The whole history of music is here inside

I'm looking forward to Isaac Karabtchevsky & the Petrobras Symphony's new DVD of A Foresta do Amazonas. Here's a great quote from the maestro, from Joao Sampaio's Para Falar de Musica blog:

“Nenhuma obra dele me marcou tanto como A Floresta do Amazonas”, diz Karabtchevsky em seu camarim, saboreando uma salada entre o concerto e a sessão noturna de gravação. “É um Villa-Lobos moderno, que não perde seu contato com o folclore mas se deixa impregnar por Stravinski e as inovações do modernismo. Toda a história da música está aqui dentro. A série dodecafônica, o piano que lembra John Cage, as citações da nova corrente modernista, Ravel, Bartok. E de repente, tudo desaparece e dá lugar a uma melodia maravilhosa, a um orgasmo romântico”, diz.

The machine translation from Google is awkward, but I think I get the gist of what he's saying:

"No work it marked me as much as The Forest of the Amazon," says Karabtchevsky in his dressing room, a tasting salad between the concert and night recording session. "It's a modern Villa-Lobos, which do not lose your contact with the folklore but is left to impregnate by Stravinski and innovations of modernism. The whole history of music is here inside. The series dodecafônica the piano reminiscent John Cage, the citations of the new current modernist, Ravel, Bartok. And suddenly, everything disappears and gives rise to a wonderful melody, a romantic orgasm, "he says.

There's more on the DVD project at the Sopranois blog.

Renee Fleming interview

A new interview by David Patrick Stearns with soprano Renée Fleming on the Andante.com website contained this interesting exchange:

'DPS: Some of your early recordings are coming back to haunt you. That Villa-Lobos film score, The Forest of the Amazon, in which you sang with the Chorus of the Moscow Physics and Engineering Institute, has just been re-released.'

'RF: Actually, I tracked [overdubbed] that in somebody's apartment in the Bronx. It's pretty music. This was before any kind of a recording contract. My feeling was, "Ohmygod! Somebody wants to record me?"'

Of course, this CD has been a favourite of Villa-Lobos lovers for years. The work, conducted by Alfred Heller, was put together by Villa-Lobos from the music he wrote for the MGM film Green Mansions, with Audrey Hepburn and Anthony Perkins. This indeed is pretty music, and very prettily sung!