The Villa-Lobos Music Society Announce Shows to Celebrate the 125th Birthday Anniversary of Heitor Villa-Lobos in New York
11 January, 2012The 125th Birthday Anniversary of Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos will be celebrated with a special 125th Birthday Anniversary Concert and Reception on March 5th 2012 in New York. The Villa-Lobos Music Society have announced that the celebrations will take place at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center in New York City.
The program selected by Dr. Alfred Heller, a friend and protege of Villa-Lobos, will include music from a cross-section of the composer’s works for piano, guitar, cello, solo voice and chorus. Included will be Rudepoema for piano solo, Choro Number 1 for guitar, Modinha (from the Serestas) and Bachianas Brasileiras Number 5-Aria for guitar and soprano, Bachianas Brasileiras Number 2 (complete) for piano and cello (including the last movement called “The Little Backwoods Train”), Choros Number 3 for male chorus, and Songs of the Tropical Forest from Forest of the Amazon for piano and soprano.
According to Dr. Heller, “this program is a testament and tribute to the compositional virtuosity and versatility of Villa-Lobos, a master composer whose facility was unmatched – writing in any form, for any instrumentation, for any genre, with the power and inspiration of genius.”
Performing artists will be Alfred Heller (Piano), Richard Miller (Guitar), Naya Rodriguez-Castinado (Soprano), Peter Prosser (Cello) and Mollie Nichols (Chorus Conductor).
A 125th Birthday Anniversary Celebration Reception will follow the concert.
Tickets are $35 and can be purchased through the Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center box office in person, by calling 212-501-3330, or at kaufman-center.org/merkin-concert-hall.
This concert is part of the year-long series of celebration events, which will be highlighted by the presentation of “Green Mansions,” the new full-length dance work created for the historic 125th birthday anniversary commemoration. “Green Mansions” combines the instrumental and vocal music of Villa-Lobos with an adaptation for dance of naturalist William Henry Hudson’s classic novel Green Mansions, set in the Amazon rainforest. Directed and choreographed by Margo Sappington, it is scheduled to be previewed at The Green Mansions Gala, planned for October 1st 2012.
For more information about the 125th Birthday Anniversary Concert, the Green Mansions Gala and all of the Anniversary Events, visit greenmansionsproject.info, or contact Alfred Heller, President, The Villa-Lobos Music Society, Inc., at 212-427-5103 or e-mail at [email protected].
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