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Heitor Villa-Lobos , born in Rio de Janeiro on March 5, 1887 and died in the same city on November 17, 1959, is a Brazilian composer.
He begins the music with his father, writer and amateur cellist. On the death of his father when he was 12 years old (1899), he found a home with his grandfather, librarian, writer and music lover of a vast culture. Villa-Lobos learns piano, cello, clarinet and guitar - his favorite instrument. The young, rather self-taught musician discovers his passion for street musicians. At the age of 16, in 1903, he decided to flee from his home and traveled across Brazil, especially the regions of Nordeste, collecting during his wandering authentic traditional songs. "I thought it was stupid to continue imitating Beethoven. For eight years, I traveled to the most remote areas of Brazil, I was thought dead and even said masses for the rest of my soul! But I brought back from this expedition of incredible wealth. He makes his living playing in cafes and restaurants>. He made other similar trips afterwards, although he maintains a veil of mystery around them; his own testimony concerning adventures with cannibal tribes in the Northeast is questionable.
Subsequently, he studied at the National Institute of Music in Rio de Janeiro, although his music never conformed to any academic standard. As Villa-Lobos says many years later: "My music is natural, like a waterfall" . And also: "A foot in the academy and you're deformed" .
