Almeida Prado's 18 Cartas Celestes (Celestial Charts) are a significant achievement, depicting the sky and constellations using his invented harmonic language called 'transtonality'.
Composer Biography
José Antônio Rezende de Almeida Prado, a prolific Brazilian composer, initially studied nationalism with Camargo Guarnieri before exploring other forms of self-expression.
Performer Biography
Almeida Prado dedicated the fifteenth set of his Cartas Celestes to Aleyson Scopel, the pianist on this album, after praising his performance of the first set.
Performer Biography
Aleyson Scopel, the pianist on this recording, has won numerous international awards, including the Nelson Freire and Magda Tagliaferro awards.
Recording & Production
This album includes world première recordings of some of Almeida Prado's Cartas Celestes.
Compositional Technique
Of the 18 Cartas Celestes, 15 are for solo piano, while the others are scored for two pianos and symphonic band, violin and orchestra, or piano, marimba, and vibraphone.
