Henrique Oswald: Piano Works – Sergio Monteiro

Henrique Oswald, whose music was lauded by Saint-Saëns and Fauré, was one of the most important composers in South America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The spectacular winner of a major Composition Competition promoted in 1902 by Le Figaro in Paris, he became a significant figure in Brazilian musical life as director and later as professor at the National Institute of Music in Rio de Janeiro.

His European-influenced music was suppressed by Brazilian nationalist sentiment in the 1930s and 40s, but on his death Villa-Lobos described Oswald as “the most admirable composer of this country”.

This programme provides an excellent overview of his stylistic development, from the youthful salon music aesthetic of Pagine d’album to the French impressionism of the Album Op. 36 and the masterful Trois Études.