MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 3 / Momoprecace / Fantasia for soprano saxophone / Guitar Concerto / etc

Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) had the gift of being able to encapsulate the very essence of the unique and colourful sounds of his Brazilian homeland. Although his father gave him lessons in basic musical theory and on the cello he was effectively self-taught; he toured the country, guitar on his back, exploring and absorbing the folk music. To this he added knowledge of European music with lessons from Milhaud when he visited Brazil and then in Paris during the 1920s. The composer who had the greatest impact on him was Bach such that nine Bachianas brasileiras were written. According to the testimony of his wife he was also a gifted pianist and wrote numerous works for this instrument both with orchestra and solo. The famous guitarist Andres Segovia gratefully accepted the dedication of the Guitar Concerto but only after Villa-Lobos had provided the work with a cadenza of monumental dimensions. To this day Villa-Lobos remains one of the most individual and colourful figures in twentieth-century music.