String Quartet No. 8 (Villa-Lobos)


String Quartet No. 8 is one of seventeen works in the genre by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, written in 1944. A performance lasts approximately twenty-five minutes.

History

Villa-Lobos composed his Eighth Quartet in Rio de Janeiro in 1944. The name of the quartet that gave the premiere in the Auditório do MEC on 5 September 1946, Rio de Janeiro, is not certain. However, the score is dedicated to the Quarteto Iacovino.

Analysis

The quartet consists of four movements:
  1. Allegro
  2. Lento
  3. Scherzo
  4. Quasi allegro
According to the composer, the Eighth Quartet is systematically atonal throughout.
The first movement lacks the expected development section, while the slow, second movement displays the qualities of the Brazilian improvisational instrumental serenade called a choro. The finale is marked by a rhythmic pattern that is especially difficult from the performers' point of view.

Discography

Chronological, by date of recording.
  • Heitor Villa-Lobos: String Quartets Nos. 1, 8 and 13. Danubius Quartet. Recorded at the Hungaroton Studios in Budapest, 10–19 October 1990. CD recording, 1 disc: digital, 12 cm, stereo. Marco Polo 8.223389. A co-production with Records International. Germany: HH International, Ltd., 1992.
  • Villa-Lobos: String Quartets, Volume 2. Quartets Nos. 3, 8, 14. Cuarteto Latinoamericano. Recorded at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, NY, March 1995. Music of Latin American Masters. CD recording, 1 disc: digital, 12 cm, stereo. Dorian DOR-90220. Troy, NY: Dorian Recordings, 1996.
  • * Reissued as part of Heitor Villa-Lobos: The Complete String Quartets. 6 CDs + 1 DVD with a performance of Quartet No. 1 and interview with the Cuarteto Latinoamericano. Dorian Sono Luminus. DSL-90904. Winchester, VA: Sono Luminus, 2009.
  • * Also reissued on Brilliant Classics 6634.
  • Heitor Villa-Lobos: Quartetos de cordas 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Quarteto Amazônia. CD recording, 2 discs: digital, 12 cm, stereo. Barcelona: Discmedi D.L., 2000.
  • * Also issued as part of Villa-Lobos: Os 17 quartetos de cordas / The 17 String Quartets. Quarteto Bessler-Reis and Quarteto Amazônia. CD recording, 6 sound discs: digital, 12 cm, stereo. Kuarup Discos KCX-1001. Rio de Janeiro: Kuarup Discos, 1996.

Filmography

Villa-Lobos: A integral dos quartetos de cordas. Quarteto Radamés Gnattali ; presented by Turibio Santos. Recorded from June 2010 to September 2011 at the Palácio do Catete, Palácio das Laranjeiras, and the Theatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro. DVD and Blu-ray, 3 discs. Rio de Janeiro: Visom Digital, 2012.

Cited sources

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