BRAZILIAN GUITAR QUARTET PLAYS VILLA-LOBOS

String Quartet No. 5 (1931)

String Quartet No. 12 (1950)

Suite Floral (1918)

Danças Características Africanas (1916)

6 Cirandas (1926)

Praised by the Washington Post for their “seductive beauty” and “virtuosic gusto,” the Brazilian Guitar Quartet has established itself as one of world’s leading guitar ensembles. In their own country, where the guitar is the national instrument, they are known as the “Dream Team.” This is their first album devoted entirely to the most beloved of Brazilian composers, in all-new arrangements by the BGQ.

In the album notes, Villa-Lobos authority Gil Jardim points out that “exuberance and simplicity” are hallmarks, both of Villa-Lobos’ music itself, and of this beautiful collection of arrangements for guitar quartet. “I am amazed by the superb quality of the Brazilian Guitar Quartet… This recording is an authentic reflection of the Villa-Lobos way of making music… [and] provides the opportunity to enjoy the way in which the guitar’s multiple timbres sensitively reveal every nuance of musical experience.”

The Brazilian Guitar Quartet has produced a number of favorites in the Delos catalog. Earlier Delos BGQ albums have been universally acclaimed (Classical “Critics Choice,” Billboard’s “Best of the Year,” Audiophile Audition). Two of the albums, “Essencia do Brasil” and “Encantamento,” offer a range of Brazilian music. The third presents the BGQ’s splendid arrangement of the Bach Four Suites for Orchestra. The most recent album, Albeniz “Iberia,” was hailed as “historic” in Brazil. Allmusic called it “as warm and transcendentally evocative as Albeniz could have wished for.”

In more than a decade of activity, the BGQ has performed over 300 concerts in the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia, often receiving ecstatic audience responses, garnering rave reviews, and meeting sold-out halls.

Delos DE3409