domingo, 13 de julho de 2008
Who Was Heitor Villa-Lobos?
Heitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, in March 5, 1887. He wrote many orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works, and some people say that he might have been the most talentous (or even the best-known) composer born in South America. He is also known by putting together Brazilian Folk Music and the European classical tradition.
Biography
Villa-Lobos went to a Music Conservatory in 1910, but he didn’t finish the course, because he was unhappy with the academic teaching, once that in music schools, they worked much more with the European music stile and its formal training.
Puccini, Wagner and Stravinsky’s influence was decisive in his first works, so did Brazilian Folk music. We can take this very clear in the symphonic poems Amazonas and Uirapuru. They are both from 1916, but Amazonas was first performed in 1929, and Uiriapuru in 1935.
Altought his music had European music elements, he was always putting Brazilian culture in it, which is based in Portuguese, African and American Indian elements. But, because he used to do this kind of mixing, he was not well accepted into the academic middle, and most of the people didn’t listen to his music because they didn’t think that it would be “real” music.
In 1918 he became friend of Arthur Rubinstein, a polish pianist, whose friendship led him to move to France in 1923. He spent two seasons in Paris, a very important city to the musical scenery. He lived there from 1923 to 1924 and from 1926 to 1930, when he came back to Brazil to make part of a musical education program, made by Getúlio Vargas government. This time, Stravinsky’s unfluence in his works was covered by brazilian music’s influence.
In 1930 he became a teacher, and he taught music to high school sutdents. He made huge concerts, and in one of these concerts, there were more than 40 thousand people singing, and even the president, Getúlio Vargas, went to see the concert.
In 1940 he went to USA, and his works were very well-accepeted there. Lots of orchestras asked him for more compositions, and also did very important musicians who lived there.
In 1947 he made his first surgery. He had bladder cancer because he was addicted to cigars, and this would lead him to death 12 years later. His last ten years of life were the most productives in his whole life. He wrote five symphonies, six works for strings quartets, many concerts, one opera, one suíte and many chamber works.
In 1955 he went to Paris to record his most important works, conducting a french orchestra. In 1959 he recorded his last work, the suíte A Floresta do Amazonas. He returned to Rio de Janeiro, and a few moths later, he died of bladder cancer, in his house.
Puccini, Wagner and Stravinsky’s influence was decisive in his first works, so did Brazilian Folk music. We can take this very clear in the symphonic poems Amazonas and Uirapuru. They are both from 1916, but Amazonas was first performed in 1929, and Uiriapuru in 1935.
Altought his music had European music elements, he was always putting Brazilian culture in it, which is based in Portuguese, African and American Indian elements. But, because he used to do this kind of mixing, he was not well accepted into the academic middle, and most of the people didn’t listen to his music because they didn’t think that it would be “real” music.
In 1918 he became friend of Arthur Rubinstein, a polish pianist, whose friendship led him to move to France in 1923. He spent two seasons in Paris, a very important city to the musical scenery. He lived there from 1923 to 1924 and from 1926 to 1930, when he came back to Brazil to make part of a musical education program, made by Getúlio Vargas government. This time, Stravinsky’s unfluence in his works was covered by brazilian music’s influence.
In 1930 he became a teacher, and he taught music to high school sutdents. He made huge concerts, and in one of these concerts, there were more than 40 thousand people singing, and even the president, Getúlio Vargas, went to see the concert.
In 1940 he went to USA, and his works were very well-accepeted there. Lots of orchestras asked him for more compositions, and also did very important musicians who lived there.
In 1947 he made his first surgery. He had bladder cancer because he was addicted to cigars, and this would lead him to death 12 years later. His last ten years of life were the most productives in his whole life. He wrote five symphonies, six works for strings quartets, many concerts, one opera, one suíte and many chamber works.
In 1955 he went to Paris to record his most important works, conducting a french orchestra. In 1959 he recorded his last work, the suíte A Floresta do Amazonas. He returned to Rio de Janeiro, and a few moths later, he died of bladder cancer, in his house.
Althought Heitor Villa-Lobos had his fame abroad, I think he was more than a great composer and an excelent musician. He had a very strong personality, and he didn’t consider himself a “brazilian composer”, but so a “worldwide composer”. This shows us that he wrote music not only for money, but because he loved it, with all his heart. That is because i think Villa-Lobos deserves to be known for other country’s people.
He was a great man.
He was a great man.
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