October 7, 2008

• Free pre-show discussion, Brazilian wine tasting

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Alys Stephens Center presents Marsalis Brasilianos, a celebration of the music of Heitor Villa-Lobos featuring Branford Marsalis and members of the renowned Brazilian orchestra Philharmonic Brasileira, 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, at the Alys Stephens Center, 1200 10th Ave. S., Birmingham. At 6 p.m., enjoy a free Prelude musical discussion and a tasting of Brazilian wines. Tickets are $85, $65, $55 and $45; students $20. Call 205-975-2787 or visit www.AlysStephens.org.        

Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos is considered one of the foremost composers in the Americas. His prolific output includes 2,000 works comprising symphonies, piano concertos and orchestral suites and operas. This fascinating new project, developed by world-renowned saxophonist Marsalis, commemorates the 50th anniversary of the revered composer's death. Villa-Lobos is considered the musical voice of Brazil, but his best-known works, the nine Bachianas Brasileiras, were composed after his visit to Paris, where he was deeply inspired by the music of Milhaud and the neo-classicism of Stravinsky. Written between 1930 and 1945, they combine contrapuntal techniques inspired by Bach with the melodic and rhythmic characteristics of Brazilian music.

Marsalis is a man of many musical interests, from jazz, blues and funk to classical and orchestral. The three-time Grammy winner is an instrumentalist, composer and head of Marsalis Music, the label he founded in 2002 that allows him to produce his own projects and those of the jazz world's most promising new and established artists.

This show is part of the Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt Rushton Haskell Birmingham Music Club Classically Inclined Series. Sponsors are Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt Rushton Haskell, WBHM, The Birmingham News, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Viva Health, the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.