The rejection of serialism had to wait until the 1980s and '90s in much of the West, but in the works of Brazilian composer
Claudio Santoro
, it got started much earlier after
Santoro
attended a 1948 International Congress of Composers and Music Critics in Prague. The theme of this conference was that music should be accessible and should educate its audiences. Taking the message to heart,
turned to a neo-tonal style with nationalist elements. Of course, he had nationalist models readily available in the music of
Villa-Lobos
, but he went a different direction, creating compact works that incorporated some Brazilian rhythms into neoclassic frameworks. Saxophonists will rejoice in the expansion of their repertory with the
Choro Concertante for tenor saxophone and orchestra
of 1951. The
Symphony No. 4 ("Sinfonia da paz")
is an idealistic work with a Brazilian-flavored Scherzo and a Russian-texted choral finale; a text translation or even a summary would have been useful here. The work actually attained popularity in the Soviet Union. The peace theme is reflected in the opening
Canto de Amor e Paz
(an instrumental work despite the title). The
Symphony No. 6
is a brief, concentrated work (just over 18 minutes long for the whole) that, although it is tonal, has the close motivic logic of
's serialist models. The optimism of the early Communist era had certainly faded by the time this work was completed in 1958, and it was not premiered until 1963 by the
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
. This is probably the strongest work on the album, with the composer struggling to integrate the strands of his musical development, but all the music receives enthusiastic performances from the
Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra
(and
Goîania Symphony Choir
) under conductor
Neil Thomson
. This release is part of the
Naxos
label's fine "Music of Brazil" series, partly subsidized by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; would that other governments would undertake similar projects. It is an intriguing release that reveals some major currents of 20th century musical-intellectual life. ~ James Manheim