Tumbling Villa-Lobos

Later this month President Lula and the Minister of Culture will...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:44:11 -0700

Later this month President Lula and the Minister of Culture will present the Ordem do Mérito Cultural to worthy individuals and organizations, in memory of Heitor Villa-Lobos, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death.

"I was starting to get bored when something unexpected happened. One of the orchestra members,..."

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:01:25 -0700

“I was starting to get bored when something unexpected happened. One of the orchestra members, looking around the auditorium during intermission, noticed me in the audience. When the next part began, I heard music that was completely unlike what had been played in the previous part. It was a furious, exotic dance, crazy in its ceaseless rhythmic impulse, extraordinarily colorful, clear in its harmony and instrumentation. I immediately felt a breeze of uncommon talent in his music.”

- Artur Rubinstein hears Villa-Lobos’s music for the first time. Quoted in Sachs & Manildi’s Rubinstein: a life, p. 193

Villa-Lobos and Mindinha arrive in New York in 1958. A picture...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:22:55 -0700

Villa-Lobos and Mindinha arrive in New York in 1958. A picture from the Museu Villa-Lobos (from the amazing TVCultura Villa-Lobos site).

A “Making Of” video by Projeto B, from “A...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:48:17 -0700

A “Making Of” video by Projeto B, from “A Viagem de Villa Lobos”.

A new CD-ROM “Heitor Villa-Lobos – O Caminho Sinuoso da...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:45:36 -0700

A new CD-ROM “Heitor Villa-Lobos – O Caminho Sinuoso da Predestinação”. The launch is November 23 at 19:00, at the Livraria Dario Vellozo.

Nice to see links to my Twitter feed, Tumbling VL, VL Magazine,...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:09:46 -0700

Nice to see links to my Twitter feed, Tumbling VL, VL Magazine, and HVL Website featured on this page of Villa-Lobos Links at TV Cultura. The two main routes to Villa-Lobos go through Rio de Janeiro and Red Deer!

A pleasant caricature of Villa-Lobos by Lored Ano, in...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:47:00 -0700

A pleasant caricature of Villa-Lobos by Lored Ano, in today’s issue of O Estado de Sao Paulo.

A tour of Homenaje a Heitor Villa-Lobos, the multimedia exhibit,...

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:34:40 -0700

A tour of Homenaje a Heitor Villa-Lobos, the multimedia exhibit, at the Casa do Brasil in Mexico.

Villa-Lobos and the members of Projeto B, the group who recently...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:49:00 -0700

Villa-Lobos and the members of Projeto B, the group who recently recorded a new CD A Viagem de Villa-Lobos, as drawn by Manu Maltez. The CD launch is tomorrow, Nov. 11, 2009, in Sao Paulo.

From the 47th Festival Villa-Lobos taking place this month in...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:57:10 -0700

From the 47th Festival Villa-Lobos taking place this month in Rio de Janeiro, the Coro Infantil da UFRJ sings Villa-Lobos’s arrangement of the lovely song “Se essa rua fosse minha”. Great t-shirts!

"Quando eu era criança, o desafio das grandes obras universais do repertório pianístico ocupava o..."

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:06:00 -0700

“Quando eu era criança, o desafio das grandes obras universais do repertório pianístico ocupava o centro das preocupações de todos nós. Os compositores brasileiros eram, em geral, considerados de menor complexidade, e suas obras mereciam leituras muitas vezes apressadas e superficiais. Essa percepção mudou radicalmente para mim - ainda na primeira juventude - depois de ouvir Guiomar de Novaes tocar ‘A Prole do Bebê nº 1’ num recital inesquecível no Rio de Janeiro. Percebi então que a música de Villa era universal como a de Bach, Beethoven ou Brahms”

- Great Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire on Villa-Lobos. Google Translation:

“When I was a child, the challenge of the great works of universal pianistic repertoire occupied the central concern of us all. The Brazilian composers were generally considered less complex, and their works deserved readings often rushed and superficial. This perception changed dramatically for me - still in early youth - after listening to Guiomar Novaes playing “A Prole do Bebe No. 1” in a memorable recital in Rio de Janeiro. I realized then that the music of Villa was universal as that of Bach, Beethoven or Brahms.”

"The Disney visit to Brazil officially concluded with the events of 7 September, Brazil’s..."

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:36:30 -0700

“The Disney visit to Brazil officially concluded with the events of 7 September, Brazil’s Independence Day. The morning was marked by a lengthy parade, demonstrating the massed might of Brazil’s armed forces. El Grupo turned out for the occasion, Walt watching the parade from Oswaldo Aranha’s palace. Later in the day, another kind of celebration took place at the Estadio Vasco da Gama: Heitor Villa-Lobos conducted a choral group composed of thirty thousand schoolchildren. All this was faithfully recorded on 16 mm film by Walt and Larry Lansburgh. It was an appropriately stupendous finish to an eventful three weeks in Brazil’s capital city.”

- J.B. Kaufman, Walt Disney and the Good Neighbor Program, 1941-1948, p. 41

The November 2009 issue of the Brazilian magazine Continente...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:25:56 -0700

The November 2009 issue of the Brazilian magazine Continente features Villa-Lobos on the cover. Inside are three articles, by Irineu Franco Perpétuo, Leonardo Martinelli, & Carlos Eduardo Amaral (who writes the Audições Brasileiras blog.)

From this year’s Festival Villa-Lobos in Rio de Janeiro, a...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:42:50 -0700

From this year’s Festival Villa-Lobos in Rio de Janeiro, a concert by the Coro de Câmara Pró Arte no Rio. Thanks to the Audições Brasileiras blog for this.

The biggest Festival Villa-Lobos ever!

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:57:33 -0700

The biggest Festival Villa-Lobos ever!

"[The concert] began with 2 more pieces by V-L - Erosion and Choros no. 9. Inexcusable - both of..."

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:00:21 -0700

“[The concert] began with 2 more pieces by V-L - Erosion and Choros no. 9. Inexcusable - both of them - and for the same reason: an absolutely chaotic juxtaposition of the good, bad, and indifferent. One wonders how he justifies the form to himself and to what extent he imagines he is getting away with murder.”

- Aaron Copland’s private view of Villa-Lobos’s works at the 1954 Caracas Festival was even more damning than his New York times review (see the previous quote). Copland seems to have had some issues with Villa-Lobos, though he refers to him as a “friend” on the previous page. Aaron Copland: a reader, p. 298.

"Villa-Lobos chose to present three such colorful works of his own, all sprawling in form and..."

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:43:31 -0700

“Villa-Lobos chose to present three such colorful works of his own, all sprawling in form and luxuriant in manner. They leave one astonished, but also quite confused. It is works like these that make Villa-Lobos the pride and despair of his Latin-American colleagues.”

- Aaron Copland, writing about the Festival in Caracas (1954) - Aaron Copland: a reader: selected writings 1923-1972, p. 121-122.

The fairly rarely-performed Third Choros, with André Cardoso...

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:43:10 -0600

The fairly rarely-performed Third Choros, with André Cardoso conducting the Brasil Ensemble.

"Morreu ali mesmo, no ato. Como se tivesse escolhido morrer ao som de Villa-Lobos."

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:28:44 -0600

“Morreu ali mesmo, no ato. Como se tivesse escolhido morrer ao som de Villa-Lobos.”

- “He died right there on the spot. As if he had chosen to die by the sound of Villa-Lobos.” From an obituary for the the Villa-Lobos copyright expert (and Villa-Lobos music lover) Henrique Gandelman, at the Brazilian music website Concerto.

A portion of “Viva Villa!”, the new exhibit at the...

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:49:31 -0600

A portion of “Viva Villa!”, the new exhibit at the Arquivo Nacional in Rio de Janeiro. From the RioShow website of O Globo.