Heitor Villa-Lobos, Symphony No. 12, Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Isaac Karabtchevsky

Of all the twentieth century composers we recognize as important, Heitor Villa-Lobos is one who occupies his own territory. He is modern, yes, and he incorporates Brazilian folk elements, surely, but there is something else, something unique about his music that goes beyond category, that is much more than the elements that go into his compositions.

We can hear this readily in his last symphony, No. 12, composed in 1957 when he had reached the age of 70. The Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra under Isaac Karabtchevsky give us a fully idiomatic and exciting reading of the work in a new release (Naxos 8.573451). It is part of their complete Villa-Lobos symphony cycle and as usual a very worthy effort. (See my review of other recordings in the cycle by typing in the search box above.)

We also get his 1917 opus, "Uirapuru," a very modern-folkloric amalgam, and his scarcely known secular cantata "Mandu-Carara" (1940) in a good recording that adds the Sao Paulo Symphony Choir and Children's Choir.

All this gives us a good hour of excellent Villa-Lobos, the symphony in every way a culmination of his work in that medium, rhythmically vital, harmonically rich, with orchestrations that bring out his mastery of orchestral sound in the four-dimensional way only he could conceive of. And the bonus works are far more than extras, important in their own way and a pleasure to hear performed with the zeal, excitement and care that typifies the series.

There is nothing lacking in the recordings, the performances and the quality of the compositions. Anyone seeking to understand Villa-Lobos will be well-served by the album, as indeed will those who already love his music like I do.

Excellent. More than worth the modest investment. Many stars, if I were to rate things that way!

Bruno Maderna, Piano Concertos/Quadrivium, Carlo Miotto, Aldo Orvieto

Since his sudden death in 1973 we may have been guilty of forgetting about composer Bruno Maderna's music just a bit. Yet his signal achievements in the thick of high modernism, and his position of pre-eminence among a small group of the most highly regarded Italian composers of his generation should have ensured him an enduring reputation.

All is not lost. There was a period of reaction for a time, where high modernism declined in fashion and his reputation suffered along with many others of his era. Yet his music never had a dogmatic quality. It drew on early music as well as it looked forward to a futurist avant-topia. At any rate he is a master figure in the music of his day. And things may be changing in how we perceive him and the modernist period in general.

As if to remind us of what an appealing composer he is, a new recording of his Piano Concertos and the Quadrivium piece (Naxos 8.572642) has emerged of late. On it pianists Aldo Orvieto and Fausto Bongelli (the latter for the two-piano pieces), the percussion ensemble Gruppo 40.6, and Orchestra della Fondazione 'Arena di Verona' under conductor Carlo Miotto put together a program of Maderna convering both early (1942-48) and later (1969) phases of his ouevre.

The early Piano Concerto (1942) in both a one and two piano version are given here, the second a world premier recording, and it shows those of us who may have forgotten, how his early work has an appealing modern-lyrical poignancy. The second version increases the sonority of the piano part and so is a most welcome addition to this disc. The Concerto for Two Pianos and Instruments (1948) sees Maderna moving forward to a more 12-tone oriented style with the percussion ensemble understandably supplying sound coloration aspects that set this work apart from the earlier concerto. Quadrivium (1969) is Maderna in full flower, a writer of a poetic quality, with mystery and an impressively evocative sonority. This is the Maderna of genius, beyond serialist dogma, a supreme painter of sounds.

The performances are excellent. The program fleshes out a picture of Maderna as a vital force within the music of his time. This recording is a very good one for those who don't know his music. It is equally stimulating for those that do.