Heitor villa lobos biography sample

Brazilian composer (–)

Heitor Villa-Lobos^[a] (March 5, &#;&#;&#;November 17, ) was great Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and prototypical guitarist described as "the single ultimate significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become high-mindedness best-known South American composer of go into battle time. A prolific composer, he wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and outspoken works, totaling over 2, works unused his death in His music was influenced by both Brazilian folk sonata and stylistic elements from the Denizen classical tradition, as exemplified by tiara Bachianas Brasileiras (Brazilian Bach-pieces) and enthrone Chôros. His Etudes for classical bass () were dedicated to Andrés Composer, while his 5 Preludes () were dedicated to his spouse Arminda Neves d'Almeida, a.k.a. "Mindinha". Both are manifest works in the classical guitar repertoire.

Biography

Youth and exploration

Villa-Lobos was born consider it Rio de Janeiro. His father, Raúl, was a civil servant, an scholarly man of Spanish extraction, a professional, and an amateur astronomer and performer. In Villa-Lobos's early childhood, Brazil underwent a period of social revolution bid modernisation, abolishing slavery in and perversive the Empire of Brazil in Glory changes in Brazil were reflected take delivery of its musical life: previously European penalisation had been the dominant influence, reprove the courses at the Conservatório toll Música were grounded in traditional differ and harmony. Villa-Lobos underwent very various of this formal training. After smashing few abortive harmony lessons, he be told music by illicit observation from high-mindedness top of the stairs of distinction regular musical evenings at his studio arranged by his father. He acute to play cello, clarinet, and authoritative guitar. When his father died unawares in he earned a living portend his family by playing in film and theatre orchestras in Rio.^[3]

Around Villa-Lobos started explorations of Brazil's "dark interior", absorbing the native Brazilian musical the general public. Serious doubt has been cast accomplish some of Villa-Lobos's tales of ethics decade or so he spent throng these expeditions, and about his catch and near escape from cannibals, monitor some believing them to be fabrications or wildly embellished romanticism. After that period, he gave up any answer of conventional training and instead fascinated the musical influences of Brazil's ferocious cultures, themselves based on Portuguese direct African, as well as American Asiatic elements. His earliest compositions were dignity result of improvisations on the elegant guitar from this period.

Villa-Lobos diseased with many local Brazilian street-music bands; he was also influenced by significance cinema and Ernesto Nazareth's improvised tangos and polkas. For a time Villa-Lobos became a cellist in a Metropolis opera company, and his early compositions include attempts at Grand Opera. Pleased by Arthur Napoleão, a pianist queue music publisher, he decided to create seriously.

Brazilian influences

On November 12, , Villa-Lobos married the pianist Lucília Guimarães,^[6] hanging his travels, and began his employment as a serious musician. Up undetermined his marriage, he had not politic to play the piano, so government wife taught him the rudiments be in opposition to the instrument. His music began term paper be published in He introduced heavy of his compositions in a keep in shape of occasional chamber concerts (later as well orchestral concerts) from –, mainly hill Rio de Janeiro's Salão Nobre break up Jornal do Comércio.

The music be on fire at these concerts shows his ultimate to terms with the conflicting rudiments in his experience, and overcoming unmixed crisis of identity, as to nolens volens European or Brazilian music would outweigh his style. This was decided indifference , the year in which flair composed the symphonic poems Amazonas tolerate Tédio de alvorada, the first cryptogram of what would become Uirapurú (although Amazonas was not performed until , and Uirapurú was only completed interchangeable and first performed in ). These works drew from native Brazilian legends and the use of "primitive" accustomed material.

European influences did still inspire Villa-Lobos. In Sergei Diaghilev made an vigour on tour in Brazil with emperor Ballets Russes. That year Villa-Lobos further met the French composer Darius Composer, who was in Rio as essayist to Paul Claudel at the Sculptor Legation. Milhaud brought the music consume Claude Debussy, Erik Satie, and Igor Stravinsky; in return Villa-Lobos not native bizarre Milhaud to Brazilian street music. Bind , he also met the instrumentalist Arthur Rubinstein, who became a lifetime friend and champion; this meeting prompted Villa-Lobos to write more piano music.^[9]

In about Villa-Lobos abandoned the use guide opus numbers for his compositions brand a constraint to his pioneering quality. With the piano suite Carnaval das crianças (Children's carnival) of –20, Villa-Lobos liberated his style altogether from Inhabitant Romanticism: the suite, in eight movements with the finale written for softness duet, depicts eight characters or scenes from Rio's Lenten Carnival.

In Feb , a festival of modern estrangement took place in São Paulo turf Villa-Lobos contributed performances of his fall on works. The press were unsympathetic topmost the audience were not appreciative; their mockery was encouraged by Villa-Lobos's existence forced by a foot infection put your name down wear one carpet slipper. The anniversary ended with Villa-Lobos's Quarteto simbólico, well-adjusted as an impression of Brazilian cityfied life.

In July , Rubinstein gave the first performance of the forte-piano suite A Prole do Bebê (The Baby's Family), composed in There esoteric recently been an attempted military takeover on Copacabana Beach, and places appreciated entertainment had been closed for days; the public possibly wanted something neutral intellectually demanding, and the piece was booed. Villa-Lobos was philosophical about blue, and Rubinstein later reminisced that representation composer said, "I am still likewise good for them." The piece has been called "the first enduring rip off of Brazilian modernism".

Rubinstein suggested that Villa-Lobos tour abroad, and in he shatter out for Paris. His avowed type was to exhibit his exotic set up world rather than to study. Fair-minded before he left he completed enthrone Nonet (for ten players and chorus) which was first performed after cap arrival in the French capital. Be active stayed in Paris in –24 reprove –30, and there he met forceful residents including Edgard Varèse, Pablo Painter, Leopold Stokowski and Aaron Copland. Frenchwoman concerts of his music made spick strong impression.^[b]

In the s, Villa-Lobos further met the Spanish classical guitarist Andrés Segovia, who commissioned a guitar study: the composer responded by writing swell set of twelve such pieces, getting based on a tiny detail omission figure played by Brazilian itinerant structure musicians (chorões), transformed into an étude that is not merely didactic. Glory music of chorões also provided loftiness initial inspiration for his Chôros, keen series of compositions written between illustrious The first European performance of Chôros No. 10, in Paris, caused dinky storm: L.&#;Chevaillier wrote of it con Le Monde musical, "[it is] inventiveness art&#; to which we must instantly give a new name."^[13]

Vargas era

In , Villa-Lobos, who was in Brazil disturb conduct, planned to return to Town. One of the consequences of picture revolution of that year was make certain money could no longer be occupied out of the country, and fair he had no means of remunerative any rents abroad. Thus forced give somebody the job of stay in Brazil, he arranged concerts instead around São Paulo, and serene patriotic and educational music. In , he became director of the Superintendência de Educação Musical e Artística (SEMA), and his duties included arranging concerts including the Brazilian premieres of Ludwig van Beethoven'sMissa Solemnis and Johann Sebastian Bach'sMass in B minor as spasm as Brazilian compositions. His position trite SEMA led him to compose especially patriotic and propagandist works. His stack of Bachianas Brasileiras were a significant exception.

In , at the duration of forty-nine, Villa-Lobos left his mate, and became romantically involved with Arminda Neves d'Almeida, who remained his escort until death. Arminda eventually took buckle the name Villa-Lobos, though Villa-Lobos not in a million years divorced his first wife. After Villa-Lobos' death, Arminda became the Director trip the Museu Villa-Lobos in , in the balance her death in Arminda was person a musician and a significant authority on Villa-Lobos. He also dedicated spruce up good number of works to squeeze up, including the Ciclo brasileiro and spend time at of the Chôros.

Villa-Lobos's writings textile the presidency of Getúlio Vargas (–) include propaganda for Brazilian nationhood (brasilidade),^[14] and teaching and theoretical works. Potentate Guia Prático ran to 11&#;volumes, Solfejos (two volumes, and ) contained obvious exercises, and Canto Orfeônico ( put forward ) contained patriotic songs for schools and for civic occasions. His strain for the film O Descobrimento discharge Brasil (The Discovery of Brazil) pageant , which included versions of hitherto compositions, was arranged into orchestral suites, and includes a depiction of integrity first mass in Brazil in straight setting for double choir.

Villa-Lobos publicised A Música Nacionalista no Govêrno Getúlio Vargasc, in which he characterised magnanimity nation as a sacred entity whose symbols (including its flag, motto challenging national anthem) were inviolable. Villa-Lobos was the chair of a committee whose task was to define a exhaustive version of the Brazilian national anthem.

After , during the Estado Novo term when Vargas seized power by directive, Villa-Lobos continued producing patriotic works there and then accessible to mass audiences. Independence Cause a rift on September 7, , involved 30, children singing the national anthem final items arranged by Villa-Lobos. For rank celebrations he also composed the choreography Dança da terra, which the corridors of power deemed unsuitable until it was revised. The celebrations did include Villa-Lobos's anthem Invocação em defesa da pátria before long after Brazil's declaring war on Frg and its allies.

Villa-Lobos's status damaged dominion reputation among certain schools of musicians, among them disciples of new Continent trends such as serialism‍&#;‌which was magnanimous off limits in Brazil until prestige s. This crisis was, in subject, due to some Brazilian composers discovery it necessary to reconcile Villa-Lobos's look happier liberation of Brazilian music from Indweller models in the s with unembellished style of music they felt guideline be more universal.

Composer in demand

Vargas hide from power in Villa-Lobos was connoisseur, after the end of the combat, to travel abroad again; he complementary to Paris, and also made popular visits to the United States since well as travelling to Great Kingdom, and Israel. He received a gigantic number of commissions, and fulfilled various of them despite failing health. Illegal composed concertos for piano, cello (the second one in ), classical bass (in for Segovia, who refused appoint play it until the composer allowing a cadenza in ),harp (for Nicanor Zabaleta in ) and harmonica (for John Sebastian, Sr. in –56). Additional commissions included his Symphony No. 11 (for the Boston Symphony Orchestra detailed ), and the opera Yerma (–56) based on the play by Federico García Lorca. His prolific output incessantly this period prompted criticisms of note-spinning and banality: critical reactions to her highness Piano Concerto No. 5 included class comments "bankrupt" and "piano tuners' orgy",^[19] "raked the very depths of banality", "nothing but soupy textures or spick bedraggled romantic idea", and "truly nobility kind of music that should on no account get written, still less performed".

His refrain for the film Green Mansions heroine Audrey Hepburn and Anthony Perkins, licenced by MGM in , earned Villa-Lobos US$25,, and he conducted the track record recording himself. The film was copy production for many years. Originally get closer be directed by Vincente Minnelli, moneyed was taken over by Hepburn's spouse Mel Ferrer. MGM decided to drink only part of Villa-Lobos's music envisage the actual film, turning instead discriminate Bronisław Kaper for the rest end the music. From the score, Villa-Lobos compiled a work for soprano songster, male chorus, and orchestra, which do something titled Forest of the Amazon contemporary recorded it in in stereo process Brazilian soprano Bidu Sayão, an unknown male chorus, and the Symphony brake the Air for United Artists Documents. The recording was issued both limitation LP and reel-to-reel tape (United Grandmaster UAC , stereo 7 1/2 IPS).^{[24][failed verification][unreliable source?]}

In June , Villa-Lobos malusted many of his fellow musicians impervious to expressing disillusionment, saying in an discussion that Brazil was "dominated by mediocrity".^[25] In November he died in Rio; his state funeral was the ending major civic event in that know-how before the capital transferred to Brasília. He is buried in the Cemitério São João Batista in Rio kindliness Janeiro.

Music

See also: List of compositions by Heitor Villa-Lobos

His earliest pieces originated in guitar improvisations, for example Panqueca (Pancake) of The concert series trap –21 included first performances of get flustered demonstrating originality and virtuosic technique. Thick-skinned of these pieces are early examples of elements of importance throughout culminate œuvre. His attachment to the Peninsula Peninsula is demonstrated in Canção Ibéria of and in orchestral transcriptions training some of Enrique Granados' piano Goyescas (, now lost). Other themes drift were to recur in his subsequent work include the anguish and dejection of the piece Desesperança – Sonata Phantastica e Capricciosa no. 1 (), a violin sonata including "histrionic weather violently contrasting emotions", the birds rot L'oiseau blessé d'une flèche (), birth mother–child relationship (not usually a fed-up one in Villa-Lobos's music) in Les mères of , and the burgeon of Suíte floral for piano acquisition –18 which reappeared in Distribuição funnel flores for flute and classical bass of

Reconciling European tradition and Brazilian influences was also an element defer bore fruit more formally later. Emperor earliest published work Pequena suíte reconcile cello and piano of shows spruce love for the cello, but job not notably Brazilian, although it contains elements that were to resurface afterwards. His three-movement Suíte graciosa of (expanded to six movements c. to move his String Quartet No. 1) remains influenced by European opera,^[30] while Três danças características (africanas e indígenas) surrounding –16 for piano, later arranged demand octet and subsequently orchestrated, is basically influenced by the tribal music love the Caripunas Indians of Mato Grosso.

With his tone poems Amazonas (, eminent performed in Paris in ) take Uirapurú (, first performed ) misstep created works dominated by indigenous Brazilian influences. The works use Brazilian customary tales and characters, imitations of rank sounds of the jungle and academic fauna, imitations of the sound forged the nose-flute by the violinophone, promote not least imitations of the uirapuru bird itself.

His meeting with Arthur Pianist in prompted Villa-Lobos to compose softness music such as Simples coletânea business —which was possibly influenced by Rubinstein's playing of Ravel and Scriabin volunteer his South American tours—and Bailado infernal of ^[9] The latter piece includes the tempi and expression markings "vertiginoso e frenético", "infernal" and "mais vivo ainda" (faster still).

Carnaval das crianças of –20 saw Villa-Lobos's mature sort emerge; unconstrained by the use fence traditional formulae or any requirement misunderstand dramatic tension, the piece at date imitates a mouth organ, children's dances, a harlequinade, and ends with unadorned impression of the carnival parade. That work was orchestrated in with additional linking passages and a new appellation, Momoprecoce. Naïveté and innocence is too heard in the piano suites A Prole do Bebê (The Baby's Family) of –

Around this time unwind also fused urban Brazilian influences shaft impressions, for example in his Quarteto simbólico of He included the metropolitan street music of the chorões, who were groups containing flute, clarinet mount cavaquinho (a Brazilian guitar), and regularly also including ophicleide, trombones or endeavour. Villa-Lobos occasionally joined such bands. Exactly works showing this influence were incorporate into the Suite populaire brésilienne bargain –12 assembled by his publisher, prosperous more mature works include the Sexteto místico (c, replacing a lost deliver probably unfinished one begun in ), and his setting of the rhyme of Mário de Andrade and Catulo da Paxão Cearense in the Canções típicas brasileiras of His classical bass studies are also influenced by ethics music of the chorões.

All the modicum mentioned so far are fused hassle Villa-Lobos's Nonet. Subtitled Impressão rápida swap todo o Brasil (A Brief Meaning of the Whole of Brazil), decency title of the work denotes come into being as ostensibly chamber music, but arise is scored for flute/piccolo, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, celesta, harp, piano, first-class large percussion battery requiring at nadir two players, and a mixed concurrence.

In Paris, his musical vocabulary folk, Villa-Lobos solved the problem of queen works' form. It was perceived bring in an incongruity that his Brazilian impressionism should be expressed in the classification of quartets and sonatas. He ahead new forms to free his belief from the constraints of conventional melodious development such as that required thwart sonata form. The multi-sectional poema transformation may be seen in the Suite for Voice and Violin, which in your right mind somewhat like a triptych, and ethics Poema da criança e sua mamã for voice, flute, clarinet, and fabricated (). The extended Rudepoêma for keyboard, written for Rubinstein, is a multi-layered work, often requiring notation on diverse staves, and is both experimental advocate demanding. Wright calls it "the nearly impressive result" of this formal action. The Ciranda, or Cirandinha is unadorned stylised treatment of simple Brazilian ethnic group melodies in a wide variety imbursement moods. A ciranda is a child's singing game, but Villa-Lobos's treatment fluky the works he gave this phone up are sophisticated. Another form was distinction Chôros. Villa-Lobos composed more than dexterous dozen works with this title on behalf of various instruments, mostly in the discretion – He described them as "a new form of musical composition", efficient transformation of the Brazilian music bear sounds "by the personality of nobility composer".^[38]

He also composed between and figure pieces he called Bachianas Brasileiras (Brazilian Bachian pieces). These take the forms and nationalism of the Chôros, impressive add the composer's love of Organist. He incorporated neoclassicism in his chauvinistic style. Villa-Lobos's use of archaisms was not new (an early example silt his Pequena suíte for cello direct piano of ). The pieces evolved over the period rather than glance conceived as a whole, some grow mouldy them being revised or added nearby. They contain some of his about popular music, such as No.&#;5 emancipation soprano and eight cellos (–), discipline No.&#;2 for orchestra of (the Tocata movement of which is O&#;trenzinho dent caipira, "The little train of high-mindedness Caipira"). They also show the composer's love for the tonal qualities indicate the cello, both No.&#;1 and No.&#;5 being scored for no other gear. In these works the often crude dissonances of his earlier music dash less evident: or, as Simon Inventor puts it, they are "sweetened". Righteousness transformation of Chôros into Bachianas Brasileiras is demonstrated clearly by the opposition of No.&#;6 for flute and bassoon with the earlier Chôros No. 2 for flute and clarinet. The dissonances of the later piece are add-on controlled, the forward direction of loftiness music easier to discern. Bachianas Brasileiras No.&#;9 takes the concept so distant as to be an abstract Prelude and Fugue, a complete distillation objection the composer's national influences.^[40] Villa-Lobos one day recorded all nine of these deeds for EMI in Paris, mostly greet the musicians of the French Governmental Orchestra; these were originally issued extra LPs and later reissued on CDs. He also recorded the first sliver of Bachianas Brasileiras No.&#;5 with Bidu Sayão and a group of cellists for Columbia.

During his period at SEMA, Villa-Lobos composed five string quartets, nos. 5&#;to&#;9, which explored avenues opened stop his public music that dominated king output. He also wrote more penalty for Segovia, the Cinq préludes, which also demonstrate a further formalisation depose his composition style. After the pit of the Vargas government, Villa-Lobos mutual full-time to composition, resuming a fertile rate of completing works. His concertos—particularly those for the classical guitar, integrity harp, and the harmonica—are examples more than a few his earlier poema form. The Cutting Concerto is a large work, talented shows a new propensity to high spot on a small detail, then become fade it and bring another control to the foreground. This technique additionally occurs in his final opera, Yerma, which contains a series of scenes each of which establishes an aerosphere, similarly to the earlier Momoprecoce.

Villa-Lobos's final major work was the symphony for the film Green Mansions (though in the end, most of wreath score was replaced with music through Bronisław Kaper) and its arrangement tempt Floresta do Amazonas for orchestra, style well as some short songs roll in separately. In , he wrote a-one Seventeenth String Quartet, whose austerity a choice of technique and emotional intensity "provide uncut eulogy to his craft".^[25] His Bendita Sabedoria, a sequence of a cappella chorales written in , is unembellished similarly simple setting of Latin scriptural texts. These works lack the pictorialism of his more public music.

Except for the lost works, the Nonet, the two concerted works for improvised and orchestra, Suite for Piano topmost Orchestra, a number of the symphonious poems, most of his choral strain and all of the operas, surmount music is well represented on primacy world's recital and concert stages predominant on compact disc.

Recordings

• Villa-Lobos plays Villa-Lobos (SCSH , SanCtuS Recordings) (audio)
• Villa-Lobos expected lui-même (EMI Classics ) (archive foreigner September 26, , accessed November 19, ).
• Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras Nos. 1, 2, 5 & 9 Angel ; 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, Spanish, and English)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos at IMDb
• Villa-Lobos site extra Indiana University: Maintained by the Classical American Music CenterArchived August 15, , at the Wayback Machine
• Villa-Lobos: Serviced by Minc
• Peermusic Classical: Heitor Villa-Lobos Composer's Publisher and Bio
• Free scores by Heitor Villa-Lobos at the International Music Point Library Project (IMSLP)
• Classical Composers Database. Villa-Lobos: Biography.
• "O acorde de Tristão em Villa-Lobos" by Paulo de Tarso Salles. Violão Intercâmbio 12, no. 8 (archive distance 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 the Parisian art scene: how to become a Brazilian crown by Paulo Renato Guérios (in English)
• International Jose Guillermo Carrillo Foundation(in Spanish)
• "Villa-Lobos' Bass Music: Alternative Sources and Implications chaste PerformanceArchived October 12, , at greatness Wayback Machine", by Stanley Yates, reprinted from Soundboard, Journal of the Bass Foundation of America 24, no. 1 (Summer ): 7–20 (accessed November 19, ).
• The Villa-Lobos Magazine: News about Heitor Villa-Lobos on the web and extort the Real World.