FREE ESSAY ON VILLA LOBOS

VILLA LOBOS

Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos was born on March 5th, 1887, in Rio de Janeiro. Villa-Lobos lacked
much formal education, and found he had to make a living for himself. He proceeded to
perform on guitar in local restaurants and theatre orchestras. The music he performed
consisted of the popular music of the time in Brazil. This factor would play a major role
in his compositions. 
His first published work was in 1908, titled Salon Waltz. This was followed a year later
by Canticos Sertenejos. Both compositions were based on Brazilian folk songs and popular
music. 
In 1912, Villa Lobos went on an expedition of East Brazil. There he not only studied
Indian music, but he also learned their culture, including their rites, myths, and
dances. From this expedition he roamed all of Brazil absorbing all different ideas, and
cultures. His style of composition is a compilation of his experiences and Brazilian
native sounds of these roaming years.
In 1919 the famous concert pianist Artur Rubinstein became interested in Villa-Lobos's
work. Rubinstein arranged for him to receive a government subsidy. With this Villa-Lobos
moved to Paris and lived there for 4 years, thus adding even more to his catalogue of
cultures.
Although he is well known for his orchestral works, perhaps no other composer has had the
impact on classical guitar that Villa-Lobos had. The Brazilian culture thrives on strong
rhythmic structures, and sentimental melodies. Villa Lobos transferred these
characteristics into some of the most beautiful, and influential solo guitar music ever
written.
Villa Lobos composed 5 Preludes (Cinque Preludes) for solo guitar. These are some of the
most challenging short pieces written for guitar in the 20th century. He also wrote 17
Choros, choros is the term for Brazilian pop music of the time. The instrumentation on
these pieces range from solo guitar, to orchestral, to solo piano.