Symphony No. 8 (Villa-Lobos)

Symphony No. 8 is a composition by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, written in 1950. A performance lasts about 25 minutes

Symphony No. 8
by Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos
CatalogueW499
GenreSymphony
Composed1950 (1950):
DedicationOlin Downes
Published1978
Duration25 mins.
Movements4
ScoringOrchestra
Premiere
Date14 January 1955 (1955-01-14):
LocationCarnegie Hall, New York
ConductorHeitor Villa-Lobos
PerformersPhiladelphia Orchestra

History

Villa-Lobos composed his Eighth Symphony in Rio de Janeiro in 1950. It was first performed at Carnegie Hall in New York on 14 January 1955 by the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by the composer. The European premiere took place shortly afterward, on 15 March 1955 at the Salle Gaveau in Paris. The performers were the Orchestra of the Concert Society of the Paris Conservatory, conducted by the composer. The score is dedicated to the New York Times music critic Olin Downes (Villa-Lobos, sua obra 2009, 45–46).

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for an orchestra consisting of 2 piccolos, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, timpani, tam-tam, cymbals, xylophone, celesta, 2 harps, piano, and strings.

Analysis

The symphony has four movements

  1. Andante
  2. Lento (assai)
  3. Allegretto scherzando
  4. Allegro (giusto)

This is according to Villa-Lobos, sua obra 2009, 45, and Latin American Music Center n.d. The liner card and electronic track listing for the CPO CD of the work (CPO 999 517-2) gives:

  1. Andante – Allegro – Tempo I
  2. Lento assai
  3. Allegro giusto
  4. Molto allegro

With the exception of the expanded listing of the first movement, however, the booklet accompanying the CD agrees with the two Villa-Lobos catalogues. Enyart 1984, 271 gives a slightly different version, with the Portuguese spelling, justo, in place of the Italian giusto in the last movement:

  1. Andante – Allegro
  2. Lento
  3. Allegretto scherzando
  4. Allegro justo
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References
  • Béhague, Gerard. 1994. Villa-Lobos: The Search for Brazil's Musical Soul. Austin: Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 1994. ISBN 0-292-70823-8.
  • Béhague, Gerard. 2001. "Heitor Villa-Lobos' Symphonies No. 6 and No. 8, and Suite pour cordes". Booklet accompanying Heitor Villa-Lobos: Symphonies 6 & 8, 16–24 (also in German and French translations, 4–13 and 27–36, respectively). SWR Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, Carl St. Clair, cond. Recorded 17–21 February 1997 and 18 April 2000, Stadthallle Sindelfingen. CD recording. 1 disc, 12 cm, stereo. CPO 999 517-2.
  • Enyart, John William. 1984. "The Symphonies of Heitor Villa-Lobos". PhD diss. Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati.
  • Latin American Music Center. n.d. "Symphony No. 8". Heitor Villa-Lobos Website. Indiana University (accessed 5 November 2016).
  • Salles, Paulo de Tarso. 2009. Villa-Lobos: processos composicionais. Campinas, SP: Editora da Unicamp. ISBN 978-85-268-0853-9.
  • Villa-Lobos, sua obra. 2009. Version 1.0. MinC / IBRAM, and the Museu Villa-Lobos. Based on the third edition, 1989.
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