Heitor Villa-Lobos
68 products
Villa-Lobos: Melodia Sentimental
Villa-Lobos: The Guitar Manuscripts, Vol. 3
Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4, Emperor Jones & Ui
Villa-lobos: Complete Solo Piano Works, Vols. 4 & 5 / Bratke
On this release, Marcelo Bratke continues his journey through the complete Villa-Lobos solo piano works. This release features volumes 4 and 5, and includes such Villa-Lobos’s Guia Practico Albums 1-11. During a decade of extraordinary accomplishments and performances, Marcelo Bratke, one of Brazil’s preeminent pianists, has performed at some of the world’s most renowned venues, including Carnegie Hall, the Salzburg Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, and the Konzerthaus in Berlin. In recent years, he has become increasingly focused on how the arts can engage in politics and help contribute to improvements in society. “The Villa-Lobos pieces played by Mr. Bratke at the start were best of all, offering hints of wildness, yet with elegant construction, subtle rhythmic dislocations and shining piano colors… Mr. Bratke is a fine and flexible pianist, perfectly happy either to play Bach or to plunge into the popular music he set next to it.” (The New York Times)
Villa-Lobos, H.: Prole Do Bebe No. 1 / As Tres Marias / Saud
BRASILIANISCHE IMPRESSIONEN
Villa-lobos: Choros Nos 8 & 9 / Schermerhorn, Hong Kong Phil
Villa-lobos: String Quartets 4, 6 & 14 / Danubius Quartet
Villa-lobos: Rudepoema, Danças / Duarte, Slovak Rso
Villa-lobos: Discovery Of Brazil Suites 1-4 / Duarte
Villa-lobos: Pequena Suíte, Etc / Rust, Apter, Pahud, Et Al
Villa-lobos: Symphony No 6, Etc / Duarte, Slovak Radio So
Roberto Duarte revised both these works with the support of the Museo Villa-Lobos in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Villa-Lobos, H.: Choros, Vol. 2 - Choros Nos. 1, 4, 6, 8, 9
Villa-Lobos: Floresta do Amazonas / Korondi, Neschling, Sao Paulo State SO

Villa-Lobos' late masterpiece, Forest of the Amazon, began life as a Hollywood film score, the majority of which was never used. So he developed the music into a huge, 80-minute-long, multi-movement suite that serves both as a tribute to his homeland and a fitting culmination of his personal musical voice. The work has everything: luscious orchestration, great tunes, a "primitive" male choir chanting in a primordial language, some lovely songs for soprano, and passages of wordless vocalise for the same singer evocative of exotic birdsong. Does it sound "Hollywood-esque"? Yes, but only to the extent that Villa-Lobos often works in a similar idiom anyway. More significantly, the piece is chock-full of contrast--but there are also recurring elements (the War Dance, for example) that help to bind it together and give it shape. It's not just 80 minutes of "atmosphere".
The only competition for this recording, for which a new edition of the score was specially prepared, comes from Alfred Heller's very good Moscow recording, which contains a touch less music. Certainly in terms of sheer sonic opulence, the performers' ability to project the style with total confidence and commitment, and the excellence of the singing (soprano Anna Korondi is superb), this vividly engineered SACD sets a new standard. If you've been collecting this Brazilian music series (and you certainly should be), then this new release will be self-recommending. It's simply magnificent.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras Nos. 7-9
Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras Nos. 1, 4-6
Villa-Lobos: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 4
Villa-Lobos: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 2
Villa-Lobos, H.: Piano Music, Vol. 6 - Rudepoema / As tres M
Villa-Lobos: Symphony No. 12, Uirapuru & Mandu-Çarará
Villa-Lobos: Complete Piano Music, Vol. 1
Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras Nos. 2-4
Villa-Lobos, H.: Choros, Vol. 1 - Choros Nos. 5, 7, 11
Villa-Lobos: Complete String Quartets / Danubius Quartet
This set consists of previously released recordings. - ArkivMusic
Heitor Villa-Lobos once confessed that he loved to write string quartets, stating ‘one could say that it is a mania.’ His 17 quartets form a substantial part of his chamber music output, covering a long career that embraced national pride and musical experimentation leading to the rarefied atmosphere of the final masterpieces. Often drawing on the musical folklore of Brazil, these quartets are an outpouring of spontaneous and daring invention. Ranging from austere polyphony to compelling expressiveness and virtuosity, they represent one of the most distinctive bodies of chamber works in 20th-century music.
REVIEWS:
Villa-Lobos once confessed that he loved to write string quartets, stating ‘one could say that it is a mania.’ His 17 quartets form a substantial part of his chamber music output, covering a long career that embraced national pride and musical experimentation leading to the rarefied atmosphere of the final masterpieces. Often drawing on the musical folklore of Brazil, these quartets are an outpouring of spontaneous and daring invention. Ranging from austere polyphony to compelling expressiveness and virtuosity, they represent one of the most distinctive bodies of chamber works in 20th-century music. 6 CDs. Danubius Quartet. Original 1992–1994 Marco Polo releases.
-- Records International
Established in 1983, the Danubius Quartet was a Hungarian group – this set was recorded in Budapest – so while they may lack the Latinamericanlo’s Brazilian ‘accent’, they nevertheless hail from Europe’s great centre of string playing. Their brightly projected sound is ideal for Villa-Lobos’s life-affirming music.
-- Limelight
