Naxos
2007
Villa-Lobos: Piano Music; Rudepoêma; As Três Marias
About This Album
If one were to choose a single volume out of Naxos' edition of Villa-Lobos' piano music with the purpose of getting to know the great Brazilian's voluminous output in this genre, then you would make no better choice than this one, Villa-Lobos: Piano Music 6. This contains Villa-Lobos' largest scale masterwork for piano, the highly experimental and ambitious Rudepoêma of 1921-1926 written for Artur Rubinstein, however this is wisely placed toward the end to make room for some of Villa-Lobos' more appealing and immediate creations. These include As Très Marias, an intoxicating set of etudes that helped make Villa-Lobos' reputation in the United States through a classic recording made for Columbia in 1941 by pianist Guiomar Novaes. There are also some lesser known works that exemplify Villa-Lobos' unique artistic personality -- his Saudades das Selvas Brasileiras (1927), which could easily pass for piano music written in the 1980s, and his remarkable Petizada (The Little Brats, 1912), where the idiom of Debussy is pressed into service to represent the squabbling of incorrigible children. Villa-Lobos, however, seldom reveals his sources of musical inspiration -- the representation of the world around him provides the thrust for his work.
Track List

Sul América, For Piano, A. 217
1.
New York Skyline Melody, For Piano, A. 407
2.
As Três Marias (3), Suite For Piano, A. 411
3.
4.
5.
Saudades Das Selvas Brasileiras, For Piano, A. 226
6.
7.
O Gato E O Rato, For Piano (extant Segment Of A Lost Piano Suite), A. 076
8.
Petizada (6), Suite For Piano, A. 48
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Caixinha De Música Quebrada, For Piano, A. 256
15.
Menina Nas Nuvens, Opéra-comique In 3 Acts, A. 540
16.
Baliado Infantil, For Piano, A. 035
17.
Carnaval De Pierrot, For Piano
18.
Melodia Da Montanha (Mountain Melody), For Piano
19.
Rudepoêma, For Piano, A. 184
20.