His music tends to be rhapsodic and rambling. This was my experience with his Piano Concertos, which also bore extremely similar properties to each other, a fear I have with these Symphonies.
This is certainly true with his first two symphonies as well, yet I am charmed by these works all the same.
They are very atmospheric, another strong tendency from Villa-Lobos. His harmonic profile is a sort-of early 20th Century, Franco-Russo sound; very colorful, but also floatingly mellifluous with thick, hearty orchestrations.
If I have a preference of the twain, it would be for his Symphony no. 1 'O Imprevisto'. The riot of colors and its sub-30-minute runtime encapsulates what Villa-Lobos was so good at as a composer. Sure, there is a free-flowing, stream of conciousness, fantasia structure to the music, but its relative brevity makes for ideal listening.
Its 2nd movement is probably my favorite. The Celeste adds just the right amount of preciousness amongst Villa-Lobos' lush orchestral setting here. In general, I would say the composer uses percussion with just the right amount of effect, without ever going overboard.
Symphony no. 2 'Ascensão' bears many of the same properties as his First Symphony, but at nearly 50 minutes in length. I must admit the time goes pretty quickly, for Villa-Lobos' cinematic lusciousness, set aside his easy-going modernism, is always beautiful. Yet, there is little to latch onto when all is said and done, even if Villa-Lobos employs catchy rhythmic patterns and melodic ideas even better than Symphony 1.
Yet these two symphonies give me hope for the series. I know Villa-Lobos will mature musically, and his styles will morph with experience, but these early works signal a solid compositional core which I enjoy.
As the first of this series, I chose to follow the Naxos set with Villa-Lobos' home team of São Paulo instead of the CPO set with its German orchestra under Carl St. Clair. When I cover the complete box set, I will go into more of the differences betwixt the two, but in general, the São Paulo sound is rather big boned in their concert hall, while the CPO has a slightly tighter-knit sound. It will be just a matter of individual preference.
Otherwise, Isaac Karabtchevsky and his São Paulo players give this music energy and atmosphere a-plenty.
Listen on YouTube
Works
Symphony no. 1 'O Imprevisto' (26.49)
Symphony no. 2 'Ascensão' (48.37)
Performers
São Paulo Symphony Orchestra
Isaac Karabtchevsky, conductor
Label: Naxos
Year: 2017
Total Timing: 75.26
Find more Villa-Lobos recordings HERE!
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