Total Immersion: Villa-Lobos

Tom Service introduces Total Immersion: Villa-Lobos, presented in London in March 2014 by the BBC Symphony and Sakari Oramo. "Be prepared to be totally immersed in the sound world of Villa-Lobos."

Villa-Lobos conducts

I haven't seen this picture before. It's from the Viva Villa! exhibition at Shopping Villa-Lobos.

Clara Rodriguez at St. Martin-in-the-Fields

 

Later this month pianist Clara Rodriguez will be playing a couple of pieces by Villa-Lobos, Beethoven's Appassionata sonata, plus such interesting composers as Teresa Carreño, Luiza Elena Paesano, and Luis Zea, all in one of my favourite London venues: St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square. Wish I could be there!

Here she is playing Impressoes Seresteiras, from an earlier London concert:

A memoir by Lucilia Guimarães Villa-Lobos

Fred Sturm has translated portions of the memoir of Villa-Lobos's first wife Lucilia Guimarães Villa-Lobos, Villa-Lobos, Visto da plateia e na intimidade (Villa-Lobos seen on stage and intimately). The work was actually written by Lucilia's younger brother Luiz, in the early 1970s, and includes family stories and some stories told by Lucilia:

"In spite of the difficulties we experienced, Villa (so we called him) began to compose his first works, with energy, and, as he did not play the piano yet, it was I who gave the first partial performances."

Besides his excellent recordings and concerts featuring the music of Villa-Lobos and other Latin American composers, the Albuquerque-based pianist Sturm is contributing valuable source material in English for Villa-Lobos scholars. There are more interesting and useful documents here: http://fredsturm.net/villa_lobos/.

n spite of the difficulties we experienced, Villa (so we called him) began to compose his first works, with energy, and, as he did not play the piano yet, it was I who gave the first partial performances.” - See more at: http://fredsturm.net/lucilia/#sthash.zsA81fiY.dpuf

memoir Villa-Lobos, Visto da plateia e na intimidade (Villa-Lobos seen on stage and intimately). This work, written in the early 70s, goes back to the time Lucilia met the young composer in 1912

(Villa-Lobos seen on stage and intimately)

(Villa-Lobos seen on stage and intimately)

(Villa-Lobos seen on stage and intimatel

The 17th String Quartet, played by the Cuarteto Carlos Gomes

The 17th String Quartet, the final work in one of the most important 20th Century cycles, is one of Villa-Lobos's greatest late works. Written in 1957, it was premiered by the Budapest String Quartet in Washington DC in the year of the composer's death, 1959. This excellent version of the first movement is played by the Quarteto Carlos Gomes, which seems to be a new group. The first violinist is Claudio Cruz, famous as a violin soloist and conductor.