On my last trip to Sao Paulo, I was at long last able to attend a performance at the Auditório Ibirapuera. The building was recently named one of the “coolest” buildings in the world by Travel + Leisure Magazine. It’s a gorgeous space in the middle of Ibirapuera Park, which also houses the Biennal and the Afro-Brazilian History Museum. In addition to being a top-notch venue designed by Oscar Niemeyer that also houses a music school and has great programming, the space is run by a first-class individual named Pena Schmidt. Pena is a veteran of the music business, a fountain of knowledge, and an all around great guy.

On that evening, the attraction was Antonio Nóbrega, who was premiering a new program entitled “Antonio Nóbrega with Invited Youngsters”. Previously, I had only heard of him by name and was not familiar with his work. I have no idea how I missed him, but better late than never! A native of the northeastern state of Pernambuco, Nóbrega’s background would be exceptional in many countries, though not nearly as unusual in Brazil. A highly-skilled and classically trained violinist, he shifted his focus towards popular music traditions of the northeast, studying them both as a musician but also as an academic and researcher. In recent years, he has become particularly known for his work with frevo, a style of music and dance originating in and around the city of Recife in Pernambuco. His most well-known recent work is a celebration of frevo called “Nove de Frevereiro” or the “9th of Frevererio”, a playful combination of the words frevo and February in Portuguese, which traces the origins and evolution of frevo. In particular, the work seeks to show the richness of the frevo tradition while demonstrating that it has a life far beyond its celebration during Carnaval. Nóbrega’s work has also spotlighted the rabeca, a stringed instrument similar to the violin that arrived in Brazil from Northern Africa during slavery. It is slightly lower in register than a standard violin and characterized by a more melancholy sound.

A gifted performer, Nóbrega’s shows feature him playing a variety of instruments, singing, and dancing. On this evening, the show closed with nearly every member of the audience on their feet, in the aisles, dancing a ciranda, a traditional dance from the Northeast of Brazil often performed in large public spaces such as plazas or on the beach. Quite a show!

Click here for a clip of Nóbrega performing Villa-Lobos’s Melodia Sentimental or here for another excerpt showcasing the diversity of his work. You can also visit his personal website (all in Portuguese, but with some nice video) by clicking here.

Feliz Carnaval!