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.