Townsend: Villa-Lobos Etude No. 7

I just mentioned the etudes of Villa-Lobos talking about that manuscript that surfaced. It will interesting to see which if any performers will decide to take that into account in their performances. My recording of the Etude No. 7 is from the standard published edition. The Etude No. 7 is one of the more virtuoso ones, right up there with the Etude No. 2 and Etude No. 10. The twelve etudes of Villa-Lobos divide into three categories in my view. There are the ones that are not very interesting, that no-one seems eager to learn or listen to and that you only hear when someone plays the whole set of twelve. These include Nos 4 and 6. Then there are the ones that are pretty good, but awkward technically such as No. 9 (hard to realize slurs) and No. 12 (the shifting makes for a lot of squeaks). Then there are the ones that really work well, both technically and musically and that everyone likes to hear. These include No. 1, No. 7, No. 8 and No. 11. So here is my recording of the Etude No. 7. As it has a certain exuberance about it, I have chosen photos of Villa-Lobos with that in mind.