It is often true that the heart of a composer's voice and most direct exhibition of skill are found within the idiom of the string quartet, particularly for instrumental composers. Such is the case with its inventor, Haydn, and certainly true in Beethoven. It's also delightfully evident with Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, as discovered in Cuarteto Latinamericano's outstanding recordings of the composer's complete repertoire of 17 string quartets, presented in Dorian Recordings' new boxed set featuri..
I have admired the Quarteto Latinoamericano since I acquired their recording of the three Ginastera quartets. I think they have done an outstanding job on the Dorian CD set of the 17 Villa Lobos quartets.After I listened to the set and jotted down little comments on them, I looked at the program notes that came with the set and found that they were more or less in accord with my own reactions. Overall they were very informative.My general reaction was that Villa-Lobos was influenced by the impressionist com..
"The writing is crazy, but it has a point. It's the added salsa and when you play the quartets you have to make them spicy." - first violinist Saúl BitránFrom 1995 to 2001, the Cuarteto Latinoamericano recorded all 17 of the Villa-Lobos string quartets. These were released on the Dorian label on six individual CDs, with two or three pieces on each disc, often with early, middle, and late works mixed together for variety. The performances were hailed by most critics as the definitive performances, which is..
![Villa-Lobos: Complete String Quartets [CD DVD]](https://www.upcscavenger.com/m/b314/b562/e178ac27eeff66379b1f2f8bc0d446a2.jpg)
