HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS (1887-1959): Complete String Quartets - String Quartets Nos. 1-17.

Description: Back when this series began coming out in 1995 it was a boon since another cycle, on the French Chant du Monde label, was in the process of seemingly not getting finished. Even better, this cycle was plainly the better performed and recorded of the two and it more than deserves its rescue by the new owners of Dorian's catalogue rights in this box-set, budget-priced reissue. Villa-Lobos the abstract composer is represented in all his ingenious, glory throughout the quartets; there's little of the vivid, Afro-Brazilian folk influences of his wild orchestral works (for obvious reasons that a string quartet is not an orchestra) but plenty of expressive spirit and adventure. For lovers of the genre and for Villa-Lobos fans wishing to prove that their man was also a "real" composer! 6 CDs + 1 DVD. Cuarteto Latinoamericano. Original 1995-2001 Dorian releases.