4 minute read
Brought from Brazil
Villa-Lobos International Chamber Music Orchestra Comes To Coronado
If you think of chamber music as subtle and refined, you’re in for a rip-roaring surprise when, straight from Brazil, the Villa-Lobos 10th Annual International Chamber Music Festival hits the SoCal Coast. Of the 12 concerts, Coronado will play host to four, including a plethora of world premieres. Sponsored by the City of Coronado and Cultural Arts Commission, all concerts are free. This will be Coronado’s third year to host the ensemble founded by Dr. Lars Hoefs, Artistic Director and Professor of Cello and Music History at Sao Paulo State University in Brazil. Earning his Master’s and Doctorate
from UCLA, Lars formed the Festival in 2015 as a cross-cultural link between Brazil and Southern California. The group’s name pays homage to composer and conductor Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959), described as “the single most significant creative figure in 20thcentury Brazilian art music.” Considered an expert on the cello repertoire of Villa-Lobos, Lars has performed the composer’s music worldwide.
So, get ready for a rollicking ride through Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Cuba, with hits from Heitor Villa-Lobos to Leonard Bernstein. Here’s your guide:
INVITATION TO THE DANZÓN:
Jan. 10, 1:00 pm in the Winn Room
The danzón (peasant dance and music) originated in Cuba, becoming synonymous with national identity and later spreading through Latin America. Interestingly, it became one of the first forms of music composed and recorded by descendants of African slaves in America.
A dazzling selection of danzóns will be presented by the Villa-Lobos Blue Rose Trio, with Lars on cello, Rose Chen, music researcher from Taiwan on piano, and Karl Pasch on clarinet, joined by Dr. Aline Alves on piano. The group has won numerous awards playing in France, Israel, China, and Brazil.
Highlights include Aline and Lars performing “Pampas,” a musical portrait of the vast pampas of Southern Argentina, for which composer Lala Schifrin won a Grammy. Audiences may recognize his name as composer for the theme to “Mission Impossible.”
Also noteworthy are two works by Cuban composer Paquito D’Rivera. Watch Karl’s jazz sensibilities come to the fore on these selections.
CAPRICIOUS DISTANCES:
Jan. 17, 1:00 pm in the Winn Room
Get ready to experience caprices: short compositions performed in a lively manner. Perhaps the most widely recognized are Niccolò Paganini’s 24 Caprices for Solo Violin. An adventurous philanderer and gambler, the Italian composer (1782-1840) is the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, who revolutionized violin technique for the ages.
In addition to Paganini, caprices by Flausino Valle, known as the Brazilian Paganini, will be performed by Marcelo Soares, a violinist living in LA. Lars refers to Soares as “our very own Brazilian Paganini, as he plays these works which such flair!”
Aline and Lars also will perform two works exploring the concept of “Lejania” (“Distance”); one by the Mexican composer Arturo Marquez, and the other by Argentine composer Mauricio Charbonnier.
VOICE AND VISION:
Jan. 24, 1:00 pm in the Winn Room
A brand new addition will premiere in the third concert, the Festival debut of soprano Lisa Parente! A frequent performer with the San Diego Opera and Symphony, Lisa also performs with Coronado’s Musica Vitale. Her interpretation of songs by Villa-Lobos and other Latin American composers will add a mesmerizing dimension, along with audience favorite “Dream with Me” by Leonard Bernstein.
Pianist Ching-Ming Cheng, piano professor at Cal State San Marcos and Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame, will accompany. Cheng and Lars will perform the world premiere of “Magia de Chomon” (Chomon’s Magic) by Brazilian composer Heitor Oliveira, a haunting and evocative score composed especially for this Festival.
FESTIVAL FINALE:
Maestro Prazeres and the Villa-Lobos International String Orchestra: Feb. 8, 7:00 pm in the Spreckels Center
Though one feature of chamber orchestras is the lack of a conductor, Villa-Lobos is taking the unusual step of flying in Conductor Carlos Prazeres from Brazil. Music Director of the Bahia Symphony Orchestra, Prazeres will conduct a spectacular string orchestra, including: Brazilian vioMarcelo Soares and
Karoline Menezes, who lives in LA and is regularly featured playing for pop stars; and Argentine bass virtuoso Andres Martin, who redesigned his own bass (which must be seen to be believed). The program includes Heitor Villa-Lobos’ beautiful Bachianas Brasileiras no. 4, as well as Ginastera’s fervid and furious Concerto for Strings.
What better way to ring in the New Year and warm up the winter than listening to the lyrical notes of Villa-Lobos? All concerts are free, so come early to snag the best seat.
Oba!
