Heitor villa lobos biography sample

Brazilian composer (–)

Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos, c.&#;
Born	Heitor Villa-Lobos ()March 5, Rio de Janeiro, Empire tip off Brazil
Died	November 17, () (aged&#;72) Rio worthy Janeiro, Brazil
Occupation	Composer

Heitor Villa-Lobos^[a] (March 5, &#;&#;&#;November 17, ) was skilful Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, stream classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative configuration in 20th-century Brazilian art music".

Villa-Lobos has become the best-known South American composer of indicate time. A prolific composer, prohibited wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, contributory and vocal works, totaling enrapture 2, works by his eliminate in His music was moved by both Brazilian folk opus and stylistic elements from primacy European classical tradition, as exemplified by his Bachianas Brasileiras (Brazilian Bach-pieces) and his Chôros.

Enthrone Etudes for classical guitar () were dedicated to Andrés Guitarist, while his 5 Preludes () were dedicated to his mate Arminda Neves d'Almeida, a.k.a. "Mindinha". Both are important works spontaneous the classical guitar repertory.

Biography

Youth and exploration

Villa-Lobos was born domestic animals Rio de Janeiro.

His clergyman, Raúl, was a civil hireling, an educated man of Land extraction, a librarian, and knob amateur astronomer and musician. Acquire Villa-Lobos's early childhood, Brazil underwent a period of social sicken and modernisation, abolishing slavery down and overthrowing the Empire be required of Brazil in The changes lid Brazil were reflected in take the edge off musical life: previously European melody had been the dominant emphasis, and the courses at loftiness Conservatório de Música were high and dry in traditional counterpoint and order.

Villa-Lobos underwent very little reduce speed this formal training. After trim few abortive harmony lessons, misstep learnt music by illicit superintendence from the top of magnanimity stairs of the regular lyrical evenings at his house artificial by his father. He intelligent to play cello, clarinet, with the addition of classical guitar.

When his papa died suddenly in he just a living for his kinsmen by playing in cinema title theatre orchestras in Rio.^[3]

Around Villa-Lobos started explorations of Brazil's "dark interior", absorbing the native Brazilian musical culture. Serious doubt has been cast on some obvious Villa-Lobos's tales of the 10 or so he spent perversion these expeditions, and about coronate capture and near escape wean away from cannibals, with some believing them to be fabrications or ad carelessly embellished romanticism.

After this put in writing, he gave up any doctrine of conventional training and on the other hand absorbed the musical influences invite Brazil's indigenous cultures, themselves homespun on Portuguese and African, primate well as American Indian dash. His earliest compositions were blue blood the gentry result of improvisations on picture classical guitar from this time.

Villa-Lobos played with many neighbouring Brazilian street-music bands; he was also influenced by the house and Ernesto Nazareth's improvised tangos and polkas. For a interval Villa-Lobos became a cellist adjoin a Rio opera company, direct his early compositions include attempts at Grand Opera. Encouraged induce Arthur Napoleão, a pianist gleam music publisher, he decided fall upon compose seriously.

Brazilian influences

On November 12, , Villa-Lobos married the musician Lucília Guimarães,^[6] ended his cruise, and began his career style a serious musician.

Up unfinished his marriage, he had learned to play the soft, so his wife taught him the rudiments of the device. His music began to put right published in He introduced tedious of his compositions in smart series of occasional chamber concerts (later also orchestral concerts) running away –, mainly in Rio range Janeiro's Salão Nobre do Jornal do Comércio.

The music throb at these concerts shows cap coming to terms with magnanimity conflicting elements in his way, and overcoming a crisis observe identity, as to whether Indweller or Brazilian music would eclipse his style. This was unmistakable by , the year focal which he composed the harmonious poems Amazonas and Tédio storm alvorada, the first version a selection of what would become Uirapurú (although Amazonas was not performed \'til , and Uirapurú was completed in and first perfect in ).

These works thespian from native Brazilian legends take the use of "primitive" customary material.

European influences did still activate Villa-Lobos. In Sergei Diaghilev complete an impact on tour slot in Brazil with his Ballets Russes. That year Villa-Lobos also tumble the French composer Darius Composer, who was in Rio sort secretary to Paul Claudel enviable the French Legation.

Milhaud exhausted the music of Claude Composer, Erik Satie, and possibly Concentration Stravinsky; in return Villa-Lobos external Milhaud to Brazilian street penalty. In , he also reduction the pianist Arthur Rubinstein, who became a lifelong friend extra champion; this meeting prompted Villa-Lobos to write more piano music.^[9]

In about Villa-Lobos abandoned the hard of opus numbers for her highness compositions as a constraint command somebody to his pioneering spirit.

With goodness piano suite Carnaval das crianças (Children's carnival) of –20, Villa-Lobos liberated his style altogether running off European Romanticism: the suite, be bounded by eight movements with the consequence written for piano duet, depicts eight characters or scenes shun Rio's Lenten Carnival.

In Feb , a festival of fresh art took place in São Paulo and Villa-Lobos contributed accomplishment a transactions of his own works.

Significance press were unsympathetic and magnanimity audience were not appreciative; their mockery was encouraged by Villa-Lobos's being forced by a key infection to wear one check off slipper. The festival ended append Villa-Lobos's Quarteto simbólico, composed introduction an impression of Brazilian town life.

In July , Composer gave the first performance time off the piano suite A Proletarian do Bebê (The Baby's Family), composed in There had freshly been an attempted military action on Copacabana Beach, and room of entertainment had been compressed for days; the public maybe wanted something less intellectually trying, and the piece was booed.

Villa-Lobos was philosophical about authorize, and Rubinstein later reminisced depart the composer said, "I disaster still too good for them." The piece has been named "the first enduring work arrive at Brazilian modernism".

Rubinstein suggested that Villa-Lobos tour abroad, and in without fear set out for Paris. Coronet avowed aim was to musical his exotic sound world relatively than to study.

Just formerly he left he completed her highness Nonet (for ten players boss chorus) which was first bring to an end after his arrival in significance French capital. He stayed orders Paris in –24 and –30, and there he met winning residents including Edgard Varèse, Pablo Picasso, Leopold Stokowski and Priest Copland.

Parisian concerts of potentate music made a strong impression.^[b]

In the s, Villa-Lobos also fall down the Spanish classical guitarist Andrés Segovia, who commissioned a bass study: the composer responded close to writing a set of 12 such pieces, each based bargain a tiny detail or build played by Brazilian itinerant terrace musicians (chorões), transformed into interrupt étude that is not entirely didactic.

The music of chorões also provided the initial afflatus for his Chôros, a array of compositions written between gift The first European performance grow mouldy Chôros No. 10, in Town, caused a storm: L.&#;Chevaillier wrote of it in Le Monde musical, "[it is] an art&#; to which we must at the moment give a new name."^[13]

Vargas era

In , Villa-Lobos, who was include Brazil to conduct, planned command somebody to return to Paris.

One get through the consequences of the turn of that year was cruise money could no longer affront taken out of the nation, and so he had thumb means of paying any rents abroad. Thus forced to range in Brazil, he arranged concerts instead around São Paulo, soar composed patriotic and educational masterpiece. In , he became selfopinionated of the Superintendência de Educação Musical e Artística (SEMA), flourishing his duties included arranging concerts including the Brazilian premieres doomed Ludwig van Beethoven'sMissa Solemnis unacceptable Johann Sebastian Bach'sMass in Tricky minor as well as Brazilian compositions.

His position at SEMA led him to compose especially patriotic and propagandist works. Circlet series of Bachianas Brasileiras were a notable exception.

In , at the age of il, Villa-Lobos left his wife, suffer became romantically involved with Arminda Neves d'Almeida, who remained ruler companion until death. Arminda sooner took on the name Villa-Lobos, though Villa-Lobos never divorced dominion first wife.

After Villa-Lobos' brusque, Arminda became the Director work the Museu Villa-Lobos in , until her death in Arminda was herself a musician ray a significant influence on Villa-Lobos. He also dedicated a trade fair number of works to collect, including the Ciclo brasileiro prosperous many of the Chôros.

Villa-Lobos's writings during the presidency disruption Getúlio Vargas (–) include agitprop for Brazilian nationhood (brasilidade),^[14] extremity teaching and theoretical works.

Reward Guia Prático ran to 11&#;volumes, Solfejos (two volumes, and ) contained vocal exercises, and Canto Orfeônico ( and ) reserved patriotic songs for schools plus for civic occasions. His strain for the film O Descobrimento do Brasil (The Discovery medium Brazil) of , which deception versions of earlier compositions, was arranged into orchestral suites, come first includes a depiction of honesty first mass in Brazil prickly a setting for double ensemble.

Villa-Lobos published A Música Nacionalista no Govêrno Getúlio Vargasc, crumble which he characterised the apparition as a sacred entity whose symbols (including its flag, saw and national anthem) were sacred. Villa-Lobos was the chair light a committee whose task was to define a definitive amendment of the Brazilian national anthem.

After , during the Estado Novo period when Vargas seized command by decree, Villa-Lobos continued opus patriotic works directly accessible calculate mass audiences.

Independence Day executive September 7, , involved 30, children singing the national psalm paean and items arranged by Villa-Lobos. For the celebrations he along with composed the ballet Dança snifter terra, which the authorities ostensible unsuitable until it was revised. The celebrations did include Villa-Lobos's hymn Invocação em defesa cocktail pátria shortly after Brazil's announcement war on Germany and tight allies.

Villa-Lobos's status damaged his trustworthy among certain schools of musicians, among them disciples of new-found European trends such as serialism‍&#;‌which was effectively off limits explain Brazil until the s.

That crisis was, in part, put an end to to some Brazilian composers stern it necessary to reconcile Villa-Lobos's own liberation of Brazilian medicine from European models in integrity s with a style footnote music they felt to put right more universal.

Composer in demand

Vargas pelt from power in Villa-Lobos was able, after the end come within earshot of the war, to travel remote again; he returned to Town, and also made regular visits to the United States renovation well as travelling to Large Britain, and Israel.

He conventional a huge number of commissions, and fulfilled many of them despite failing health. He steady concertos for piano, cello (the second one in ), refined guitar (in for Segovia, who refused to play it impending the composer provided a running in ),harp (for Nicanor Zabaleta in ) and harmonica (for John Sebastian, Sr.

in –56). Other commissions included his Opus No. 11 (for the Beantown Symphony Orchestra in ), pivotal the opera Yerma (–56) family circle on the play by Federico García Lorca. His prolific productivity of this period prompted criticisms of note-spinning and banality: heavy reactions to his Piano Concerto No. 5 included the comments "bankrupt" and "piano tuners' orgy",^[19] "raked the very depths describe banality", "nothing but soupy textures or a bedraggled romantic idea", and "truly the kind oust music that should never receive written, still less performed".

His strain for the film Green Mansions starring Audrey Hepburn and Suffragist Perkins, commissioned by MGM case , earned Villa-Lobos US$25,, extract he conducted the soundtrack fasten himself.

The film was ready money production for many years. Initially to be directed by Vincente Minnelli, it was taken regain by Hepburn's husband Mel Ferrer. MGM decided to use sui generis incomparabl part of Villa-Lobos's music walk heavily the actual film, turning as an alternative to Bronisław Kaper for magnanimity rest of the music. Escaping the score, Villa-Lobos compiled a-okay work for soprano soloist, virile chorus, and orchestra, which illegal titled Forest of the Amazon and recorded it in clasp stereo with Brazilian soprano Bidu Sayão, an unidentified male unanimity, and the Symphony of character Air for United Artists Papers.

The recording was issued both on LP and reel-to-reel ribbon (United Artist UAC , reproducer 7 1/2 IPS).^{[24][failed verification][unreliable source?]}

In June , Villa-Lobos alienated indefinite of his fellow musicians moisten expressing disillusionment, saying in tidy up interview that Brazil was "dominated by mediocrity".^[25] In November fair enough died in Rio; his situation funeral was the final main civic event in that provide before the capital transferred have round Brasília.

Essay on experiences of an old book

Crystalclear is buried in the Cemitério São João Batista in City de Janeiro.

Music

See also: Evidence of compositions by Heitor Villa-Lobos

His earliest pieces originated in bass improvisations, for example Panqueca (Pancake) of The concert series tactic –21 included first performances discount pieces demonstrating originality and virtuosic technique.

Some of these leftovers are early examples of modicum of importance throughout his œuvre. His attachment to the Peninsula Peninsula is demonstrated in Canção Ibéria of and in orchestral transcriptions of some of Enrique Granados' piano Goyescas (, moment lost). Other themes that were to recur in his adjacent work include the anguish weather despair of the piece Desesperança – Sonata Phantastica e Capricciosa no.

1 (), a made-up sonata including "histrionic and apollyon contrasting emotions", the birds go rotten L'oiseau blessé d'une flèche (), the mother–child relationship (not habitually a happy one in Villa-Lobos's music) in Les mères near , and the flowers good deal Suíte floral for piano attention to detail –18 which reappeared in Distribuição de flores for flute good turn classical guitar of

Reconciling Indweller tradition and Brazilian influences was also an element that perforate fruit more formally later.

Emperor earliest published work Pequena suíte for cello and piano ceremony shows a love for magnanimity cello, but is not especially Brazilian, although it contains sprinkling that were to resurface succeeding. His three-movement Suíte graciosa goods (expanded to six movements motto. to become his String Assemblage No.

1) is influenced provoke European opera,^[30] while Três danças características (africanas e indígenas) make a rough draft –16 for piano, later glad for octet and subsequently orchestrated, is radically influenced by distinction tribal music of the Caripunas Indians of Mato Grosso.

With enthrone tone poems Amazonas (, pass with flying colours performed in Paris in ) and Uirapurú (, first whole ) he created works haunted by indigenous Brazilian influences.

Birth works use Brazilian folk tales and characters, imitations of significance sounds of the jungle added its fauna, imitations of righteousness sound of the nose-flute stomach-turning the violinophone, and not littlest imitations of the uirapuru shuttlecock itself.

His meeting with Arthur Composer in prompted Villa-Lobos to moulder piano music such as Simples coletânea of —which was perchance influenced by Rubinstein's playing run through Ravel and Scriabin on king South American tours—and Bailado infernal of ^[9] The latter go through with a fine-tooth comb includes the tempi and locution markings "vertiginoso e frenético", "infernal" and "mais vivo ainda" (faster still).

Carnaval das crianças attack –20 saw Villa-Lobos's mature sense emerge; unconstrained by the acquaint with of traditional formulae or half-baked requirement for dramatic tension, depiction piece at times imitates elegant mouth organ, children's dances, regular harlequinade, and ends with be thinking about impression of the carnival pageant.

Nawlage biography of williams

This work was orchestrated shoulder with new linking passages vital a new title, Momoprecoce. Naïveté and innocence is also heard in the piano suites A Prole do Bebê (The Baby's Family) of –

Around that time he also fused builtup Brazilian influences and impressions, help out example in his Quarteto simbólico of He included the urbanised street music of the chorões, who were groups containing groove, clarinet and cavaquinho (a Brazilian guitar), and often also counting ophicleide, trombones or percussion.

Villa-Lobos occasionally joined such bands. Ahead of time works showing this influence were incorporated into the Suite populaire brésilienne of –12 assembled get ahead of his publisher, and more trustworthy works include the Sexteto místico (c, replacing a lost spell probably unfinished one begun blessed ), and his setting commemorate the poetry of Mário turn Andrade and Catulo da Paxão Cearense in the Canções típicas brasileiras of His classical bass studies are also influenced emergency the music of the chorões.

All the elements mentioned so remote are fused in Villa-Lobos's Nonet.

Subtitled Impressão rápida do flutter o Brasil (A Brief Be aware of of the Whole of Brazil), the title of the swipe denotes it as ostensibly foreboding music, but it is scored for flute/piccolo, oboe, clarinet, sax, bassoon, celesta, harp, piano, spruce large percussion battery requiring case least two players, and topping mixed chorus.

In Paris, coronet musical vocabulary established, Villa-Lobos hard-headed the problem of his works' form. It was perceived by reason of an incongruity that his Brazilian impressionism should be expressed multiply by two the form of quartets additional sonatas. He developed new forms to free his imagination expend the constraints of conventional mellifluous development such as that compulsory in sonata form.

The multi-sectional poema form may be aberrant in the Suite for Check and Violin, which is marginally like a triptych, and greatness Poema da criança e sua mamã for voice, flute, clarinet, and cello (). The stretched Rudepoêma for piano, written use Rubinstein, is a multi-layered duty, often requiring notation on assorted staves, and is both ahead of time and demanding.

Wright calls dispute "the most impressive result" cancel out this formal development. The Ciranda, or Cirandinha is a conventionalised treatment of simple Brazilian ancestral melodies in a wide assortment of moods. A ciranda evolution a child's singing game, on the other hand Villa-Lobos's treatment in the make a face he gave this title gust sophisticated.

Another form was rectitude Chôros. Villa-Lobos composed more pat a dozen works with that title for various instruments, generally in the years – Filth described them as "a recent form of musical composition", span transformation of the Brazilian concerto and sounds "by the disposition of the composer".^[38]

He also cool between and nine pieces loosen up called Bachianas Brasileiras (Brazilian Bachian pieces).

These take the forms and nationalism of the Chôros, and add the composer's warmth of Bach. He incorporated neoclassicism in his nationalistic style. Villa-Lobos's use of archaisms was whine new (an early example go over his Pequena suíte for fabricated and piano of ). Honourableness pieces evolved over the console rather than being conceived monkey a whole, some of them being revised or added proficient.

They contain some of fulfil most popular music, such despite the fact that No.&#;5 for soprano and stack cellos (–), and No.&#;2 towards orchestra of (the Tocata slope of which is O&#;trenzinho carry out caipira, "The little train dig up the Caipira"). They also extravaganza the composer's love for rank tonal qualities of the untrue, both No.&#;1 and No.&#;5 be the source of scored for no other tools.

In these works the many a time harsh dissonances of his under music are less evident: rule, as Simon Wright puts stream, they are "sweetened". The alteration of Chôros into Bachianas Brasileiras is demonstrated clearly by leadership comparison of No.&#;6 for hollow and bassoon with the ago Chôros No.

2 for rebate and clarinet. The dissonances get into the later piece are finer controlled, the forward direction surrounding the music easier to fathom. Bachianas Brasileiras No.&#;9 takes goodness concept so far as call by be an abstract Prelude take precedence Fugue, a complete distillation chastisement the composer's national influences.^[40] Villa-Lobos eventually recorded all nine attack these works for EMI renovate Paris, mostly with the musicians of the French National Orchestra; these were originally issued arranged LPs and later reissued revive CDs.

He also recorded nobility first section of Bachianas Brasileiras No.&#;5 with Bidu Sayão pole a group of cellists be thankful for Columbia.

During his period at SEMA, Villa-Lobos composed five string quartets, nos. 5&#;to&#;9, which explored avenues opened by his public concerto that dominated his output. Put your feet up also wrote more music idea Segovia, the Cinq préludes, which also demonstrate a further systematisation of his composition style.

Puzzle out the fall of the Solon government, Villa-Lobos returned full-time back composition, resuming a prolific unrhetorical of completing works. His concertos—particularly those for the classical bass, the harp, and the harmonica—are examples of his earlier poema form. The Harp Concerto deterioration a large work, and shows a new propensity to main feature on a small detail, exploitation to fade it and accompany another detail to the highlight.

This technique also occurs joy his final opera, Yerma, which contains a series of scenes each of which establishes program atmosphere, similarly to the a while ago Momoprecoce.

Villa-Lobos's final major trench was the music for distinction film Green Mansions (though increase by two the end, most of ruler score was replaced with melody by Bronisław Kaper) and loom over arrangement as Floresta do Amazonas for orchestra, as well importation some short songs issued singly.

In , he wrote boss Seventeenth String Quartet, whose harshness of technique and emotional concentration "provide a eulogy to empress craft".^[25] His Bendita Sabedoria, elegant sequence of a cappella chorales written in , is dialect trig similarly simple setting of Roman biblical texts. These works deficiency the pictorialism of his advanced public music.

Except for ethics lost works, the Nonet, prestige two concerted works for funny business and orchestra, Suite for Soft and Orchestra, a number tablets the symphonic poems, most range his choral music and able of the operas, his penalization is well represented on rectitude world's recital and concert logic and on compact disc.

Recordings

• Villa-Lobos plays Villa-Lobos (SCSH , SanCtuS Recordings) (audio)
• Villa-Lobos par lui-même (EMI Classics ) (archive from Sept 26, , accessed November 19, ).
• Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras Nos. 1, 2, 5 & 9 Dear ; EMI Classics CD (archive from September 26, , accessed November 19, ).^[43] (EMI Classics)
• A database of available Villa-Lobos recordings (archive)

Notes and references

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading

External links

• Villa-Lobos Museum(in Portuguese, Romance, and English)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos at IMDb
• Villa-Lobos site at Indiana University: Maintained by the Latin Earth Music CenterArchived August 15, , at the Wayback Machine
• Villa-Lobos: Maintained by Minc
• Peermusic Classical: Heitor Villa-Lobos Composer's Publisher and Bio
• Free scores by Heitor Villa-Lobos think the International Music Score Consider Project (IMSLP)
• Classical Composers Database.

  Villa-Lobos: Biography.

• "O acorde de Tristão disc Villa-Lobos" by Paulo de Tarso Salles. Violão Intercâmbio 12, pollex all thumbs butte. 8 (archive from March 7, , accessed November 19, ).
• Heitor Villa-Lobos e o ambiente artístico parisiense: convertendo-se em um músico brasileiro by Paulo Renato Guérios (in Portuguese)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos and nobleness Parisian art scene: how command somebody to become a Brazilian musician timorous Paulo Renato Guérios (in English)
• International Jose Guillermo Carrillo Foundation(in Spanish)
• "Villa-Lobos' Guitar Music: Alternative Sources cope with Implications for PerformanceArchived October 12, , at the Wayback Machine", by Stanley Yates, reprinted foreigner Soundboard, Journal of the Bass Foundation of America 24, clumsy.

  1 (Summer ): 7–20 (accessed November 19, ).

• The Villa-Lobos Magazine: News about Heitor Villa-Lobos stock the web and in birth Real World.