Brasileiro: Villa-Lobos & Friends

by Nelson Freire

Overview

While Nelson Freire is world famous as an interpreter of the keyboard music of Frederic Chopin, he is well known in Brazil as a brilliant exponent of the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos and other composers of his country. Brasileiro is a 2012 release on Decca that explores Freire's lifelong relationship with his compatriots' music, and reveals him to be as eloquent in their colorful pieces as he is in the European classics. Serving up a generous program of solo piano music by Villa-Lobos, Camargo Guarnieri, Henrique Oswald, Alexandre Levy, Joaquim Antonio Barrozo Netto, Oscar Lorenzo Fernandez, Claudio Santoro, and Francisco Mignone, Freire demonstrates that it is all highly sophisticated fare, often as cosmopolitan as it is concentrated with local flavors. Villa-Lobos certainly reflects both in his charming character pieces, which show a blending of dreamy impressionism with witty neo-classicism, while the dance impulse is particularly strong in many of the selections by other composers, along with suggestions of Brazilian folk songs and moody scene painting. The sound of this recording is generally soft and warm, suffused with a resonant ambience that lends a special glow to Freire's playing, though without blurring his crisp attacks and lively rhythms. ~ Blair Sanderson

Product Details

Release Date:	08/21/2012
Label:	Decca / Universal
UPC:	0028947835332

Tracks

1. O ginete do Pierrozinho (The Little Pierrot's Pony)
2. O chicote do diabinho (The Little Devil's Whip)
3. A manh¿¿ de Pierrete (Pierrette's Cunning)
4. Os guizos do dominozihno (The Little Domino's Bells)
5. As perip¿¿cias do trapeirozinho (The Little Ragpicker's Adventures)
6. As traquinces do mascarado Mignon (The Little Masker's Mischief)
7. A gaita de um precoce fastasiado (The Pipes of the Little Boy in Carnival Dress)
8. Choros n. 5 "Alma Brasileira" (Soul of Brazil), W207
9. A Mar¿¿ Encheu (The Tide Came In) Guia Pr¿¿tico no. 76, W277
10. Valsa da Dor (Waltz of Grief), W316
11. Saudades das Selvas Brasileiras n.2 (Longing for the Brazilian Jungle No.2), W226
12. Pobre Cega (Poor Blind Woman) Cirandas n.5, W220
13. A Canoa Virou (The Overturned Canoe) Cirandas n.14, W220
14. A Lenda do Caboclo (The Caboclo's Legend), W166
15. Dan¿¿a Negra
16. Ponteio n.24
17. Toccata
18. Valse lente
19. Tango Brasileiro (Brazilian Tango)
20. Minha Terra (My Country)
21. Três Estudos em Forma de Sonatina, Op. 62~1. Allegro con brio
22. Três Estudos em Forma de Sonatina, Op. 62~2. Moderato
23. Três Estudos em Forma de Sonatina, Op. 62~3. Allegro scherzoso
24. O Gatinho de Papel¿¿o (The Little Cardboard Cat)
25. Paulistanas~Paulistana n.1
26. Toccata
27. New York Skyline, W407
28. Valse ¿¿l¿¿gante
29. Quatro Pe¿¿as Brasileiras~1. Maroca
30. Congada, Dan¿¿a Brasileira

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Nelson Freire   Primary Artist,Piano

Technical Credits

Heitor Villa-Lobos   Composer
Alexandre Levy   Composer
Jonathan Stokes   Engineer
Joanne Baines   Production Coordination
Benjamin Ealovega   Photography
Barrozo Netto   Composer
Camargo Guarnieri   Composer
Manoel Correa Do Lago   Liner Notes
Henrique Oswald   Composer
Alexandre Pierre Levy   Composer
Anthony Lui   Art Direction
Oscar Lorenzo Fernandez   Composer
Claudio Santoro   Composer
Eric Dahan   Cover Photo,Photography
Dominic Fyfe   Producer
Alexander van Ingen   Executive Producer
Francisco Mignone   Composer