Almeida Prado: Piano Trios, Cello Sonata, Balada for Cello & Piano

José Antônio de Almeida Prado's music reflects a unique combination of influences, moving through different styles and techniques while always retaining a recognisably strong personal imprint. Chamber music accounts for a large part of Almeida Prado's output. The Trio de Fontainebleau is infused with the ambience of his studies in France with Nadia Boulanger. The Balada is characteristic of the composer's mature style, with textures based on resonances, free modalism, consonant "transtonal harmony", and an alternation between simple and complex rhythms. Trio Marítimo evokes the Portuguese poetry of Fernando Pessoa, while the Cello Sonata, with its richly expressive palette of references, was considered by the composer to be one of his greatest achievements.