Topic: Your Favorite Latin American Composer?

[Daverz]

Hmm, Nancarrow was Latin American only in sense similar to Roman Polanski being Swiss ; )

As far as I know, Nancarrow was hounded out of the US for political reasons.  Are you trying to imply that it was for another reason?

[Sid]

Another one I like is Argentinian-born Osvaldo Golijov. Saw a birthday concert of his music in Sydney a few months back, and the influences were more Jewish and gypsy than South American (so Some Guy may be right)...

[some guy]

Well, at least I'm honest about it. 

Indeed, and in so being, hit the nail right on its proverbial.

[val]

Villa-Lobos seems the most complete to me. Vocal music of quality, superb symphonic works with an extraordinary sense of the rhythm and color, chamber music and piano music of exceptional quality, in special Rudepoema, a masterpiece.

Sometimes I would wish more structural discipline. But the enthusiasm, the force of his inspiration are so impressive!

[jhar26]

Indeed, and in so being, hit the nail right on its proverbial.

The same thing can be said about all of these polls though. If you have a Bach vs Scarlatti poll and everyone has a bunch of Bach cd's while most have only one or two (or none) by Scarlatti it can never be a fair contest. Except for the fact that because everyone has a bunch of Bach cd's it probably means that they like him better while on the other hand it can be argued that they would buy more Scarlatti if they were exposed more to his music. But polls are popularity contests and if we accept them as such and don't take them too seriously I don't see anything wrong with them..

[jhar26]

Another one I like is Argentinian-born Osvaldo Golijov. Saw a birthday concert of his music in Sydney a few months back, and the influences were more Jewish and gypsy than South American (so Some Guy may be right)...

I'm also a fan of Golijov's music.

[some guy]

(... Some Guy may be right)

I am some guy, and I endorse this statement.

[snyprrr]

Nationalism was never a good idea.

Besides, what about the sounds on this disc is NOT Latin American? Maybe you're defining "Latin American" too narrowly, eh? (What IS "the Latin American sound"? Some people on this thread, including Mirror, have been at some pains to point out how different the four names on his list are from each other. Different, not similar.)

The Latin American sound? The Frito Bandito, of course! What could be more stereotypical? (ok,...beerfest oompah!)

Ay-ay-ay-ay!

[Gabriel]

As I have to promote music from my country , I will choose a Chilean: Pedro Humberto Allende (1885-1959). Unfortunately, despite being one of the greatest Chilean composers, there are almost no recordings of his works (task for Chilean musicians... and perhaps for Naxos). Debussy wrote about his Cello concerto that "l'écriture en est absolument remarquable" ("its writing is absolutely remarkable").

(Unfortunately, I know almost nothing of the Chilean musical composers during the period 1750-1830! )

[DavidRoss]

Piazzolla, Ponce, Barrios, & Brouwer, but the other four are good, too--but since I seldom listen to their music it would be hard to choose a fave.  Perhaps Villa Lobos, since I probably hear him most frequently.

[Sid]

Like some guy suggests, I agree that the reason why Villa-Lobos is so popular is that he has received the most exposure out of all the guys listed in the poll. I mean, there is hardly anyone on the planet who hasn't heard his Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 for soprano & 8 cellos at some stage in their lives. None of the other guys produced such a big hit that has similarly entered the consciousness of not only classical fans, but the public at large. But then again, not many people have heard all of the Bachianas (although many members here have) so Villa is still a kind of "exotic" composer outside Brazil...

[Mirror Image]

Like some guy suggests, I agree that the reason why Villa-Lobos is so popular is that he has received the most exposure out of all the guys listed in the poll. I mean, there is hardly anyone on the planet who hasn't heard his Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 for soprano & 8 cellos at some stage in their lives. None of the other guys produced such a big hit that has similarly entered the consciousness of not only classical fans, but the public at large. But then again, not many people have heard all of the Bachianas (although many members here have) so Villa is still a kind of "exotic" composer outside Brazil...

Thankfully what the general public thinks never bothered me or their opinions don't matter to me, which is why I come to forums like this, because we're all in the same boat.
 
I think VL's star has yet to shine as with all of the composers in my poll and mentioned in this thread. Many people I've spoken with at concerts who are classical fans and frequent concert goers haven't even heard of his Bachianas Brasileiras, which as you say are claimed to be popular, but if they were so popular, then you would think major orchestras would play them more, but they don't. Outside of Latin America, Villa-Lobos is still an underrated composer and much of his music hasn't been explored much by listeners (if at all). I also think many people who have heard his Brasileiras are in for a different experience when they start exploring his music outside these works. Villa-Lobos did quite a bit experimenting with form and though his early works have this rough, almost raw feel to them, they should be noted for pushing music into a different direction or a more personal, Brazilian direction. His music can be quite dense, which makes it quite difficult to perform his music, but it also requires an orchestra of committed musicians to maintain the music's intensity. The rhythmic element of the music alone opposes great challenges.

[snyprrr]

I was listening to that 2-cd RCA compilation that seems to have almost everything (Mata/Stokowski/Atherton). Since his works list is very small, I say we all get to include him gratis (especially compared with V-L)!

Can his creativity be denied? He reminds me of the Sam Pekinpah of Composers, haha. There certainly is the lusty, the shadows outside barrooms at three in the morning. Lorca, whores, and trumpets! Yea, don't pull this music's finger,...wwwhew!

I really like his two really surreal pieces Dansas(sic) Geometricas and Planos. Some of this music reminds me of what happens in Mexico every day,...very sad and creepy.

I'm sure a lot of you have this 2-fer. Please, dig it out, and take it for a Morning Drive.

I also have his SQs, and the Chamber Music disc on Dorian,... small pickins' indeed. Though excellent, the fact is there's not much beyond this Webernesque ouevre.

[snyprrr]

Well I spent all night YouTubing Villa-Lobos, and I have definitely found a friend in Uirapuru. How many Composers were writing this kind of stuff in the early century (Bloch, for one). Just after WWI, and into the early '20s, the last gasp of Ultra Late Romanticism frought forth these hothouse flowers, full of hallucinatory images.

[epicous]

Outside of Latin America, Villa-Lobos is still an underrated composer and much of his music hasn't been explored much by listeners (if at all).

I'm from Mexico city, I have been listening to classical composers for about 25 years, and I have never listened to any work by Villa-Lobos.
 

[Josquin des Prez]

Although not on the list, I pick Xavier Cugat.  Here's one of his most famous quotes:

"I would rather play Chiquita Banana and have my swimming pool than play Bach and starve."

A man of his times. Fortunately, the guy who played Bach (Villa-Lobos) didn't end up starving.

[Luke]

As I have to promote music from my country , I will choose a Chilean: Pedro Humberto Allende (1885-1959). Unfortunately, despite being one of the greatest Chilean composers, there are almost no recordings of his works (task for Chilean musicians... and perhaps for Naxos). Debussy wrote about his Cello concerto that "l'écriture en est absolument remarquable" ("its writing is absolutely remarkable").

Thank you - a new name to me, I'm looking at the piano pieces on IMSLP and they look extremely interesting...

[Sid]

You've been listening to classical music for 25 years and you never heard a composition by Villa-Lobos?

What he's describing is not unusual. He probably has heard the Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 at some point (but maybe didn't realise what it was). Compared to the "big guns" (eg. the three B's) Villa-Lobos is not very well known at all. I have also been into classical for more than 20 years and that was the only piece I'd heard by him until a few years ago. He doesn't get much airtime on radio & is not played at concerts, apart from that piece. I also think alot of his stuff has been made available on cd in the last 10 years or so. I was collecting in the early '90's, and don't remember seeing any of his stuff back then. Of course, now we have Amazon, and many of the bigger labels (like Naxos) that have made his stuff more available. So I have been able to collect some of his cd's, but he still gets little airtime on radio & is not much played in concerts apart from his greatest hit...

[Mirror Image]

What he's describing is not unusual. He probably has heard the Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 at some point (but maybe didn't realise what it was). Compared to the "big guns" (eg. the three B's) Villa-Lobos is not very well known at all. I have also been into classical for more than 20 years and that was the only piece I'd heard by him until a few years ago. He doesn't get much airtime on radio & is not played at concerts, apart from that piece. I also think alot of his stuff has been made available on cd in the last 10 years or so. I was collecting in the early '90's, and don't remember seeing any of his stuff back then. Of course, now we have Amazon, and many of the bigger labels (like Naxos) that have made his stuff more available. So I have been able to collect some of his cd's, but he still gets little airtime on radio & is not much played in concerts apart from his greatest hit...

I agree with this. It hasn't been until the last 10-15 years have recordings appeared of VL's music. If I'm not mistaken when a recording of his Choros Nos. 8 & 9 (with Kenneth Schermerhorn/Hong Kong Philharmonic) appeared on Marco Polo in the '80s, this was a pretty big deal, because VL's Choros hadn't really been heard before this recording. Sometimes it takes a conductor, like Schermerhorn, and label, like Marco Polo, to get "the ball rolling" so to speak. And from this recording, it seems that more and more of his music, especially his orchestral music, has been recorded.
 
Still, though, you're right, his music doesn't get much airtime or performance in the concert halls, but it's like I said, his star has yet to shine. Once people catch on to how creative he was, in time, his music will speak for itself. I think he was a genius and I use this word very sparingly, but I think it's so true in describing VL. The rate at which he composed music and the fact that he would work on 3 or 4 pieces at the same time absolutely baffles me. How he got anything accomplished is beyond me. 

[DavidRoss]

I agree with this. It hasn't been until the last 10-15 years have recordings appeared of VL's music.

Huh?  I've had Villa Lobos recordings for more than 30 years.