Customer Reviews

Nazareth: Brazilian Ragtime

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I discovered Ernesto Nazareth by accident. His music is stunning--charming, playful, soulful, by turns. The only way to describe it is as a combination of European classical, Brazilian and South American dance, and American ragtime. Really superb music, seldom heard. Nazareth apparently wrote thousands of these miniature pieces. There are very few recordings in print. Thanks to Marco Antonio de Almeida and Klavier Records for giving us this CD.

I object to the title, "Brazilian ragtime." This is not ragtime. It is... well... Nazareth, and it is unique. Nazareth had many of the same influences as Joplin, but he was also influenced by Brazil. I think Nazareth was more playful than Joplin, yet also just as serious.
Almeida's performances express Brazilian character better than any others of Nazareth I have heard. Nazareth's playfulness is expressed in the tangos and his sentimentality is expressed in the waltzes. "Odeon" is brilliant. The pieces meant to sound like a cavaquinho (approximately a ukele) "Apanhei-te Cavaquinho" & "Ameno Rededa'" sound like a cavaquinho. "Fon-Fon!" gives me saudade of traffic in Rio de Janeiro.
Most importantly, Almeida's clean & precise performances articulate the complexities of the music and bring out the serious European influences. The performer of Nazareth must be both a pianista and a pianeiro.
Marco Antonio de Almeida does it well.

If your musical tastes include music of ragtime or early jazz, specifically Scott Joplin, you will love this album. Ernesto Nazareth's music has the same sophistication and beauty as Joplin written in Brazil during the same period of time 1900-1930
The music is haunting and beautiful