MÁV Symphony Orchestra

The concert will give a comprehensive overview of Brazilian music, both of its composers and performers. Carlos Gomes (1836–1896) was the first composer overseas to be celebrated in Europe. He was highly praised by Verdi and Liszt. In 1870, his opera Il Guarani was premiered at La Scala in Milan, and it was a major success. Heitor Villa-Lobos is the most renown Brazilian composer, having written nine works entitled Bachianas Brasileiras for orchestra, with various instrumental and vocal soloists. The second piece in the series, composed in 1933, is the frequently played movement titled “The Little Train of Caipira”.  Camargo Guarnieri (1907–1993) was a pupil of Villa-Lobos. He also composed concertos and symphonies, as well as symphonic arrangements of Brazilian dances.

Both the conductor and the soloist of the evening are of Brazilian origin. Marcelo Lehninger comes from a family of musicians, studied piano and violin before becoming a conductor, and is now in he has been the music director of the Grand Rapids Symphony in Michigan for seven year now. Guido Sant’Anna was born in 2007 and was already a concert soloist at the age of seven. Since 2018, his achievements at the Menuhin Competition Geneva have led him to study with renowned artists in the Perlman Music Program.