The Cello Concerto No. 1 was Heitor Villa-Lobos’s first major orchestral work. Filled with youthful energy and displaying an eclectic style, it is the sound of the composer finding his voice. Three decades later and with his reputation at its height, the inspired melodies and flowing style of the Fantasia sees Villa-Lobos giving free rein to his vivid imagination. Composed for the Brazilian cellist Aldo Parisot, the no less inventive and lushly scored Cello Concerto No. 2 from 1953 suggests man’s solitude when facing the vastness of nature.
Villa-Lobos: Cello Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, Fantasia – Antonio Meneses, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Isaac Karabtchevsky
