Assobio a Játo (The Jet Whistle)
Allegro non troppo
Adagio
Vivo
Heitor Villa-Lobos was born in Rio-de-Janeiro, and, like his near-contemporary Sibelius, was one of those composers who came to personify the musical life of his nation. His early studies gave him mastery of the ‘cello and the guitar; just as crucial to his musical development were his youthful travels throughout South America as far afield as Barbados, and the leisure hours he spent amongst the popular musicians of Rio. His first attempts at serious composition brought him attention on a national level, and, under Rubinstein’s sponsorship, he travelled in 1923 to Paris, where for the next seven years he was acclaimed as a fresh and original genius from the New World. From 1930 he worked devotedly for the development of Brazilian music, founding the Rio Conservatoire in 1942, and the Brazilian Academy of Music in 1945.
Villa-Lobos’ music is influenced by the colours and idioms of Brazilian folk and popular music, but has a deep seriousness of artistic purpose, as shown by his most celebrated works, the nine Bach-inspired sets of Bachianas Brasileiras. Often characterised by their extreme technical difficulty, Villa-Lobos’ works include 5 symphonies, 17 string quartets, an opera and a wide range of chamber music. This trio, Assobio a Játo, dates from 1950.
R. G. Bratby
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