Villa-Lobos and Modernism

Ricardo Averbach is director of orchestral studies at Miami University and past president of the College Orchestra Directors Association.

Averbach carries out an impressive study, gathering at the same time expertise as a great performer of Villa-Lobos's symphonic works and as a theorist, analyzing the musical structure. The book does a remarkable job of presenting the cultural context of Villalobosian's work, from its connections with Brazilian popular music (carnival song, choro, samba, etc.), Bach, Stravinsky, and Modernism from Brazil and abroad. --Paulo de Tarso Salles, Musicologist, Villa-Lobos Symposium Coordinator, Universidade de Sao Paulo In this welcome addition to scholarship on Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), Averbach points out failures in previous studies of the composer and proposes new perspectives for the study of him as a man and composer. Written in clear, accessible language, the book comprises nine chapters with thought-provoking titles.... Villa-Lobos's era was one that brought back the 19th-century notion of nationalism, which allowed composers to draw their inspiration from national culture and landmarks. It is in this context that Villa-Lobos's works are characterized as cannibal music. Rounding out the volume are two appendixes: an annotated English translation of "Anthropophagic Manifesto" (1928), by modernist Brazilian poet Oswald de Andrade, and a glossary of musical terminology. Highly recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty. -- "Choice Reviews" It is impossible not to recognize, in the manuscript, the work of an experienced, qualified researcher, whose results are presented in a text that is breathtaking, exciting, and pleasant to read. Cultural references demonstrate remarkable scholarship...the text serves as a kind of cartography of Brazilian culture. --Pedro Belchior, Historian, Head of Research of the Villa-Lobos Museum Ricardo Averbach presents an innovative framework for a fresh understanding of Villa-Lobos's music in the context of the Brazilian early twentieth-century Modernism. The book addresses the multicultural influences that shaped the composer's unique style and makes skillful use of analytical tools to unveil details of his brilliant works. --Joao Guilherme Ripper, Composer, President of the Brazilian Academy of Music