Villa-Lobos : Prole do Bebê, Rudepoema, As três Marias

Albumbeschreibung

Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Rudepoêma is one of a small number of piano works known for their insurmountable technical difficulty. Composed for Arthur Rubinstein, who played it for the first time in 1927, the Rudepoêma is often considered as the Brazilian composer’s masterpiece. Long, dense and eccentric, it has discouraged more than one performer. “It takes a lumberjack's strength,” wrote Rémi Jacobs, "bronze hands and an ogre's appetite to ingest and reproduce this music.” Its title evokes savagery, of course, but it also incorporates the nickname “Rudi,” which Villa-Lobos affectionately gave to Rubinstein.

This album is entirely dedicated to Heitor Villa-Lobos and was recorded in 1973 in Berlin by his compatriot Nelson Freire, who was as inseparable from Brazil as was the great composer who died in 1959. Passionate about Villa-Lobos' music, Nelson Freire played it throughout his career, making it an essential part of his concerts and recordings.

This superb anthology brings together pieces from many different periods and styles, and Nelson Freire colours each piece with incredible bravery and exhilarating technical assertiveness. It includes A prole do bebê, deceptively childish and delightful pieces inspired as much by Ravel as by Poulenc, the Prelude to Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4, solemn and respectful of Bach's style, which is neither plagiarised nor mocked, and the Três Marias, three witty bagatelles.

All of these, to a certain extent, light pieces obviously offer an astonishing contrast to Rudepoêma, which is the pièce de résistance at the end of this album. © François Hudry/Qobuz