Amazônia
Alpha Classics today releases esteemed Brazilian conductor Simone Menezes’ new album, Amazônia, the capstone to a project celebrating the music of Philip Glass and the great Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. Pairing musical selections with striking images by Brazilian social documentary photographer and photojournalist Sebastião Salgado, the broader Amazônia project is a meditation on the beauty and fragility of the Amazon rainforest. Menezes has been praised throughout Europe and Latin America for her “astonishing performances” and “daring concepts [that] could only come from a deep and free artist and thinker" (Classical Music Magazine), and made her North American conducting debut leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic in all Beethoven at the legendary Hollywood Bowl on August 29, 2023. Watch Excerpts from the LA Phil Performance.
Amazônia Tracklist
Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) – Floresta Do Amazonas, Suite by Simone Menezes
1. A floresta [8:40]
2 Em plena floresta [2:38]
3 Pássaro da floresta – Canto I [5:23]
4 Dança da natureza [3:19]
5 Conspiração e dança guerreira [2:52]
6 Veleiros [3:44]
7 Em caminhos para a caçada [5:54]
8 Canção do amor [5:06]
9 Melodia sentimental [3:25]
10 O fogo na floresta [4:17]
11 Epilogo [2:53]
12. Philip Glass (b. 1937) – “Metamorphosis 1” (from Aguas da Amazonia) [12:55]
Total Time: 61:13