‘Estadão’ accompanied the presentation on Tuesday 6 in Porto; the group will do another one outdoors this Wednesday, 7th, in the Jardim da Torre de Belém
PORTO (PORTUGAL) – A Minas Gerais Philharmonic is still preparing for the last sound check before the concert at the Casa da Música do Porto. And, in a corner of the audience, the teacher Fabio Meccatti speak about Villa-Lobos. or Cry n. 6, he says, is his favorite work among the many written by the composer. “Nostalgia, nostalgia, are very Brazilian things. And there is innocence. The fool. I see all of Brazil there.”
All ready on stage. The first piece to be transmitted is the third of the Bachian Brazilian composers. Double basses, cellos, violas, then second violins. The orchestra plays, Mechetti looks down at the audience. He is looking for the associate director of the Minas Gerais Philharmonic, José Soares.
The conversation made up of gestures and looks speaks of acoustics, of adjustments necessary for the sound characteristics of the room. A little more piano here, a little more attention to the conductor there, more horns here, less brass there. Mechetti addresses the pianist Jean-Louis Steuerman. It’s all OK? The music follows.
bicentenary
On Tuesday afternoon, 6, the Philharmonic was preparing for its European debut. During this week, the group will make a series of presentations in Portugal. After the concert in Porto, it will be the turn of Lisbon. The first concert in the capital, this Wednesday 7, will be outdoors, in the gardens of the Torre de Belém, to celebrate the bicentenary of independence with a selection of Brazilian works, by authors such as Carlos Gomes, Lorenzo Fernandez, Guerra-Peixe And Alberto Nepomuceno. On Thursday the Philharmonic plays at the Centro Cultural Belém; and, on the 9th, the trip ends in Coimbra.
But, back at the Casa da Música, the rehearsals continue with the Prelude and the Sunrise from the work the slave, by Carlos Gomes. Meanwhile, in the audience, Steuerman talks about the Bachian. He has a special affection for the piece, for the way Villa-Lobos treats Bach as a source of inspiration, majestically but without shame. However, it’s a challenge, for the piano, for the orchestra – and to make everything sound good together. Villa-Lobos always poses problems, he says, because he is deeply original.
The Minas Gerais Philharmonic performs in Portugal Photo: João Luiz Sampaio / Estadão
The pianist points to the stage. It is a miracle that, after a pandemic and the many challenges for art in Brazil, an orchestra remains strong, making steps like the tour. “They are heroes, the people who manage culture in Brazil, that’s the term, heroes”, he begins to explain him, but is interrupted by a passage of Cry n. 6… “Genius”, he says, conducting the orchestra from afar with his arms.
“I have never directed Villa-Lobos. It would require a direction technique that I do not have, I will limit myself to what I know well, on which I am sure I have interesting ideas to share”. The list comes slowly, softly. Schumann. Beethoven, “of course”. “And Bruckner, I want to get to Bruckner someday.” He makes a short silence. “I lied to you. I have already performed Villa-Lobos. The prelude to Bachianas nº 4, a version I made for strings and piano. But it’s easier there. The technique worked “.
opening night
The first concert of the tour began with a Portuguese opera, the Symphonic overture n. 3 by Joly Braga Santos, belonging to the phase – perhaps nationalist is an exaggeration – in which the composer was inspired by the Portuguese tradition. The sound, full, full-bodied, the precision – what was shown there set the tone for what would be heard later.
Particularly beautiful was the way in which Steuerman, Mechetti and the musicians of the Philharmonic built the Fantasysecond movement of Bachianas nº 3, the melody that walks through the instruments, reinvented by the piano. In the second part we cry, colors that came from the personality of the orchestra’s soloists, from the harmony between the seeds, from the dialogue between them. Sometimes the sensation was dizzying: crescents that seemed to have nowhere else to rise; or the moving delicacy of a flute.
in the encore, Carlos Gomes. After the fragments of the slavethe openings of The Guarani And Opaque. It is the music that the orchestra has in its hands: at the beginning of the year it recorded an album dedicated to the Brazilian composer. It will be his third album for the series. Brazilian music, from the seal of Naxos. The first was with Symphony by Alberto Nepomuceno. And the second, with music written by d. Pedro Iwhich will be released during the tour.
It is among other things with the Hymn of Independence that the Philharmonic opens the concert this Wednesday in Lisbon. If Brazil wanted to spend the appointment with the emperor’s heart, the Portuguese public will instead have the opportunity to stay with his music.
Source: Terra
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
