Release Date: 01 July 2004
Label: Naxos / Naxos Classics
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 747313571727
Genres: Classical
Composer/Series: VILLA-LOBOS
Description
Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)Piano Music • 4Villa-Lobos's international reputation as one of themost influential Brazilian artists of all times wasthoroughly established in the late 1940s and continuedto strengthen throughout the 1950s until his death. Hisrole as an ambassador of Brazilian and Latin Americanculture was recognised by critics and fellow composersboth in Europe and the United States, a perception thatwas further consolidated by the array of internationalprizes, honorary titles, and tributes that began toaccumulate. Indeed no other Brazilian composer hasachieved a comparable degree of universal recognition.The works recorded in this volume again offer acomprehensive sample of the genres and styles found inVilla-Lobos's piano music, principally character pieces,single or organized into suites or collections. Theyreveal a bewildering variety of formal procedures, butpieces belonging to the same genre often share somestructural framework that influences not only the natureof the musical material but also the dimensions of thework. This volume contains three single works and fourcycles or suites.The Poema Singelo is a strikingly beautiful work,which unfortunately is not as well known as it deserves.It is cast in the form and style of a waltz, and wascomposed sometime between 1938 (the date given inthe catalogue of Villa-Lobos's works) and 1942 (thedate written on the final score). It is possible that, as hashappened with other Villa-Lobos's works, he estimatedthe date of completion while still working on the piece,or even without having begun composing it. Thestructure includes elements of rondo which aresubsumed into a larger ABACA pattern, but there isenough variation within the several sections to give it amore rhapsodic and improvisational character. Thesimple melody on which the three outer sections arebased is the primary musical element that accounts forthe title of the composition; in the C section, touches ofhumor and playfulness enliven the musical texture,while the brilliance of the piano figurations eventuallyobliterates the waltz character established at thebeginning. The B section is particularly noteworthy dueto its lavish romanticism, an outpouring of emotion thatis like a declaration of love to the composer'scompanion, Arminda, who was the dedicatee of thework. In scope and depth of expression, the PoemaSingelo is comparable to Impressoes Seresteiras fromthe Ciclo Brasileiro (Naxos 8.555286).A Fiandeira, composed in 1921, was among theworks by Villa-Lobos presented during the Week ofModern Art in 1922. The work is a tour-de-force ofpianistic writing, with the section describing thespinning-wheel based on an ingenious chromaticfiguration that is strikingly effective in its suggestivepower. From the fleeting texture created by thecontinuous motion of this figure, there emerges amelody of great lyricism and simplicity, undoubtedlymeant to correspond to the idle singing of the woman asshe operates the wheel.The Valsa R
Tracklisting
Dariia Lytvishko
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop
Alice Di Piazza; Basel Sinfonietta; NDR Bigband; Titus Engel
Anna Alas i Jove; Miquel Villalba
David Childs; Black Dyke Band; Nicholas Childs
Yaqi Yang; Margarita Parsamyan; Robynne Redmon; Minghao Liu; Frank Ragsdale; Kim Josephson; Kevin S
Vilmos Csikos; Olivier Lechardeur; Manon Lamaison
Tomas Cotik; Martingale Ensemble; Ken Selden
