This album features world première recordings of Cartas Celestes Nos. 16, 17, and 18.
Cultural Impact
Cartas Celestes No. 18 is subtitled 'The Sky of Macunaíma', an homage to Mário de Andrade's 1928 novel Macunaíma, a foundational text of Brazilian modernism.
Composer Biography
José Antônio Rezende de Almeida Prado, a prolific Brazilian composer, initially cultivated nationalism but later explored atonality, post-serialism, and free tonalism after studying in Paris.
Composition History
Cartas Celestes Nos. 16, 17, and 18 were composed rapidly in 2010, just months before Almeida Prado's death.
Performer Biography
Pianist Aleyson Scopel's performance of the first set of Cartas Celestes was highly praised by Almeida Prado, who later dedicated the fifteenth set of the series to him.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Almeida Prado's 18 Cartas Celestes (Celestial Charts) are a set of works depicting the sky and constellations, in which he adopted a new harmonic language called 'transtonality'.
Composition History
Of the 18 Cartas Celestes, 15 are for solo piano, while the remaining three are scored for two pianos and symphonic band, violin and orchestra, or piano, marimba, and vibraphone.
