NOSPR / José Maria Florêncio / Gianluca Littera - NOSPR

“My music is natural, like a waterfall,” said Villa-Lobos in his late days, summing up his music life. And Stravinsky frowned: “Why do I always learn, when I do not like a piece at all, that it was composed by Villa-Lobos?” The reason was probably that in the music by this ingenious Brazilian composer, local folklore was intertwined with elements of the European tradition in a way that was far too joyful and carefree for the great modernist. Heitor took his first cello lessons from his father, an amateur musician. Highly resistant to formal music education, he learnt to play the clarinet, the guitar, and the piano by himself, watching the participants of musical evenings at his parents’ house. At the age of 12, when his father died, he went against his mother’s wish and rather than prepare to study medicine, he began earning a living by playing all kinds of instruments in clubs, cinemas, and theatres. At the age of 18, he set to explore the Brazilian interior as an itinerant musician. He returned to Rio for good seven years later and devoted himself entirely to composing. Meandering freely between the love for Bach and fascination with the culture of Indians and black plantation workers, his music continues to stir intense emotions. Tonight, it will lead us out of the rainforest, where the melodious song of uirapuru makes all other birds fall into silence, to the country railroad in Toccata, with the music steam engine flashing by with baroque virtuosity.