If you're a fan of the classical guitar, you'd probably heard or played some of Villa-Lobos pieces. Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887 – November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, possibly the best-known classical composer born in South America. He wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works.

Brazil (1987) 500 Cruzeiros (front) - Portrait of Heitor Villa-Lobos

His music was influenced by both Brazilian folk music and by stylistic elements from the European classical tradition, as exemplified by his Bachianas brasileiras ("Brazilian Bach-pieces"). His varied compositions include stage-works, choral and instrumental compositions, chamber music, songs and piano music. His instrumental works include a series of Bachianas brasileiras and Choros, the latter called after the traditional street-music of Rio de Janeiro.

In the 1920s, Villa-Lobos also met the Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia, who commissioned a guitar study: the composer responded with a set of 12 (Douze Etudes), each taking a tiny detail or figure from Brazilian choroes (itinerant street musicians) and transforming it into a piece that is not merely didactic. The choroes were also the initial inspiration behind his series of compositions, the Choros, which were written between 1924–29. The first European performance of Choros no. 10, in Paris, caused a storm.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Heitor Villa-Lobos". Read the full article here.