Heitor Villa-Lobos - Guitar & Harmonica Concertos; etc. (Various Artists)

Information

Composer: Heitor Villa-Lobos

• (01) Guitar Concerto, W501
• (04) Sexteto místico, W131
• (05) Harmonica Concerto, Op. 86, W524
• (08) Quinteto instrumental, W538

Manuel Barrueco, guitar
José Staneck, harmonica

OSESP Ensemble (4, 8-10)
São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (1-3, 5-7)
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor

Date: 2019
Label: Naxos
https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.574018

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

The more you listen to Villa-Lobos, the more it seems as though he had a giant block of characteristic music that allowed him to cut off chunks of different shapes and sizes that he called “Guitar Concerto”, “Harmonica Concerto”, “Sexteto Místico”, etc. It’s not that it all sounds the same–it’s just so much the product of a single, unique personality. This splendid program consists of chunks featuring unusual instruments, or combinations of instruments. The best known work here is the Guitar Concerto, an almost impossible piece as regards balance of forces that’s marvelously played by Manuel Barrueco. The problems of audibility are easily solved on recordings, as here, by placing the soloist well out in front of the orchestra, but I’m happy to report that performance noises are still minimal.

The Harmonica Concerto is a rarity, and sounds atrociously difficult to perform. If you don’t know the instrument well, you would never imagine its wide range of pitch and expression, and surprisingly pleasant basic timbre. José Staneck must have lips of steel just to get through the piece, but he does much more than that, offering moments of real sensitivity and grace. The Sexteto Místico is a brief work in one movement scored for–get this–flute, oboe, alto saxophone, guitar, harp, and celesta. There’s nothing like it anywhere else, and the sheer sound of it is so captivating that it almost doesn’t matter what notes the musicians are playing. Fortunately, it seems that they offer the right ones.

The most “normal” piece here is the Quinteto Instrumental for flute, harp, and string trio, a substantial work in three movements as long as any of the concertos (about 17 minutes). Villa-Lobos revels in the music’s exotic sounds and luscious textures, and you will too. The uniformly first-rate performances by members of the São Paulo Symphony under the vital and sensitive direction of Giancarlo Guerrero are excellently engineered, making the whole disc a joy from start to finish–a true voyage of discovery and delight.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/reviews/villa-lobos-concerto-for-guitar-harmonica-barrueco-staneck-sao-paulo-so-guerrero/
https://www.theclassicreview.com/album-reviews/review-villa-lobos-guitar-and-harmonica-concertos-barrueco-staneck/
https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.574018&languageid=EN
https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Concerto-Harmonica-Manuel-Barrueco/dp/B07XW5X6FC

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Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887 – November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the best-known South American composer of all time. A prolific composer, he wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works, totaling over 2000 works by his death in 1959. His music was influenced by both Brazilian folk music and by stylistic elements from the European classical tradition, as exemplified by his Bachianas Brasileiras (Brazilian Bachian-pieces).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heitor_Villa-Lobos

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Giancarlo Guerrero, a native of Costa Rica, became the seventh music director of the Nashville Symphony at the beginning of its 2009-2010 season, and has committed to through the 2024-25 season. From 2011 to 2016, he was the principal guest conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra Miami Residency. In 2017, he was appointed Music Director of the Wrocław Philharmonic in Poland. A fervent advocate of new music and contemporary composers, Guerrero has collaborated with and championed the works of several of America’s most respected composers, including John Adams, John Corigliano, and Jennifer Higdon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giancarlo_Guerrero
https://www.giancarlo-guerrero.com/

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