/s1226/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-06%20at%206.03.05%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1226" data-original-width="966" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5z9KqRKYTr_HkQr-XBYS51OeG5e6FzWVuLlJwgXmTN2hZTmvSywy2O3MAnSRv9kHDg77-RCVjqmXRYYdkwJ08qNolFrRyrWww6SbYdhE1i14ApZmRz3BpCOnYqLaaegN_MnzPlzwibc3_tTRrHKBsfnghBdoDaKHzLjYfB9Vvp1bB7f10398/w504-h640/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-06%20at%206.03.05%20PM.png" width="504" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-10471057276842825012022-09-04T09:50:00.001-07:002022-09-04T09:50:22.809-07:00Mr. Famous<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbgqqoMX4P8H8pBY0ymJicjR1fTMc6PzypztMft9HZTZMHuXt-KZ1WtLdR5k-jnmTrSfyj3_pnbyNUYEbTIU26aYCuRsgYvmqzGyOFK_mjzdkH4szin4RqMqoxFvWIKY_Ay0zaFLklrlHnmmXq1-thcz3N2rZXqoj9IwkQZisur3qoycWM1Y/s2838/1977-16-201.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2838" data-original-width="2138" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbgqqoMX4P8H8pBY0ymJicjR1fTMc6PzypztMft9HZTZMHuXt-KZ1WtLdR5k-jnmTrSfyj3_pnbyNUYEbTIU26aYCuRsgYvmqzGyOFK_mjzdkH4szin4RqMqoxFvWIKY_Ay0zaFLklrlHnmmXq1-thcz3N2rZXqoj9IwkQZisur3qoycWM1Y/w482-h640/1977-16-201.jpeg" width="482" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From the Museu Villa-Lobos photo archive, this great photograph, from 1958, of Villa-Lobos with Audrey Hepburn and her little Yorkshire Terrier. The dog's name was "Mr. Famous". Villa is visiting the set of the MGM film <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Mansions_(film)" target="_blank">Green Mansions</a>, directed by Audrey's husband Mel Ferrer, and based on the novel by W. H. Hudson. Villa-Lobos was hired to write the music, and he received an on-screen composer credit, though most of the score was written, in the end, by Bronislau Kaper. Villa later turned his <i>Green Mansions</i> music into <i>Forest of the Amazon (Floresta do Amazonas)</i>, a very fine work for orchestra and chorus.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The still photographer on the set of <i>Green Mansions</i> was the great Robert Willoughby, so I wouldn't be surprised if this photo was taken by him.</div><br /><p></p>
<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/723ldjyuyCEDetwmE4OJ0g?utm_source=generator" style="border-radius: 12px;" width="100%"></iframe>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-34473908538942615502022-08-27T19:14:00.005-07:002022-08-28T07:53:16.848-07:00Great Classical Music from Brazil<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWjPM9LP8uR7M15gWP3qd1y2nmXo_G6mDJfI0mZ56mONRm5NDOld-kuT5K1J4TqpdS9tt7aOSb-jtoGwVGm1hrf9aHBUCvUNGJBklvxxH_zhkpwPJuL5_WTaUTEirGo3T8aUKarPStDdRQdHCIuRDj485BHSHTRxlUbY2EMzNpef-qAk8cbVQ/s3394/8506046.20220822040200.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3394" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWjPM9LP8uR7M15gWP3qd1y2nmXo_G6mDJfI0mZ56mONRm5NDOld-kuT5K1J4TqpdS9tt7aOSb-jtoGwVGm1hrf9aHBUCvUNGJBklvxxH_zhkpwPJuL5_WTaUTEirGo3T8aUKarPStDdRQdHCIuRDj485BHSHTRxlUbY2EMzNpef-qAk8cbVQ/w354-h400/8506046.20220822040200.png" width="354" /></a></div><br /><b>Brasil em Concerto: music by Nepomuceno, Villa-Lobos, Guarnieri, Guerra-Peixe, Santoro, Almeida Prado</b><p></p><p>This six-disc box set, commemorating the 200th anniversary of Brazil, continues the excellent <i>Music of Brazil</i> series from Naxos. We continue to learn more about Brazilian classical composers other than Heitor Villa-Lobos, though the Villa disc (which I <a href="https://villa-lobos.blogspot.com/2019/10/sao-paulos-villa-lobos-recording.html" target="_blank">reviewed here</a>) is quite wonderful. Another disc I've <a href="https://several-instruments.blogspot.com/2022/07/orchestral-music-of-major-brazilian.html" target="_blank">reviewed recently</a> was a real eye-opener for me: César Guerra-Peixe's Symphonic Suites and Roda.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KUnTTSQdf25yTRJlPx3bV0zWRkosV9387bPtzlGfhadRD4f50uDvLX8JpTKDYX_ZEhscMoyifrkclXTBam6RMej7hu-viuKPY_4JswPHR8fXwVqZIbdGnbw1WotV0mPBRwM650fqIYL32aN26T4ots4IM6yJPXGRqvlGCLuDSYti6FlTaXA/s3394/8506046.pt01.20220822040220.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3394" data-original-width="3000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KUnTTSQdf25yTRJlPx3bV0zWRkosV9387bPtzlGfhadRD4f50uDvLX8JpTKDYX_ZEhscMoyifrkclXTBam6RMej7hu-viuKPY_4JswPHR8fXwVqZIbdGnbw1WotV0mPBRwM650fqIYL32aN26T4ots4IM6yJPXGRqvlGCLuDSYti6FlTaXA/w566-h640/8506046.pt01.20220822040220.png" width="566" /></a></div><br /><p>Standouts from the other five discs include two Claudio Santoro symphonies: the 5th and 7th, subtitled 'Brasilia'. The latter reminds us that Villa-Lobos died just five months before the unveiling of the country's new capital on April 21, 1960, and he would have been the natural composer for this kind of symphony.</p>
<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/30w4iNu6lLxf9jZALPpeCz?utm_source=generator" style="border-radius: 12px;" width="100%"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Oscar Niemeyer, the designer of much of Brasilia and its buildings, was one of Brazil's great modernist artists who made a big splash on the world stage in its second century. Another was, of course, Villa-Lobos, while a third was a friend of Villa's, the painter Candido Portinari. It's fitting that Naxos has featured a Portinari painting on the cover of this box set, "The Tree of Life", from 1957. A country's culture is, of course, so much richer than just the output of its artistic giants; this valuable set gives us a much better, more rounded, view of the music of Brazil.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwbVwekJglTiZdl8a1araFyZqLYIugCLmAR7o2Iakc6R1U6sg41yU5ta4lso9ldXj9k3DEJL8hZLX758P-JBElY-55Fsmuu4c_EgNd_C-EQDhfo2wH3sSfal9JEeDAsYkFRIwgMNqX3eWHNbAAln7IO2xgzvdWbfMV3c9PSHgfO1zVkUh1Sk/s250/download.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="250" height="517" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwbVwekJglTiZdl8a1araFyZqLYIugCLmAR7o2Iakc6R1U6sg41yU5ta4lso9ldXj9k3DEJL8hZLX758P-JBElY-55Fsmuu4c_EgNd_C-EQDhfo2wH3sSfal9JEeDAsYkFRIwgMNqX3eWHNbAAln7IO2xgzvdWbfMV3c9PSHgfO1zVkUh1Sk/w640-h517/download.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-87468927351702938692022-08-03T08:11:00.001-07:002022-08-03T08:13:35.129-07:00Antônio Meneses plays Cello Concertos by Villa-Lobos<p>Antônio Meneses plays the <i>2nd Cello Concerto</i> of Heitor Villa-Lobos, with Isaac Karabtchevsky conducting the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP), from a 2021 concert.</p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UiD-OfUuo14" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Villa-Lobos began his musical career as a cellist, and the instrument remained an important part of his music - along with the guitar and piano - throughout his life. This fine piece, written for Aldo Parisot in 1953, deserves a place in the repertoire.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's another, even less well-known, work for cello and orchestra by Villa-Lobos: the <i>Fantasia for Cello and Orchestra</i>, written in 1945 and dedicated to Serge Koussevitzky. Once again Antônio Meneses plays the cello, and Isaac Karabtchevsky conducts the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP), this time from a 2022 concert.</div><div><br /></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AQfL49ooZW0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>While this is called a Fantasia, it's in effect a three-movement concerto. Though come to think of it, nearly all of Villa-Lobos's orchestral music - Concertos, Choros, Bachianas Brasileiras, even Symphonies - might have been called <i>Fantasias</i>. He's always ready to add new material into the musical mix, and themes rarely stick around long enough for us to tire of them. This is Villa's true fecundity; the myth of his heroically prolific output has been over-blown. To reach the oft-quoted number of 2,000 works, more than half would be transcriptions and arrangements made as part of his educational output. He's actually in the same ballpark as many other busy composers, including his idol Bach. David Appleby came up with 592 works in his <a href="https://imslp.org/wiki/List_of_works_by_Heitor_Villa-Lobos" target="_blank">listing of Villa-Lobos's output</a>, while Ludwig Köchel's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6chel_catalogue" target="_blank">catalogue of Mozart's works</a> goes up to 626.</div>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-53751149086575109662022-07-31T09:35:00.004-07:002022-07-31T09:36:43.532-07:00Bachianas Brasileiras no. 4 from Slovenia<p>From Ljubljana, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra play Bachianas Brasileiras no. 4, in a concert from Gallus Hall conducted by Ricardo Castro.</p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cwx88YYbIeQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>I believe the Fourth Bachianas Brasileiras has become the second most commonly performed Villa-Lobos work, after the Fifth. Villa wrote it originally for piano, and backwards. The fourth movement is from 1930, the third from 1935, and the first two movements were completed in 1941. The version for orchestra was premiered in Rio on July 15, 1942.</div>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-83869545707937650602022-07-28T17:15:00.002-07:002022-07-28T17:15:43.083-07:00The Three-Cushion Billiards Champion of Rio de Janeiro<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIe1-2ohUrE_7aoqCA0R6z9yXfR6VOUWK5CL6OgFOoNe1PULt74EyfVitSToNXTZt3XEzkJDcnSaPbuapx16ZoffFJ3RMJBr1j1pcix7IYRHodW1-0inoPpru_P2eZRZOehzXn8NSnQgvEGHepukI6Co5VbocMs03wMKjiCseZbny6wHUcG7M/s2908/1987-16-046_A.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2292" data-original-width="2908" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIe1-2ohUrE_7aoqCA0R6z9yXfR6VOUWK5CL6OgFOoNe1PULt74EyfVitSToNXTZt3XEzkJDcnSaPbuapx16ZoffFJ3RMJBr1j1pcix7IYRHodW1-0inoPpru_P2eZRZOehzXn8NSnQgvEGHepukI6Co5VbocMs03wMKjiCseZbny6wHUcG7M/w640-h504/1987-16-046_A.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />Heitor Villa-Lobos plays billiards at the Brazilian Press Association, Rio de Janeiro, 1950s. From the Museu Villa-Lobos photo archive.</div><blockquote><p>"Thus far, besides treating several thousand music lovers to samples of his 1,500-odd works, Villa-Lobos has acquired an ecstatic admiration for tall buildings and vanilla ice cream. In the encounter of two such dynamic protagonists as Villa-Lobos and the U.S., onlookers expected even more to happen before he returns to Rio de Janeiro, where he is the city's amateur three-cushion billiards champion as well as musical overlord of Brazil's Ministry of Education."</p></blockquote><blockquote><p>- from a story in Time magazine, February 19, 1945</p></blockquote>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-702677826521376412022-07-27T11:30:00.001-07:002022-07-27T11:30:53.123-07:00Joyful Innocence<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeuPSNJpuLMVmZs2nX04NdFNSEWGlAjsfOFe-yg1L8LfkcG_P76So3OSdj4PTAEMrRhiQ6_g96cTUQNhYo2Hc_XYWvvy2N-qDGax17WYlCtlFtAU-vvudpsbpLx7qJIOGbbupfQzMlYn0r7gAM-fJWsEjBKuNztHnRm3V7Mot0mbivBx3xiA/s2208/1980-16-116_A.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2208" data-original-width="1546" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeuPSNJpuLMVmZs2nX04NdFNSEWGlAjsfOFe-yg1L8LfkcG_P76So3OSdj4PTAEMrRhiQ6_g96cTUQNhYo2Hc_XYWvvy2N-qDGax17WYlCtlFtAU-vvudpsbpLx7qJIOGbbupfQzMlYn0r7gAM-fJWsEjBKuNztHnRm3V7Mot0mbivBx3xiA/w448-h640/1980-16-116_A.jpeg" width="448" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Heitor Villa-Lobos plays Chinese Checkers ("Dama Chinesa" in Brazil) with Mindinha and friends: Arailda Dutra, Roberto Strutt, Sonia Maria Strutt, Cristina Maristany, Iberê Gomes Grosso and Tomás Terán. A shot from Rio in the 1950s, from the Museu Villa-Lobos photo archive.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From Ralph Gustafson's wonderful article "Villa-Lobos and the Man-Eating Flower: A Memoir", The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 75, No. 1 (Spring, 1991), pp. 1-11: </div><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"On a rainy afternoon we played Chinese checkers together, at which he cheated with joyful innocence.</div></blockquote><br /> <p></p>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-30277675420236114722022-07-25T17:00:00.001-07:002022-07-25T17:36:20.290-07:00Coffee with Villa<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdlElnCrZimPolU8SDfNeEZewFH_PGpgbJqreB7moqLVXCjqKjpoWbWZkdyB5ML-tCW8Lu72XAZe9UWKQrSpZ8NbQOVNpQ0vNHeQCf3x-yk0gEBtER3O8w13hJT7e5pj_g8XP8UO1DH2Pg7Xwl8e3yfWBLHVgbo4z5JYXT06-QYQdDMGMyV4/s2262/2002-16-089_A.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2262" data-original-width="1608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdlElnCrZimPolU8SDfNeEZewFH_PGpgbJqreB7moqLVXCjqKjpoWbWZkdyB5ML-tCW8Lu72XAZe9UWKQrSpZ8NbQOVNpQ0vNHeQCf3x-yk0gEBtER3O8w13hJT7e5pj_g8XP8UO1DH2Pg7Xwl8e3yfWBLHVgbo4z5JYXT06-QYQdDMGMyV4/w454-h640/2002-16-089_A.jpeg" width="454" /></a></div><br /> "Villa-Lobos com copinho de café"- Villa has some coffee at the interval of a Philadelphia Orchestra concert at Carnegie Hall, January 1955.<p></p><p>Here's a wonderful photo of the composer conducting a rehearsal of the Philadelphia Orchestra. I wish I knew who took these great shots; they're from the Museu Villa-Lobos photo archive.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUAgXHDJidHBGvUrjE6EWch7YF1iWp2dwLzq8QHbhqzFI8IgIaepBinpGmeBvxNz1z0o2az2VyBS1fyxzIi3kHE97gLj-pKdK7rOGWEZbz_KR-iuu8SzHD0lpFNg0SL4JIxaIPN5-SFMviXjxaHnj04AYx0rz4gsZpqyEr7f-3c4F2my0gmM/s3300/1977-16-132_A.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3300" data-original-width="2569" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUAgXHDJidHBGvUrjE6EWch7YF1iWp2dwLzq8QHbhqzFI8IgIaepBinpGmeBvxNz1z0o2az2VyBS1fyxzIi3kHE97gLj-pKdK7rOGWEZbz_KR-iuu8SzHD0lpFNg0SL4JIxaIPN5-SFMviXjxaHnj04AYx0rz4gsZpqyEr7f-3c4F2my0gmM/w498-h640/1977-16-132_A.jpeg" width="498" /></a></div><br /><p>There's a fabulous review of the Carnegie Hall concert, which included the premieres of the <i>8th Symphony</i> and the <i>Harp Concerto</i>, in the January 31, 1955 issue of Time. The story is entitled "Tropical Thunderstorm".</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiImOspTfHNi56456QT8dUf0cQSuUeVpx7lb7uJWHjCRE2LCHDCssc-8DN144cIpW2laCMSqjGfXVQHmBUlDGLlv5w-pBF_TmCMuAKhWiURmTTQA8rTA8fVMzyAx7qM2BHvvsx_WYDEHxVGE5L4Ds8XhnokhXfEQdP1htQCJuVMnhU_44_ACQw/s1106/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-25%20at%204.40.39%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1052" data-original-width="1106" height="608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiImOspTfHNi56456QT8dUf0cQSuUeVpx7lb7uJWHjCRE2LCHDCssc-8DN144cIpW2laCMSqjGfXVQHmBUlDGLlv5w-pBF_TmCMuAKhWiURmTTQA8rTA8fVMzyAx7qM2BHvvsx_WYDEHxVGE5L4Ds8XhnokhXfEQdP1htQCJuVMnhU_44_ACQw/w640-h608/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-25%20at%204.40.39%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXcwetCTwi65j4NRbn6qORenJiHJb7Zxzm--d8EBiNUJjITKhnDaR6bNU1bL8V_r84AwPaywLYIA_ZZwRPfF0VXo6FtEogCC2VocUE4DOSQi7DDo6s4Cvz2bKwoWXwIUa4siuMq2cKQN-sAq-g7-C7g4tT5Of7SEj1pNqnYaQH76cvgSjYfCA/s1106/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-25%20at%204.42.27%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="1106" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXcwetCTwi65j4NRbn6qORenJiHJb7Zxzm--d8EBiNUJjITKhnDaR6bNU1bL8V_r84AwPaywLYIA_ZZwRPfF0VXo6FtEogCC2VocUE4DOSQi7DDo6s4Cvz2bKwoWXwIUa4siuMq2cKQN-sAq-g7-C7g4tT5Of7SEj1pNqnYaQH76cvgSjYfCA/w640-h312/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-25%20at%204.42.27%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This photo is also from the interval at Carnegie Hall, on January 15, 1955. Villa with soloist Nicanor Zabaleta & his special friend Andres Segovia. Mindinha has her arms around both Segovia & her husband. Also in the photo are conductor and composer Walter Burle Marx, pianist Bernardo Segall, conductor Arthur Cohn, and two Philadelphia Orchestra harpists, Carlos Salzedo and Edna Phillips.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqKjWzjUWUPDpVmlCPn6It6QWZOYLLbuY2qbNUwB50qmLrwDcPwsVr_eF3MczGMgwKh42CQaxGN9-x1Z6gw0k39Gx2tHIA5Ijs6h5xBuUNRT0UNjoNLg_jwrr_A3e0lxuAXyP3QM2ozHmQI20cp_gQT3GDsANsa9iUGq7WeuVLQ-h1oVomhA/s4377/2003-16-131_A.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3485" data-original-width="4377" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlqKjWzjUWUPDpVmlCPn6It6QWZOYLLbuY2qbNUwB50qmLrwDcPwsVr_eF3MczGMgwKh42CQaxGN9-x1Z6gw0k39Gx2tHIA5Ijs6h5xBuUNRT0UNjoNLg_jwrr_A3e0lxuAXyP3QM2ozHmQI20cp_gQT3GDsANsa9iUGq7WeuVLQ-h1oVomhA/w640-h510/2003-16-131_A.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's perhaps not surprising that the <i>Harp Concerto</i>, commissioned by Zabaleta in 1953, hasn't stayed in the repertoire. There are many lovely passages in the score, but it doesn't really hold together. As Villa said, though, "Better that people should hear bad Villa-Lobos than good somebody else."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The new motto of The Villa-Lobos Magazine!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="380" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/1H4WIh92KE5wgxhIcrftYH?utm_source=generator" style="border-radius: 12px;" width="100%"></iframe>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-52034154978495165392022-07-25T10:12:00.006-07:002022-07-25T10:14:30.187-07:00Joseph Battista and the Cirandas<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9BTPTxtdwjzdO7xCNMp4VlancPfgXNNk_rEPlloLp-7JB2o4bRxCcQ-ixsfnJ1Q5JMBEAnm4Hy7hmVp7kKqqGf9RkCNfWhTlKdajzbjkrAeG2CVeB1mFNSXrbUKe42ySdVfY-84oiQGYNEQoRkN4Anttwy7nLLaIOtaUXqGpPa4Am2DgyuQ/s2877/1982-16-035_A.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2200" data-original-width="2877" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir9BTPTxtdwjzdO7xCNMp4VlancPfgXNNk_rEPlloLp-7JB2o4bRxCcQ-ixsfnJ1Q5JMBEAnm4Hy7hmVp7kKqqGf9RkCNfWhTlKdajzbjkrAeG2CVeB1mFNSXrbUKe42ySdVfY-84oiQGYNEQoRkN4Anttwy7nLLaIOtaUXqGpPa4Am2DgyuQ/w640-h490/1982-16-035_A.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br />From the Museu Villa-Lobos photo archive, Heitor Villa-Lobos in his Rio apartment with American pianist Joseph Battista, July 7, 1952. Battista would have been preparing for his recording of the <i>Cirandas</i>, released in 1953. The Philadelphia-born pianist has a small discography; he was only 50 when he died, in 1968.<div><br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vi7kTK8oT7c" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Villa-Lobos wrote the <i>Cirandas</i> in 1926, using as his raw material folk melodies, within the form of the ciranda round dance that had become popular with Brazilian children. The cycle is an important sign-post in the composer's lifelong interest in the world of the child. The folkloric stream in his music, always there throughout his life, comes to the surface here. It was to stay there for much of the next decades, as Villa-Lobos worked on his <i>Guia Prâtico </i>anthology of folk-music.</div>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-22005678523350760222022-07-25T08:59:00.000-07:002022-07-25T08:59:12.955-07:00Villa in Buenos Aires, part 2<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggW4OtBhXkJfO0MqbyfBej0-ewVV8U5ys1OdghA0aT70Un6_WX266EY6mHmN1KzaPAiE6lPxlpKknCrRs1GLzQjw13BTh2JHU_2GbmCzJtd8WWrp8m16_6LD5V07_6-EOaDZpXavntljAX573cwlIJWYD9BvprIZSJNHHoeLcZVcs0rWBQfYw/s1923/2008-16-034_A.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1462" data-original-width="1923" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggW4OtBhXkJfO0MqbyfBej0-ewVV8U5ys1OdghA0aT70Un6_WX266EY6mHmN1KzaPAiE6lPxlpKknCrRs1GLzQjw13BTh2JHU_2GbmCzJtd8WWrp8m16_6LD5V07_6-EOaDZpXavntljAX573cwlIJWYD9BvprIZSJNHHoeLcZVcs0rWBQfYw/w640-h486/2008-16-034_A.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br />My last post featured some photos from the Museu Villa-Lobos of Villa-Lobos playing the piano in Buenos Aires. He was in Argentina for the May 25, 1935 premiere of the first staging of his 1917 ballet <i>Uirapuru</i>, at the Teatro Colon. Here's a great shot of the composer on stage following that first performance.<p></p><p><i>Uirapuru</i> is Villa's first great orchestral work, written under the strong influence of Igor Stravinsky's <i>Firebird Suite</i>. It's an early example of his lifelong interest in the music and culture of the indigenous people of Brazil.</p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XpSh4pws9K8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div>And here's Villa-Lobos with baritone Ernesto Dodds once again during his May 1935 visit. Note the poster from LR8, Radio Stentor in Buenos Aires, which began broadcasting from its studio on Hotel Castelar, Avenida de Mayo, in 1933.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJrEwPLADLD9-LDVdOzpaZJ-S_hc-al8dfAiiU5ez2urVCzP6C3QCTJK-ZAEZuVahiDGFX9PvMWz4u55xOi_JS8W4_BIRWYvanaRwltPGabuy2DirP4ghHDXNgz5LKSZblefq02Lrg_nyVFuCtI2LxOwXUXd8KBLZp7dJsDG2kNnsiiFdk6qg/s4715/2008-16-060_A.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3385" data-original-width="4715" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJrEwPLADLD9-LDVdOzpaZJ-S_hc-al8dfAiiU5ez2urVCzP6C3QCTJK-ZAEZuVahiDGFX9PvMWz4u55xOi_JS8W4_BIRWYvanaRwltPGabuy2DirP4ghHDXNgz5LKSZblefq02Lrg_nyVFuCtI2LxOwXUXd8KBLZp7dJsDG2kNnsiiFdk6qg/w640-h460/2008-16-060_A.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-76051849541161804252022-07-24T10:18:00.002-07:002022-07-24T10:20:06.763-07:00Villa-Lobos in Buenos Aires<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wmY7QhHCr826lezFQi7LfN8AeG2P-FdTGb1idJdr-aLvCWodzPbohNC8xDOiX_mvf4W45psnyXFTsRYGm5B8Wq_X9EV97H6HtnCt3D4lOwA1SkmAoixvtP-dkPRriyV0vom-DNphR9qEFrHmP_RoZ1xuOiHzcUC7pkchvPiNDeISxoJq8uI/s2931/1983-16-012_A.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2223" data-original-width="2931" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wmY7QhHCr826lezFQi7LfN8AeG2P-FdTGb1idJdr-aLvCWodzPbohNC8xDOiX_mvf4W45psnyXFTsRYGm5B8Wq_X9EV97H6HtnCt3D4lOwA1SkmAoixvtP-dkPRriyV0vom-DNphR9qEFrHmP_RoZ1xuOiHzcUC7pkchvPiNDeISxoJq8uI/w640-h486/1983-16-012_A.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Heitor Villa-Lobos plays the piano in Ernesto Dodds' Studio de Canto y Arte, Rua Maipu 994, Buenos Aires. This photo, from the great archive of the Museu Villa-Lobos, was taken on May 19, 1935. Villa-Lobos was in Buenos Aires for the first staging of his ballet <i>Uirapuru</i>, at the Teatro Colon. The composer was also in the Argentine capital the previous year, when he conducted three concerts, including Bach's B Minor Mass.<p></p><p>Ernesto Dodds was an operatic baritone; I'm not sure what his connection to Villa-Lobos was. Perhaps Dodds was one of the soloists in that B Minor Mass performance. This photo of the singer is from 1931.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4icoMHuRzWHU9bF4B8RfmK0rlO8cjY0uD-QlX0APyjYsHxoxdIVFdWx61CWg2BBM9iOwPCrMBmqv4vIOzAMnMIa-O_dF50JYj9leRVvuA768dRQrtPPILz5R22UiN4OW5t-H1N4Qm3ymzqFeDr-RjWylA-uqa6CyM1l9k8qR2G-nXmTRNF2E/s500/s-l500.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="372" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4icoMHuRzWHU9bF4B8RfmK0rlO8cjY0uD-QlX0APyjYsHxoxdIVFdWx61CWg2BBM9iOwPCrMBmqv4vIOzAMnMIa-O_dF50JYj9leRVvuA768dRQrtPPILz5R22UiN4OW5t-H1N4Qm3ymzqFeDr-RjWylA-uqa6CyM1l9k8qR2G-nXmTRNF2E/w477-h640/s-l500.jpeg" width="477" /></a></div><br /><p>Another shot from Villa's piano recital in Buenos Aires. I love the Beethoven bust, and the rapt audience in the mirror.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyRUiybEAOarN09T0dvJwYUgg44sG5pD4yOwaniMzf8DG_UbnK1c7kQz3ptBlj74D2Q1N94X_FQvvfer4ey-vs0zYQBaiii1hUkXtlVFsAV8l3iaHHR7MMMf9JdEY4y1mne_1WtjCxFBmnGTYIVEe3AebKH4Pelo5ylQhHRmfgKNmvdLzjtUk/s4638/2003-16-127_A.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3446" data-original-width="4638" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyRUiybEAOarN09T0dvJwYUgg44sG5pD4yOwaniMzf8DG_UbnK1c7kQz3ptBlj74D2Q1N94X_FQvvfer4ey-vs0zYQBaiii1hUkXtlVFsAV8l3iaHHR7MMMf9JdEY4y1mne_1WtjCxFBmnGTYIVEe3AebKH4Pelo5ylQhHRmfgKNmvdLzjtUk/w640-h476/2003-16-127_A.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Villa looks very much the dashing concert pianist here, but he was hardly a virtuoso at the keyboard. I expect he was playing some of his own works, perhaps including a recent piece like <i>Valsa da Dor</i>, from 1932.</p><p><br /></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C5GOe1IxZjY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-80067325194265188772022-04-20T08:28:00.003-07:002022-04-20T08:31:15.155-07:00Villa, Ponce & Acario Cotapos<p> In 1928 the Mexican composer Manuel Ponce wrote a letter to his wife Clema that gives us a good picture of cultural life in Paris at the time:</p><blockquote><p>Yesterday I was working at the office and Edgard Varèse came looking for me. He invited me to his house; naturally, I accepted. Albert Roussel, Florent Schmitt, the pianist Tomás Terán, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Acario Cotapos the Chilean composer were there with writers, painters, sculptors, etc. Among the women there was the Comtesse de Polignac. Villa-Lobos was very amiable towards me, and invited me to visit him.</p></blockquote><p>Ponce, who was seven years older than Villa-Lobos, has much in common with his Brazilian colleague. Both Ponce & Villa became close with Andres Segovia, and both paid close attention to the folkloric music of their native lands. Here is Villa-Lobos commenting on that very subject:</p><blockquote><p>I remember that I asked him at that time if the composers of his country were as yet taking an interest in native music, as I had been doing since 1912, and he answered that he himself had been working in that direction. It gave me great joy to learn that in that distant part of my continent there was another artist who was arming himself with the resources of the folklore of his people in the struggle for the future musical independence of his country.</p></blockquote><p>One of the names that Ponce dropped in his letter was unfamiliar to me, and I've only now begun to follow up. The composer Acario Cotapos was born in Valdivia, Chile, in April 30, 1889, so he was two years younger than Villa-Lobos. Cotapos outlived Villa by a decade, dying in 1969.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlDN_JaQbxG0cAgoXm5M9XgaMOdUSPBDa06XrsFlb7KCMt1A9QIQz_mYOIyTbJKxW2qtQ0IogKgUgZbN4WrQjJaUJkX-RUJj19bHH6EedzGiIBb4ir4AngmBdcWYVQUDsXuTvHzlHn8BG78ZRkTCokNDCh1FVUAw9gcjlycH45KTjJS_F5R0/s673/acario_bnacional.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="556" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlDN_JaQbxG0cAgoXm5M9XgaMOdUSPBDa06XrsFlb7KCMt1A9QIQz_mYOIyTbJKxW2qtQ0IogKgUgZbN4WrQjJaUJkX-RUJj19bHH6EedzGiIBb4ir4AngmBdcWYVQUDsXuTvHzlHn8BG78ZRkTCokNDCh1FVUAw9gcjlycH45KTjJS_F5R0/w528-h640/acario_bnacional.jpeg" width="528" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A drawing of Acario Cotapos from the Chilean National Library</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Again, there are real folkloric elements apparent in Cotapos's orchestral music. His<i> "Sinfonia Preliminar de El Pajaro Burlón" (Preliminary Symphony to the Mockingbird)</i> shares some elements of Villa-Lobos's sound-world, or at least they have some common influences, namely Stravinsky and the French impressionists. I look forward to hearing more of this composer's music.</p><p> </p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZRFtC2my0bU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-49099134593665101612022-01-26T20:37:00.003-08:002022-01-26T20:50:21.690-08:00Villa-Lobos, Stokowski and "Native Brazilian Music"
<p>In July 1940 Leopold Stokowski sent two letters to Heitor Villa-Lobos proposing what became the Columbia recording project "Native Brazilian Music".</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhCHbY6VSqXaicaC-PPYqx5bp_TPrhFOyVvMruVAVuH0W093ssjOOE7dhry2Wh4EYtA-I-6I53pW-jPZYOVlTJy9gfTCVg-zDB1nMnROUvLAFbLvNzh2e3UBxSFaxbfYjZ31eerWrfPV5MhL0bSmLRlyujJrxdT1B4-CgK_QusANn00l6Uftos=s1188" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1188" data-original-width="912" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhCHbY6VSqXaicaC-PPYqx5bp_TPrhFOyVvMruVAVuH0W093ssjOOE7dhry2Wh4EYtA-I-6I53pW-jPZYOVlTJy9gfTCVg-zDB1nMnROUvLAFbLvNzh2e3UBxSFaxbfYjZ31eerWrfPV5MhL0bSmLRlyujJrxdT1B4-CgK_QusANn00l6Uftos=w493-h640" width="493" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1fF5Fa5apKZvYtzKDsKbcH7x9W37k1rToG1GeaQayM2Zxojn5e_KXhEctQEXnCKJMaxik17K5vN6WvoWRmYkfcGK7qTHgRLk51SgXgCCudoMl-ZsLNxeqhnPWfMFUw1J4w4DkYmMJFzK2VGzHc0KkYamXW-F1RibCqUUvYlfZQT-36pSZwvI=s1194" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1194" data-original-width="812" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1fF5Fa5apKZvYtzKDsKbcH7x9W37k1rToG1GeaQayM2Zxojn5e_KXhEctQEXnCKJMaxik17K5vN6WvoWRmYkfcGK7qTHgRLk51SgXgCCudoMl-ZsLNxeqhnPWfMFUw1J4w4DkYmMJFzK2VGzHc0KkYamXW-F1RibCqUUvYlfZQT-36pSZwvI=w436-h640" width="436" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div>As Daniella Thompson explains, in her wonderful "<a href="http://daniellathompson.com/Texts/Stokowski/Stalking_Stokowski.htm" target="_blank">Stalking Stokowski</a>", </div><div><blockquote>Villa-Lobos complied with the conductor’s request and turned for help to his friends, the sambistas Donga, Cartola, and Zé Espinguela, who rounded up the cream of Rio’s musicians. Perhaps only a man of Villa-Lobos’ stature and his close connections to the choro and samba worlds could have assembled such a dream team for Stokowski.</blockquote></div><div>It's quite remarkable that everything happened so quickly: from the first letter at the beginning to July to the recording session in early August! Soon after Stokowski arrived in Rio de Janeiro aboard the S. S. Uruguay, the great musicians gathered by Villa-Lobos and his colleagues boarded the ship in the harbour, and recorded this wonderful music.</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
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</div><div><br /></div><div>The Columbia album cover, released in 1942:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNH4T0lD5WbdMI981HDLpe0NGkykKA4IxUmZ3aA42sP8240Yelb4VflN5xLsiMFkElnPnm82zKiNQfRuir_S0ddq7IuOCEB5A0-vU9dZIqDLoVT3lfVy7EZmSD_mAh3t27Fj19-a-BEmGfa7MBpnNDo6FLwWvwHmwhqnS5uqNc8W-oIgRgzcM=s286" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="286" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNH4T0lD5WbdMI981HDLpe0NGkykKA4IxUmZ3aA42sP8240Yelb4VflN5xLsiMFkElnPnm82zKiNQfRuir_S0ddq7IuOCEB5A0-vU9dZIqDLoVT3lfVy7EZmSD_mAh3t27Fj19-a-BEmGfa7MBpnNDo6FLwWvwHmwhqnS5uqNc8W-oIgRgzcM=w400-h386" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>and the Thomaz Ambrosio illustration of Heitor Villa-Lobos, Leopold Stokowski & Donga based upon it.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwhxZ5qN0MylED-ut8kRChZf1jW0zb6aqQi0ip23J9iIA_lMk42ctSr9ZBe_JOLxOun52NYfTSs0XNBQRl8MTaKSmVX7TidnDDFXPqeO5llPEkHtbqn9Jd_yZ0lul0m6R4RTLsKWeKXqw6Qftrs1buzIN77UTLvOiYkkZ3oUWiBCs0RAMjdqE=s1984" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="1984" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwhxZ5qN0MylED-ut8kRChZf1jW0zb6aqQi0ip23J9iIA_lMk42ctSr9ZBe_JOLxOun52NYfTSs0XNBQRl8MTaKSmVX7TidnDDFXPqeO5llPEkHtbqn9Jd_yZ0lul0m6R4RTLsKWeKXqw6Qftrs1buzIN77UTLvOiYkkZ3oUWiBCs0RAMjdqE=w400-h241" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>In 2007, the Library of Congress added "Native Brazilian Music" to its 2006 National Recording Registry.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Villa-Lobos made many friends over the years in the world of music, but one of his closest was Leopold Stokowski. Here are the two in New York, in 1945.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigNHXp9E5epwQsosl_wYLgRLUy-urP7qo4Bc3tJPFmptS5ZcAO-bP5kjVeOrWqakCwjctUrzl80l5auwK653c9wFqDeLuB_fFhWoKHbquaAKj3924FmhRc-Mo3cKMnSG-_AYP1vTPQUSY_yRpjVu5IFgTfqNLS_ymj9hMJ_D3QvDlfIVhQvto=s1614" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1194" data-original-width="1614" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigNHXp9E5epwQsosl_wYLgRLUy-urP7qo4Bc3tJPFmptS5ZcAO-bP5kjVeOrWqakCwjctUrzl80l5auwK653c9wFqDeLuB_fFhWoKHbquaAKj3924FmhRc-Mo3cKMnSG-_AYP1vTPQUSY_yRpjVu5IFgTfqNLS_ymj9hMJ_D3QvDlfIVhQvto=w640-h474" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-61758245813205435982021-09-04T10:37:00.005-07:002021-09-04T10:39:22.390-07:00Bachianas Brasileiras no. 4<p>This is great: Kirill Petrenko conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras no. 4, recorded at the Philharmonie Berlin, 2020. Ever since I started writing about Villa-Lobos on the web, nearly 30 years ago, I've been waiting for major orchestras to begin programming works other than BB#5. Maybe number 4 will be a break-through piece for our Villa.</p><p><span face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #030303;"><span style="font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KTgriRiixcA" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-47147265537683491062021-07-26T09:52:00.000-07:002021-07-26T09:52:19.507-07:00Erico Verissimo & Villa-Lobos<p>The novelist Erico Verissimo is well-known & well-regarded in Brazil, to judge by his Wikipedia article, though there don't seem to be many of his works available in English translations. I know him as a friend of Heitor Villa-Lobos. He sometimes acted as Villa's translator and was always a strong supporter of the composer, whom he called "the greatest minstrel of our people."</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8Qj55b0tQLKotniVISeLYb_Iu2-wWup0A6vhBH1ub6lEYQwqTK1YTmutrXJevIxmZgQZF_Zi0PWZDLw3e9aOK4P5J7cGvF6t2xVD59R_BIZMpcOTE51khov3RtGdecBiAHNxiQ/s1600/erico.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8Qj55b0tQLKotniVISeLYb_Iu2-wWup0A6vhBH1ub6lEYQwqTK1YTmutrXJevIxmZgQZF_Zi0PWZDLw3e9aOK4P5J7cGvF6t2xVD59R_BIZMpcOTE51khov3RtGdecBiAHNxiQ/w640-h408/erico.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erico Verissimo by Leonid Streliaev</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Erico Verissimo is introduced as Villa's translator early in Zelito Viana's wonderful 2000 film <i>Villa-Lobos:</i> <i>Uma Vida da Paixão:</i></p>
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<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/53007870">VILLA LOBOS</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/paisagemfilmes">Paisagem Filmes</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><p>Here are Villa & Erico together, in a photo from Instituto Moreira Salles's Erico Verissimo archives:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbiPiM3TcWr357GvO7IhRty8zaApK9hX5REhcIfQhS42cFHcPe8c1jZcqyDd2ikM66-0Or6k3fkwo7Uc6zAUyoh4wE9Pw1cr_-kTuRbMo1pgBv7Hr6g1-x1K309vyIqHLahyphenhyphenAEgQ/s640/065426.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="640" height="612" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbiPiM3TcWr357GvO7IhRty8zaApK9hX5REhcIfQhS42cFHcPe8c1jZcqyDd2ikM66-0Or6k3fkwo7Uc6zAUyoh4wE9Pw1cr_-kTuRbMo1pgBv7Hr6g1-x1K309vyIqHLahyphenhyphenAEgQ/w640-h612/065426.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I love this story that Verissimo tells in his <i>Cronica</i>; Villa-Lobos is speaking to an American audience: "He didn't have a clear theme for his talk, telling stories about music and musicians, not bothering about coherence."</p><p></p><blockquote><p>After a time, he seemed somewhat at a loss and tired of all this talk. He glanced behind him, and off to the sides, as if he were looking for something, and cried out, "I want a piano! Bring me a piano!" Lukas Foss got up from his chair and went off to find a grand piano, which eventually was brought onto the stage.</p><p>'Still with his cigar between his teeth, our Villa sat down at the noble instrument, played a few chords, looked at the audience, and said, "I'll play Brahms" ... He begins to play a passage from a sonata, and then comments "and the piano won't budge." He addresses himself to the Apassionata and lightly plays the opening phrase.</p><p>'Turning to the audience, "I play Beethoven, but the piano doesn't stir." After that comes Schumann, Schubert, Chopin. And, according to the Maestro, the piano continues not to "budge." Finally the speaker cries out, "I'll play Villa-Lobos!" His hands romped over the keys, producing a passage from his "Rudepoema." He got up and pointed to the piano, exclaiming. "It budged! It budged!"'</p></blockquote><p></p><div><br /></div>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-5891830032581096822021-06-20T10:24:00.002-07:002021-06-20T10:30:24.216-07:00The Violin sonatas<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/35CspEz" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1450" data-original-width="1462" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0pULXJaHZJ388gXBsvHoA4nvueItf9_hUCt0MdcCV4l9tE1Tt7SD3JwYz0qGhuk4xIWXDf_220lElAGxf1lzUmVDnH0uMUYKSIpAJgVHN2zOfqL7ZCFRXM1gtb1CUiy2NDnPpg/w400-h396/747313431076.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="https://amzn.to/35CspEz" target="_blank">Heitor Villa-Lobos: Complete Violin Sonatas</a></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The indispensable series <i>The Music of Brazil</i>, from Naxos Records, continues with a very valuable new disc: the three violin sonatas that Villa-Lobos wrote between 1912 and 1920. The first is one of his earliest works, and it shows the composer (25 years old at the time) still working in a conservative French style; César Franck's <i>Violin Sonata</i> is his primary model, as it had been for so many young composers. Villa gave it the title <i>Violin Sonata (Fantasia) No. 1 ‘Désespérance’, </i>which looks backward and forward at the same time. The romantic subtitle was soon to be passé for Villa-Lobos, in favour of more modern, and modernist, branding; Villa-Lobos became obsessed with the new, even the avant garde, for much of his life. At the same time, though, the composer was settling into <i>fantasia</i> as a composing trope, again for much of his career. His orchestral works especially eschewed structural integrity in favour of a free development of ideas - the more ideas, the better. This is one of the first fantasias of many in Villa-Lobos's large catalogue of works. Luckily for us, Villa-Lobos has a great melodic gift, and a knack, even this early, in changing things up just before we tire of them. The first violin sonata is easy on the ears.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There's a significant development as a composer, though, by the time of the 2nd sonata, from 1914. Villa-Lobos was a professional cellist with an already-long resumé by his mid-20s, so the string writing is solid. He adds a much more impressive piano part in <i>Violin Sonata no. 2</i>, though. Villa composed at the piano, and though he was never himself a virtuoso pianist, he ended up as one of the great piano composers of the 20th century. This work is an important stage in that development.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's the <i>3rd Violin Sonata,</i> though, from 1920, that's really something special. Villa-Lobos had written his great piano series <i>A prole do bebe, book 1</i>, in 1918, following it up with the second book in 1921, the same year in which he wrote his great work <i>Rudepoêma. </i>So we have assured string writing with a much more interesting piano part. This work is an important marker on Villa-Lobos's voyage to full modernism, which was to be marked by his starring role in the <i>Semana do Arte Moderna</i> in 1922. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The team of violinist Emmanuele Baldini and pianist Pablo Rossi play these works with style and finesse. They give the first sonata a proper dose of salon music sentimentality, as befits a work with the subtitle <i>Désespérance’. </i>Most importantly, they don't give it more weight than it can bear; there are small hints of Villa's heroic future here, but anything more would be anachronistic. The second sonata is played with some freedom, even a bit of swing, which helps to keep Villa-Lobos's Vincent d'Indy structure from sounding too four-square. And they let loose in the superb third sonata, giving us a hint of the modernistic furor the music of this period would cause at the <i>Semana do Arte Moderna</i> in São Paulo, Brazil's version of the <i>Rite of Spring</i> riot of 1913.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A special release, beautifully recorded.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This review is also at <a href="https://several-instruments.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-villa-lobos-violin-sonatas.html" target="_blank">Music for Several Instruments</a>. This disc will be released on July 9, 2021.</div><br /> <p></p>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-38323784523444901822021-06-16T17:06:00.000-07:002021-06-16T17:06:05.097-07:00Villa-Lobos goes electric!<p>In this 1957 photo from the Museu Villa-Lobos photo archive, Heitor Villa-Lobos demonstrates a "Pio instrument." I'm not at all sure what this instrument is, and I would appreciate help from readers of The Villa-Lobos Magazine. Is is some sort of wire with an electro-acoustic pickup, using a Pio capacitor? Is Villa-Lobos dabbling with the same infernal electronica that got Bob Dylan into so much trouble at the Newport Folk Festival on July 25, 1965?</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomsTyk8X9hAIdflJdTeeKGGxN3YNFd3LuX2jCu-RQ532H500Mzgxtq06xFtQzTGeLkwD3kDmlYDwgIsG9XG1aa0eWht-Sel53HNHse9DUo4_1LuABSxA4UW-tGWaQuH-AtJZV7g/s1024/2003-16-077_A-737x1024.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="737" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomsTyk8X9hAIdflJdTeeKGGxN3YNFd3LuX2jCu-RQ532H500Mzgxtq06xFtQzTGeLkwD3kDmlYDwgIsG9XG1aa0eWht-Sel53HNHse9DUo4_1LuABSxA4UW-tGWaQuH-AtJZV7g/w460-h640/2003-16-077_A-737x1024.jpeg" width="460" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Villa-Lobos mostrando o instrumento ‘Pio’</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Villa-Lobos has a long history of innovative instrumentation, going back to <i>Amazonas</i> in 1917. This large orchestral work calls for both a <i>violinophone</i> and a <i>sarrusophone</i>, still rarely used at the time.</p><p>In a review of a 1930 concert conducted by Villa-Lobos, Mario de Andrade mentions Villa's innovative use of a <i>violinophone</i> in Bach's Brandenburg Concerto no. 1, rather than the <i>violino piccolo</i> Bach asked for, tuned a minor third or fourth higher than a regular violin. This is hardly Historically Informed Practice by today's standards, but Andrade was impressed: "The effect was very curious, especially the timbre in the second movement, marrying admirably the timbre of the violinophone with that of certain wind instruments."</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMeJyt3-j-5sUa81JVK8EaWs8UcXU1UnfVV7R-dJ0_2bDzSdSD0_ikKgSCaHGTgO2Nc1UtXj3Vruv_K6jLn0ARxWZtC6dCEz_R93QJkc9JfdsHpr9u-e86rQJlfd5J2FjoS1Xkw/s640/Violi%25CC%2581_de_botzina%252C_MDMB_1120%252C_Museu_de_la_Mu%25CC%2581sica_de_Barcelona.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMeJyt3-j-5sUa81JVK8EaWs8UcXU1UnfVV7R-dJ0_2bDzSdSD0_ikKgSCaHGTgO2Nc1UtXj3Vruv_K6jLn0ARxWZtC6dCEz_R93QJkc9JfdsHpr9u-e86rQJlfd5J2FjoS1Xkw/w640-h428/Violi%25CC%2581_de_botzina%252C_MDMB_1120%252C_Museu_de_la_Mu%25CC%2581sica_de_Barcelona.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Violí Stroh = Violinophone (ca. 1900)<br />Compagnie française du gramophone. Museo de la Música de Balcelona</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />In 1945 The New Yorker reported on Villa-Lobos's use of "piano stuffers" onstage in Choros no. 8, at a <a href="https://villa-lobos.tumblr.com/post/70527164/at-this-concert-several-members-of-the-orchestra" target="_blank">Philharmonic-Symphony concert conducted by Artur Rodzinski</a>. This was written in 1925, so Villa-Lobos was well ahead of John Cage in the use of a Prepared Piano.<div><br /></div><div>When Villa-Lobos attended the 1939 World's Fair in New York, he must have been impressed with the new <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novachord" target="_blank">Hammond Novachord</a>, the world's first commercial polyphonic synthesizer, which was demonstrated there. In 1945 one of these amazing instruments must have made its way to Rio de Janeiro, since Villa used it in three scores from that year: <i>Madona</i>, the <i>Seventh Symphony</i>, and the <i>Fantasia for Cello & Orchestra</i>. Watch this wonderful performance of Madona; you'll see three keyboard instruments: a piano, a celesta and, a <i>novachord?</i></div><div><br /></div>
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<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In his orchestral score <i>Ruda: Song of Love</i>, written for La Scala in 1951, Villa-Lobos calls for a "solovox". This is an electronic organ manufactured by <a href="http://120years.net/the-solovoxhammond-organs-companyusa1940/" target="_blank">Hammond in the 1940s</a>. Villa-Lobos also used a solovox in his opera <i>Yerma</i>, from 1955, <i>The Emperor Jones</i> ballet in 1956, and his late masterpiece from 1958, <i>Floresta do Amazonas</i>, which I <a href="http://villa-lobos.blogspot.com/2021/06/recording-foresta-do-amazonas-in-new.html">wrote about yesterday</a>. Speaking of which, there's a photograph from the recording of that work in New York in late 1958 that shows an instrument with a second small keyboard underneath the main keyboard. This looks a lot like a <i>solovox</i>!</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHd19VANAOdVIU4uiC7IucTZCVrhFavhbh3iYPnwIWMPYOx5gqcWnWMULXsZc2tiMGa0p_qjGM7A3438HZ83HVM_-KLxj1KDvRkEcWH1WGhLTbMim9S9yPWV_bjIFf5VyBO0QJA/s445/solovox.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="445" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHd19VANAOdVIU4uiC7IucTZCVrhFavhbh3iYPnwIWMPYOx5gqcWnWMULXsZc2tiMGa0p_qjGM7A3438HZ83HVM_-KLxj1KDvRkEcWH1WGhLTbMim9S9yPWV_bjIFf5VyBO0QJA/w640-h454/solovox.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Check out the instrument at the top left, with two rows of keys. A solovox?</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Here's an example of a <i>solovox</i> to compare. When it comes time to record, you can only use the instruments that are available!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2j3FbOXlplQao5yYL7Xi2gRe8VFCSyvWO9crFDc2JfcEb4Qr9D7Vdm3T2lybjBhv36cYoqRYOA0revRb1a_9IDd9js0BmII_jzgvCPML_urAZnfUT5aJ_SI7nSOEx_QMxgSvVA/s512/unnamed.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="512" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2j3FbOXlplQao5yYL7Xi2gRe8VFCSyvWO9crFDc2JfcEb4Qr9D7Vdm3T2lybjBhv36cYoqRYOA0revRb1a_9IDd9js0BmII_jzgvCPML_urAZnfUT5aJ_SI7nSOEx_QMxgSvVA/w640-h340/unnamed.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><p><br /></p></div>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-45174235173159264182021-06-15T15:46:00.004-07:002021-06-15T15:46:32.255-07:00Recording Foresta do Amazonas in New York<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In 1958, at the Manhattan Towers Hotel in New York, Heitor Villa-Lobos conducted Bidu Sayão and the Symphony of the Air & Chorus in his late masterpiece <i>Floresta do Amazonas</i>. I was pleased to see some photographs of the recording from the wonderful <a href="https://museuvillalobos.acervos.museus.gov.br/acervo/" target="_blank">photo archives</a> of the Museu Villa-Lobos Website.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSakdcvqt5g4vVlPbApTBm4-yA1-nhV04Q_seyKCBVTFt6glYhYXhMrJ6YEEGi9O28dLCrGUzASjbKl398_-bkZ8nljIltqBfxMGSb6WXFAemeYmXyrselKfZmOYhS1vhQHUB2OA/s1024/1983-16-141-15_A-1024x801.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="1024" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSakdcvqt5g4vVlPbApTBm4-yA1-nhV04Q_seyKCBVTFt6glYhYXhMrJ6YEEGi9O28dLCrGUzASjbKl398_-bkZ8nljIltqBfxMGSb6WXFAemeYmXyrselKfZmOYhS1vhQHUB2OA/w640-h500/1983-16-141-15_A-1024x801.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These are not the usual snapshots, but professional photographs that really give a feeling for what it was like to be there during these historic sessions. Here's a lovely picture of the great Bidu Sayão:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9sFNZx4abztdJnHCtVaZq6cegzGk48pOTIY4jSKjgJuPOy1lfCdICIYbI52z0Dk-GpynJI-d1dNtexfEhHEXhVx4eVwZIQZW55KfFlzBHNjSBxwkrtlgB5C7_abb2-3bogqqEdQ/s1024/1983-16-141-17_A-804x1024.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="804" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9sFNZx4abztdJnHCtVaZq6cegzGk48pOTIY4jSKjgJuPOy1lfCdICIYbI52z0Dk-GpynJI-d1dNtexfEhHEXhVx4eVwZIQZW55KfFlzBHNjSBxwkrtlgB5C7_abb2-3bogqqEdQ/w502-h640/1983-16-141-17_A-804x1024.jpeg" width="502" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This shot shows what a big undertaking this was. With Villa-Lobos, less is not usually more; more is barely enough. By the way, wasn't Villa lucky to get so many of his large-scale works recorded, and in many cases by excellent musicians.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzdYPh7ntqN95cikRi0z4E-83Vx307fVGLznAWV8bg9VSB4oPyz7m0hhFdLp3pVZDy95YGs95gEvXXaqeaDARHxjRWbaldEjoEHemzi6tqNphCgQKoQhyphenhyphenaaHp4sOrlDtjDQeut5A/s1024/1983-16-143-17_A-1024x805.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="1024" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzdYPh7ntqN95cikRi0z4E-83Vx307fVGLznAWV8bg9VSB4oPyz7m0hhFdLp3pVZDy95YGs95gEvXXaqeaDARHxjRWbaldEjoEHemzi6tqNphCgQKoQhyphenhyphenaaHp4sOrlDtjDQeut5A/w640-h504/1983-16-143-17_A-1024x805.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Villa-Lobos's close friend Walter Burle-Marx, the composer and conductor, was an advisor on this project. Here he is with Villa-Lobos; I don't imagine too many conductors bring a guitar to the podium with them. This is all about authenticity for Villa!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYk6yjEx5xR4eq68PtvrcCo0wGqEKWSlrmnjOsXsb5suvl7yCRAKHniEgRqqlvEMCtdxd45WmiyeH955aiUhJuvfOxK1bFnmpaE9wGBoG79wrrtgeoYYWc6EOEFdoD7TNhGkPKw/s1024/1983-16-143-20_A-1024x807.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="1024" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYk6yjEx5xR4eq68PtvrcCo0wGqEKWSlrmnjOsXsb5suvl7yCRAKHniEgRqqlvEMCtdxd45WmiyeH955aiUhJuvfOxK1bFnmpaE9wGBoG79wrrtgeoYYWc6EOEFdoD7TNhGkPKw/w640-h504/1983-16-143-20_A-1024x807.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What a lovely photograph of Villa-Lobos and Bidu Sayão! These two shared a special musical bond; they go way back! I've seen this one photograph very often over the years. I wish I know who took these shots.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEherhILduuf2ExtyW2uFtTRKFwaajElt6LCZSd6yVzv-GqoU4X32jQM6jrOy3OWs8JlEEp7D7857HvKZOCHMk4DOlRa8eMoQP-BRq0aO7lbT6oV2d7nv4dg5kw2f3gsQXBWHhrHEw/s1024/1983-16-146-22_A-1024x800.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1024" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEherhILduuf2ExtyW2uFtTRKFwaajElt6LCZSd6yVzv-GqoU4X32jQM6jrOy3OWs8JlEEp7D7857HvKZOCHMk4DOlRa8eMoQP-BRq0aO7lbT6oV2d7nv4dg5kw2f3gsQXBWHhrHEw/w640-h500/1983-16-146-22_A-1024x800.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's the back-end of the mass of musicians assembled to record <i>Floresta do Amazonas</i>. I'm a bit puzzled by it; I only see one celesta in the score. It's been suggested that perhaps they doubled the instrument to allow it to cut through the orchestra and chorus.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjOtVuQR8geONslWKmoANRxzWITvpHpBBeUtr1zO-dQJ8AO3OxIY2njMSyp0Zpo4qf8JbXBob3tfhojF8ZdCH3ih4wj9r7nGegjFT-ckC9U2qRMdI6LtdM_rK2pqrowgi_F8GfQ/s1024/1983-16-143-16_A-821x1024.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="821" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjOtVuQR8geONslWKmoANRxzWITvpHpBBeUtr1zO-dQJ8AO3OxIY2njMSyp0Zpo4qf8JbXBob3tfhojF8ZdCH3ih4wj9r7nGegjFT-ckC9U2qRMdI6LtdM_rK2pqrowgi_F8GfQ/w514-h640/1983-16-143-16_A-821x1024.jpeg" width="514" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Floresta do Amazonas</i> began as a film score, for the MGM feature <i>Green Mansions,</i> starring Audrey Hepburn & Anthony Perkins, and directed by Hepburn's husband at the time, Mel Ferrer. The Hollywood experience wasn't a success for Villa-Lobos, but I believe he had some respect for the veteran film composer Bronislaw Kaper, who understood the studio system better, and who used some of Villa's music in his own eventual score. Everything worked out in the end, though; <i>Foresta do Amazonas</i> turned out to be one of Villa's late masterworks. Here are Bronislaw & Heitor together in Hollywood:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccwk990C4LO74UTzcSSBwfGMwZNZLMSdA4ECOuc6hiylZyewDdAHBOdFuzcds5-f2rhyphenhyphenDjpFTmyluqTq_0O5elFFdxaYCj6lyl_Kn6ucs2jIbiRSRcA4FaHDr0k2Du4sP9dx5Lw/s1024/1983-16-039_A-832x1024.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="832" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccwk990C4LO74UTzcSSBwfGMwZNZLMSdA4ECOuc6hiylZyewDdAHBOdFuzcds5-f2rhyphenhyphenDjpFTmyluqTq_0O5elFFdxaYCj6lyl_Kn6ucs2jIbiRSRcA4FaHDr0k2Du4sP9dx5Lw/w520-h640/1983-16-039_A-832x1024.jpeg" width="520" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The United Artists recording on LP is a collector's item; you can buy a <a href="https://forgottenrecords.com/en/Sayao-Rose--Villa-Lobos--Villa-Lobos--443.html">re-mastered CD here</a>. There are also a number of very good new recordings on CD and the streaming services. Here is the Symphony of the Air recording via YouTube:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LscWPBPKLhY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-20775041382730627852021-05-14T08:58:00.001-07:002021-05-14T08:58:43.867-07:00Electrical Villa<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6sLCjgvtdNR3Gs3tFAlqabpnJxg0zrxrHrC3VDtbfATzjyjQIAe48Y6ngnsMdQ6DRK4OevMyoGia6Jz_kTUuiyykPPDBMuP0rjB-rUwsLmvRHS8Bqrm5s9NxjAOYF9usiJPEjg/s1450/9003643980181.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1450" data-original-width="1450" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6sLCjgvtdNR3Gs3tFAlqabpnJxg0zrxrHrC3VDtbfATzjyjQIAe48Y6ngnsMdQ6DRK4OevMyoGia6Jz_kTUuiyykPPDBMuP0rjB-rUwsLmvRHS8Bqrm5s9NxjAOYF9usiJPEjg/w400-h400/9003643980181.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Heitor Villa-Lobos Tristorosa</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">According to Gunter Herbig, "Playing classical guitar music on the electric guitar is a process of reinvention, re-telling and re-imagining." The <i>Five Guitar Preludes</i> of Villa-Lobos, core to the classical guitar repertoire, are a perfect test-bed for such reinvention. Villa-Lobos made his name rejiggering various types of music: from the Amazon rainforest and West Africa, the salons of Rio's high society and the street musicians of the working classes, the orchestras of the opera pit and the cinemas. Most famously, he brought Bach's music to Brazil, running it through the kaleidoscope of his endlessly inventive mind, and turning out his fetching <i>Bachianas Brasileiras</i>, as well as the 3rd Guitar Prelude, "<i>Homenagem a Bach</i>".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In many ways the transition of the Villa-Lobos <i>Preludes</i> from acoustic to electric guitar is analogous to the shift to the piano from clavier or harpsichord in Bach's keyboard works. In both cases you gain colour, forcefulness and sustain, while perhaps losing delicacy, balance, and certainly a boat-load of authenticity. It will be interesting to see if Herbig's experiment is broadly accepted in the CG (Classical Guitar) community, or if it results in the same type of controversy that Bob Dylan caused when he "went electric" at the Newport Folk Festival on July 25, 1965. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's the <i>Preludes</i> that are the most successful works on the disc, I think. These are strong works - as great as any of Villa's non-orchestral pieces - and are up to the inevitable jostling that comes when their story is re-told. I would count all five as virtually unqualified successes. I love all five of these works so much, whether they're played on an acoustic guitar or, as they are increasingly, in José Vieira Brandão's arrangements for piano. The movements of the folkloric <i>Suite popular brasileira</i> are slight, and seem less happy in their shiny new garb. Like the <i>Suite</i>, <i>Tristorosa</i> is an early work, but originally written for piano. Thus in some ways it has less far to go, sonically, than the early guitar works, on the way to the electric guitar. The least successful piece here is the <i>Choros no. 1</i>, which sounds brash and wobbly on the electric guitar. This perfect evocation of 19th century chorões is too wraith-like, too spiritual, for such an insistent instrument, or such an insistent approach. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Villa-Lobos wrote his <i>Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5</i> for soprano and eight cellos, but at the same time prepared a version for soprano and guitar. One of my favourite versions of this oft-recorded work is that of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gejY9FQlDGM" target="_blank">soprano Salli Terri and guitarist Laurindo Almeida</a>, from 1958. There's a much different sound world here, with Gunter Herbig and his vocalist Alda Rezende. There's an appealing late-night jazz club feel, and, unlike many (perhaps most) of BB#5 versions, it's like we're listening to something new. Another successful experiment, I think.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Guitar: Gretsch‚White Falcon G7593</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">tuned at A = 432Hz</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Amp: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe</div></blockquote></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Over the 25 years or so I've been listening to and writing about Villa-Lobos, I've never seen an album with technical information that looks like this! Such fun!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Listen to Alda Rezende and Gunter Herbig perform Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5, from this fascinating new album:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p>
<iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="314" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgunterherbigmusic%2Fvideos%2F336049920831616%2F&show_text=false&width=560" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This review was also posted at <a href="http://several-instruments.blogspot.com/2021/05/electrical-villa.html" target="_blank">Music For Several Instruments</a>.</div>Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-10779276402273495312020-04-20T12:04:00.005-07:002020-04-20T12:04:52.589-07:00A fascinating release, with outstanding Villa-Lobos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://amzn.to/3akqa8I" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1450" data-original-width="1462" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXRdcq3DNqbVjDcHHe43KdyHsPZYttV0v0EMepWvpuMrlV8Gt7PyixWtac7f56f667P14nY2F8nDSHgNXtbDY6MCEZ1BBmAeKu56N4N1Aw7u1A40oJRNwkRsbxYQOyvN4Mrk0Lw/s400/5024709160310.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="https://amzn.to/3akqa8I" target="_blank">Aline Van Barentzen: Piano music by Villa-Lobos, Chopin, Liszt, Falla, Brahms</a></b><br />
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In March of 1927, the American pianist Aline Van Barentzen performed, in the Salle Gaveau in Paris, a new work dedicated to her by Heitor Villa-Lobos: the Second Book of <i>A Prole do Bébé. </i> Along with <i>Rudepoema</i>, dedicated to Arthur Rubinstein and also played in Paris that year, these nine short pieces represent some of the most important modernist works of the entire piano repertoire. It's marvellous to hear this music, recorded in 1956 for Pathé, in a fine re-mastering. Barentzen recorded the eight pieces of the First Book as well; these are much better known, but less adventurous in terms of harmony and rhythm. Though the subject of this music relates to childhood, this is way too virtuosic to be undertaken by any child who isn't a full blown prodigy. As can be expected, Van Barentzen has complete control over these pieces; she must have consulted with Villa when he first presented them to her in 1925, and again thirty years later, when both pianist and composer spent a lot of time in the Pathé recording studios.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxNt8hrhxQgh1qDo4_mWoMFGnNVBx-QJosff31tbBFNRNG1zTTtaTF2nuwhRTbFsEtbny5sST96Lz7L-UZJaHMf5pN5qQwITT_WUv_ptM7fcd4DA2K5l1zAOniR5ZRN9IGrBZqug/s1600/Programa-Sala-Gaveau-marc%25CC%25A7o-1927+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1117" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxNt8hrhxQgh1qDo4_mWoMFGnNVBx-QJosff31tbBFNRNG1zTTtaTF2nuwhRTbFsEtbny5sST96Lz7L-UZJaHMf5pN5qQwITT_WUv_ptM7fcd4DA2K5l1zAOniR5ZRN9IGrBZqug/s640/Programa-Sala-Gaveau-marc%25CC%25A7o-1927+%25281%2529.jpg" width="446" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Program: Museu Villa-Lobos</td></tr>
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Two years later, in 1958, Van Barentzen recorded Villa-Lobos's <i>Choros no. 5</i>, subtitled <i>Alma Brasileira</i>, the <i>Soul of Brazil</i>. The following year the composer was gone. This is a very fine version of a very special work, with the tricky rhythms properly lined up, but always sounding surprising. There's more rubato here than you'll hear in most performances today, but the composer is almost looking over her shoulder (he was in Parisian recording studios throughout the late 1950s). Outstanding Villa-Lobos!<br />
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I'm most interested in the Villa-Lobos, of course, but there is much more very fine playing on this two-disc set from APR. As I mentioned, the 1950s Pathé recordings sound great; we have here pieces by Liszt (<i>Un Suspiro</i> is quite lovely) and Chopin (the <i>D-flat major Nocturne</i> is a stand-out). The earlier recordings are understandably less easy on the ears: I wasn't especially convinced by Van Barentzen's Brahms, recorded by HMV in the 1940s. The most interesting recording from a historical perspective goes all the way back to June of 1928. In his informative and entertaining liner notes, Jonathan Summers tells a great story about how this recording came about:<br />
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Barentzen’s first recording happened in unusual circumstances. She met Piero Coppola, conductor and director of French HMV, at a reception at the French piano firm of Gaveau in June 1928. He asked if she knew Falla’s<i> Noches en los jardines de España</i>, as Ricardo Viñes who was due to make the premier recording of the work in three days time was ill. Barentzen told Coppola she knew it, although in fact she did not. She learnt it in the three days and was later told by de Falla that he was very pleased with the recording. </blockquote>
While sonically limited, the freshness of the piano playing and the sitcom circumstances make this a must-listen. What a fascinating release!<br />
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This post also appears at <a href="https://several-instruments.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-fascinating-release-with-outstanding.html" target="_blank">Music for Several Instruments</a>.Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175206.post-70065610271301888992020-04-15T20:11:00.002-07:002020-04-15T20:11:38.916-07:00Piano concertos from an important Brazilian<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-ShZ3YUEtsO9pTQLsadjDSaCMGCSrJB5yHtrlls0nb8IPafDzPyXzBaW_GLabY4BqN4-kgNcng4Frt1vMnrQiNxsL4xt10dwVhJTZ4py5LHwEyQS8QqXxDaXHoSgdpbILM3T2Q/s1600/747313422579.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1450" data-original-width="1462" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-ShZ3YUEtsO9pTQLsadjDSaCMGCSrJB5yHtrlls0nb8IPafDzPyXzBaW_GLabY4BqN4-kgNcng4Frt1vMnrQiNxsL4xt10dwVhJTZ4py5LHwEyQS8QqXxDaXHoSgdpbILM3T2Q/s400/747313422579.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Almeida Prado: Piano Concerto no. 1; Aurora; Concerto Fribourgeois</b><br />
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The latest release in the marvellous Naxos series <i>The Music of Brazil</i> features the great composer José Antônio de Almeida Prado (1943-2010). One of the most important recording projects of Brazilian music in the past decade was Aleyson Scopel's survey of Almeida Prado's complete <i><a href="https://several-instruments.blogspot.com/2018/03/a-triumphant-close-to-magisterial-piano.html" target="_blank">Cartas celestes</a></i> for the Grand Piano label. Though these works were mainly for piano solo, there were three in the official series of 18 that added other instruments (#7 is for two pianos and symphonic band, #8 for violin and orchestra, and #11 for piano, marimba and vibraphone). As well, after he completed the first work in the series, in 1975, he wrote <i>Aurora</i>, for piano and orchestra, which he called an "unofficial <i>Cartas celestes</i>, because it’s not numbered in the same series, but does share the same universe, the same heart, the same <i>élan</i>." What a marvellous work this is, especially as well played as it is by Sonia Rubinsky, the pianist known to most of us as a <a href="https://amzn.to/2xySw1F" target="_blank">Villa-Lobos specialist.</a><br />
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There are two other important works for piano and orchestra here: the <i>Piano Concerto no. 1</i> is the only numbered piano concerto by Almeida Prado. It's a one-movement work from the early 1980s that takes a four-note motif and mashes it about in the Beethoven manner. Rubinsky's virtuosity is required, and in evidence, here, as are the Minas Gerais Philharmonic's players' considerable skills. Fabio Mechetti's task is to ensure both a steady pulse and a sense of coherence across a complex of shifting rhythms, timbres and other sound events.<br />
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My favourite piece, though, is the <i>Concerto Fribourgeois</i>, written in 1985 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Bach's birth. It's a post-modern take on neo-classicism, with appearances of musical guests both unlikely (Stockhausen, Messiaen and, once again, Beethoven) and likely (Bach himself, of course, including the famous <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BACH_motif" target="_blank">B-A-C-H motif</a>, but also Villa-Lobos in his Bachianas mode). This is as much fun listening to as it was, I am sure, to play. Bravo to these fine musicians, and to Naxos for this well-researched and beautifully recorded program.<br />
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Here's a short documentary on Almeida Prado from 2019, featuring Sonia Rubinsky and Fabio Mechetti.<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r5kSwH_VIMo" width="560"></iframe>
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This review is also posted at <a href="https://several-instruments.blogspot.com/2020/04/piano-concertos-from-important-brazilian.html" target="_blank">Music for Several Instruments</a>.<br />
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This album will be released on May 8, 2020.Dean Freyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10648812085016268727noreply@blogger.com0