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CDA67176
Temporarily out of stock

Recording details: Various dates
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: June 2000
Total duration: 63 minutes 22 seconds

REPERTOIRE RECOMMANDÉ

'Magnificent. Easily the most sophisticated Villa-Lobos piano disc currently in the catalogue' (International Record Review)

‘Enough technical dazzle to satisfy even the most virtuoso-hungry listeners’ (Fanfare, USA)

'Revelatory. In short, this is a must-buy release. It’s thrillingly exciting. Recommended with all possible enthusiasm' (Fanfare, USA)

'Hamelin grasps [the music’s] sprawl clearly and delivers it with unrivalled perfection of pianistic mechanism. He relishes the delights of the lighter pieces with equal virtuosity' (Irish Times)

'Marc-André Hamelin’s transcendental sheen and facility bless everything he plays. He makes As três Marias wink and scintillate with an inimitable verve … leaves all others standing' (Gramophone)

'Hamelin presents another hour of hair-raising (not to say spine-tingling) music in performances few could match … awesome' (Classic CD)

‘Marvellously iridescent in these magnificent interpretations … a fantastically varied succession of miniatures that will hardly fail to please’ (The Magic Flute)

'An impressive disc' (BBC Music Magazine)

Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)
Piano Music
Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
LISTEN TO ALL EXTRACTS
As três Marias
1
No 1: Alnitah  [0'53]
2
No 2: Alnilam  [1'29]
3
No 3: Mintika  [0'54]
Prole do bebê 1
4
No 1: Branquinha  [2'06]
5
No 2: Moreninha  [1'24]
6
No 3: Caboclinha  [2'07]
7
No 4: Mulatinha  [1'38]
8
No 5: Negrinha  [1'08]
9
No 6: A Pobresinha  [1'38]
10
No 7: O Polichinello  [1'18]
11
No 8: Bruxa  [2'16]
Prole do bebê 2
12
No 1: A baratinha de papel  [2'07]
13
No 2: O gatinho de papelao  [3'36]
14
No 3: O camundongo de massa  [2'53]
15
No 4: O cachorrinho de burracha  [3'03]
16
No 5: O Cavalinho de páu  [2'21]
17
No 6: O boisinho de chumbo  [3'44]
18
No 7: O passarinho de panno  [3'09]
19
No 8: O Ursozinho de algodão  [2'32]
20
No 9: O lobosino de vidro  [4'16]
21
Rudepoêma  [18'50]
Villa-Lobos is one of those composers (Haydn and Milhaud are examples of others) whose reputation has suffered through the vastness of their output. Where does the listener start? What are the major works? No problem here! This recital presents the most important of his solo piano works in definitive performances by Marc-André Hamelin. A one-disc compendium of the essence of Villa-Lobos. The major work is Rudepoêma; written in the 1920's for Artur Rubinstein it was said by the composer to be a portrait in music of the dedicatee. The work is a virtuosic tour-de-force and certainly captures the larger than life exuberance of the then young virtuoso; perhaps it could be regarded as a Latin-American equivalent of Stravinsky's Three Movements from Petrushka also dedicated to Rubinstein. The Próle do Bébé (The Baby's Family) suites represent in the first suite various dolls and in the second toy animals. These are not children's pieces, though, but adult reflections on these images. The music has a certain Ravelian clarity but again coloured with the rhythms of South America. O Polichinello in the first suite is certainly Villa-Lobos' most popular piano piece and frequently crops up as recital encore, a trend begun by Rubinstein. The recital is completed by As Três Marias, three delightful miniatures that actually represent the three stars in the 'belt' of the constellation Orion.