HeitorVILLA-LOBOS

Works forHarmonica

Robert Bonfiglio, Harmonica New York Chamber SymphonyGerard Schwarz

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Heitor VILLA-LOBOS (1887–1959) Works for Harmonica

The harmonica, the instrument one plays closest to one’s brain other than one’s voice, has always been associated with the folk lore of campfires, cowboys, soldiers and sailors. But then all instruments have folk beginnings, the horn for hunting, the flute for bird calls or the trumpet for coronations for example. Fortunately the harmonica has a way of spinning lonely, eerie melodies with so much emotion that it attracted noted composers such as Darius Milhaud, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Alexander Tcherepnin, Henry Cowell, Arthur Benjamin, Malcom Arnold, Alan Hovhaness, and Heitor Villa-Lobos to write works for harmonica and orchestra, mostly for two American virtuosos, John Sebastian and Larry Adler.

The Brazilian composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959), played cello as a child and soon made a living in cafe orchestras and movie houses. In his 20s he travelled into the Brazilian jungle to study the Indian folk music of his country which became the basis for his compositions. Moving to Paris in 1923, he lived there for six years and composed 13 Chôros, named after the street musicians of Rio, and a fantasy for piano and orchestra. In 1930 he returned to Brazil and began the first of his nine famous Bachianas Brasileiras in homage to J.S. Bach. After 1935 he travelled a great deal to the United States and made New York City his second home.

The Villa-Lobos Harmonica Concerto was written in 1955 for John Sebastian, and premiered in Jerusalem with the Kol Israel Orchestra in 1959. The highly melodic first movement, Allegro moderato, has three main themes: the first by the strings in the opening, the second with the harmonica entrance, and the lovely third with oboe

and harp. After a beautiful development there is a recap of the harmonica theme in bassoon and clarinet followed by a cascade of sixths and octaves in the harmonica to the ending. The second movement begins with a solemn introduction followed by a plaintive melody that suits the harmonica’s singing ability perfectly. A chamber music type dialogue between the harmonica and the orchestra ensues eventually bringing back the opening melody leading to a peaceful close on a pianissimo high A in the harmonica. The orchestra begins the finale with a gay, festive, romantic theme which transitions into a Brazilian rhythmical accompaniment when the harmonica enters. Near the end there is a virtuosic cadenza with full harmony in thirds which eventually echoes the themes of the first two movements and ends on a low C. This is interrupted by a short recap coda to bring the concerto to an end with a wild glissando in the harmonica.

The remaining tracks on this album represent the most beautiful and moving of Villa-Lobos’s melodies with his orchestrations and some arrangements of my own. Villa-Lobos’s folk operetta, Magdalena, opened at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera on 26 July 1948. Several of the pieces performed on this recording were adapted for the operetta, including Remeiro de São Francisco (a popular melody from Bahia, Brazil, harmonised by Villa-Lobos in 1941), renamed Magdalena. Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 is the most famous of these, Song of the Black Swan, the most haunting, and Xangô, the wildest!

Robert Bonfiglio, 2017

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Robert BonfiglioCalled ‘the Paganini of the harmonica’ by the Los Angeles Times, Robert Bonfiglio dazzles audiences worldwide with his constant reinvention of the harmonica, from classical concertos to sizzling blues. Bonfiglio has performed harmonica concertos as the soloist with over 200 major orchestras including the Minnesota Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Buenos Aires Philharmonic of the Teatro Colón, the Luxembourg Philharmonic, the Leipzig MDR-Radio Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Madrid RTVE Orchestra, the Edmonton Symphony, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Mexico City Philharmonic, as well as the Pittsburgh Symphony, the National Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Louisville Orchestra, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the major halls of the world – Carnegie Hall, the Gewandhaus, the Teatro Colón, the Teatro Massimo, Teatro Amazonas, Kennedy Center, Boston Symphony Hall, Lincoln Center and the Hollywood Bowl.His first RCA recording, with Gerard Schwarz and the

New York Chamber Orchestra, featuring the Villa-Lobos Harmonica Concerto, was released to critical acclaim; he has performed the work over 400 times with major orchestras worldwide. Bonfiglio has recorded for RCA, Arista, CBS, Sina Qua Non, High Harmony, and QVC Labels. He performed on the GRAMMY® winning recording, Ragtime. In the pop field he has performed and recorded with Bernadette Peters, Chaka Khan, Mandy Patinkin, Marvin Hamlisch, John Sebastian, Phoebe Snow and Roberto Carlos.Robert Bonfiglio obtained his masters degree in composition from the Manhattan School of Music. He studied harmonica with Cham-ber Huang and was coached for 12 years by Andrew Lolya, the first flute of the New York City Ballet, during which time he studied the major works for harmonica and orchestra. Bonfiglio studied composition with Aaron Copland.Robert Bonfiglio is the founding director of the Grand Canyon Music Festival.