Heitor Villa⁠-⁠Lobos has been described as ‘the single most significant creative figure in 20th⁠-⁠century Brazilian art music’. The eleven symphonies – the enigmatic Symphony No. 5 has never been found and may not even have been written – range from the two earliest, conceived in a broadly central Central European tradition, to the final Symphony No. 12 which is notable for its explosive energy, harmonic richness and rhythmic vitality. Every aspect of Villa⁠-⁠Lobos’s remarkable inspiration is represented in these works, with Brazilian national rhythms and extremes of ambition in terms of scale and dramatic content, alongside neo⁠-⁠Classical transparency and lyrical charm. These critically acclaimed performances from São Paulo are both idiomatic and expertly played.