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Villa-Lobos: Concertos for Guitar & Harmonica & Other Works / Guerrero, Sao Paulo Symphony
Naxos

Villa-Lobos: Concertos for Guitar & Harmonica & Other Works / Guerrero, Sao Paulo Symphony

$19.99 Only 2 left

Details

Composer
VILLA-LOBOS, HEITOR
Artist
Various
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Nov 08, 2019
Catalog #
8574018
UPC
747313401871

About

The concertos and chamber works on this album show Villa-Lobos’s unceasing enthusiasm for new colors and sonorities in his music. The Concerto for Guitar and Small Orchestra was his last work for the instrument and written for Segovia. A cornerstone of the repertoire, it contains soaring melodies and rhythmic vitality couched in virtuosic writing. Exploring the instrument’s full harmonic and chromatic possibilities, the Concerto for Harmonica is also deftly orchestrated. New and daring sonic combinations are to be heard in the two chamber works demonstrating the composer’s extraordinary gift for seductive lyricism.

REVIEW:

The more you listen to Villa-Lobos, the more it seems as though he had a giant block of characteristic music that allowed him to cut off chunks of different shapes and sizes that he called “Guitar Concerto”, “Harmonica Concerto”, “Sexteto Místico”, etc. It’s not that it all sounds the same–it’s just so much the product of a single, unique personality. This splendid program consists of chunks featuring unusual instruments, or combinations of instruments. The best known work here is the Guitar Concerto, an almost impossible piece as regards balance of forces that’s marvelously played by Manuel Barrueco. The problems of audibility are easily solved on recordings, as here, by placing the soloist well out in front of the orchestra, but I’m happy to report that performance noises are still minimal.

The Harmonica Concerto is a rarity, and sounds atrociously difficult to perform. If you don’t know the instrument well, you would never imagine its wide range of pitch and expression, and surprisingly pleasant basic timbre. José Staneck must have lips of steel just to get through the piece, but he does much more than that, offering moments of real sensitivity and grace. The Sexteto Místico is a brief work in one movement scored for–get this–flute, oboe, alto saxophone, guitar, harp, and celesta. There’s nothing like it anywhere else, and the sheer sound of it is so captivating that it almost doesn’t matter what notes the musicians are playing. Fortunately, it seems that they offer the right ones.

The most “normal” piece here is the Quinteto Instrumental for flute, harp, and string trio, a substantial work in three movements as long as any of the concertos (about 17 minutes). Villa-Lobos revels in the music’s exotic sounds and luscious textures, and you will too. The uniformly first-rate performances by members of the São Paulo Symphony under the vital and sensitive direction of Giancarlo Guerrero are excellently engineered, making the whole disc a joy from start to finish–a true voyage of discovery and delight.

– ClassicsToday (David Hurwitz)

Tracklist 10 tracks

  1. 1 I. Allegro preciso 05:08
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allegro preciso
    Duration
    05:08
    Composer
    Heitor Villa-Lobos
    Performer
    Manuel Barrueco
    Ensemble
    Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo
    Conductor
    Giancarlo Guerrero
  2. 2 II. Andantino e andante 07:52
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Andantino e andante
    Duration
    07:52
    Composer
    Heitor Villa-Lobos
    Performer
    Manuel Barrueco
    Ensemble
    Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo
    Conductor
    Giancarlo Guerrero
  3. 3 III. Allegretto non troppo 04:18
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Allegretto non troppo
    Duration
    04:18
    Composer
    Heitor Villa-Lobos
    Performer
    Manuel Barrueco
    Ensemble
    Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo
    Conductor
    Giancarlo Guerrero
  4. 4 Sexteto místico 07:51
    Track
    4
    Title
    Sexteto místico
    Duration
    07:51
    Composer
    Heitor Villa-Lobos
    Performer
    Cláudia Nascimento, Layla Köhler, Douglas Braga, Fabio Zanon, Suélem Sampaio, Rogério Zaghi
  5. 5 I. Allegro moderato 06:43
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Allegro moderato
    Duration
    06:43
    Composer
    Heitor Villa-Lobos
    Performer
    José Staneck
    Ensemble
    Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo
    Conductor
    Giancarlo Guerrero
  6. 6 II. Andante 05:23
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Andante
    Duration
    05:23
    Composer
    Heitor Villa-Lobos
    Performer
    José Staneck
    Ensemble
    Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo
    Conductor
    Giancarlo Guerrero
  7. 7 III. Allegro 05:34
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Allegro
    Duration
    05:34
    Composer
    Heitor Villa-Lobos
    Performer
    José Staneck
    Ensemble
    Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo
    Conductor
    Giancarlo Guerrero
  8. 8 I. Allegro non troppo 03:43
    Track
    8
    Title
    I. Allegro non troppo
    Duration
    03:43
    Composer
    Heitor Villa-Lobos
    Performer
    Cláudia Nascimento, Adrian Petrutiu, Ederson Fernandes, Adriana Holtz, Suélem Sampaio
  9. 9 II. Lento 08:29
    Track
    9
    Title
    II. Lento
    Duration
    08:29
    Composer
    Heitor Villa-Lobos
    Performer
    Cláudia Nascimento, Adrian Petrutiu, Ederson Fernandes, Adriana Holtz, Suélem Sampaio
  10. 10 III. Allegro poco moderato 05:03
    Track
    10
    Title
    III. Allegro poco moderato
    Duration
    05:03
    Composer
    Heitor Villa-Lobos
    Performer
    Cláudia Nascimento, Adrian Petrutiu, Ederson Fernandes, Adriana Holtz, Suélem Sampaio