While the composer's voice in never far away there are some notable differences.
Most apparent to my ears are clearer textures. Villa-Lobos is well known for having many things going on in his music, and I often describe his orchestrations as thick. I sense a lightening of the load here, however.
This doesn't mean the composer isn't having as much going on, yet there is a clearness which doesn't get bogged down in these 50's-era symphonies. This clarity could be the influence of Neo-Classicism upon Villa-Lobos, but it could also be due to a tightening of the acoustic in this particular recording, which I found rather billowy in Symphonies 6 & 7, but sounds much better here. Four to five years of experience between performances can make a big difference.
While rhythm is always a major part of Villa-Lobos' musical persona, I also sense a tighter, incisive rhythmic underlay than I remember in the previous symphonies. When the xylophone hops into the texture, as well as some harrowing brass work, there is a cohesive and purposeful rhythmic thrust to this music. Again, this could be due to the clearer textures, which could be due to the engineers getting a hold of the São Paulo acoustic, but it was very noticeable to this listener.
Villa-Lobos also provides the listener with three rather concise symphonies, allowing him to really get down to the musical point, even though the composer is still all about mood and atmosphere. Each movement times between 3-7 minutes in length, so even Villa-Lobos' stream of consciousness structures are forced to state their piece in a rather compact form.
My preference here might be Symphony no. 9, for no other reason than I found it to have a lot of personality. Symphony no. 8 has an impish delight to it as well, so these two scored well with me. I found Symphony no. 11 to be a bit humorless, but all three of these symphonies are in a similar style as to render my general comparisons mere whims.
Listen on YouTube
Works
Symphony no. 8 (24.16)
Symphony no. 9 (21.54)
Symphony no. 11 (27.33)
Performers
São Paulo Symphony Orchestra
Isaac Karabtchevsky, conductor
Label: Naxos
Year: 2017
Total Timing: 73.43
Find more Villa-Lobos recordings HERE!
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