Dear listeners, the pianist João Paulo Santos and I have performed the three sonatas featured on this CD many times in concerts. In our opinion, they are masterpieces of literature for these two instruments, two of which in particular, those by Freitas Branco and Villa-Lobos, are still little known among music lovers. This seems strange, since the works reflect the undeniable talent of two important composers, one of whom was Portuguese and the other Brazilian, and who were considered masters of their art in their time.Bruno Monteiro
Bruno Monteiro is announced by the newspaper Público as "one of the leading violinists of Portugal". Fanfare describes him as someone with a "polished golden tone" and Pizzicato states that his performances are "technically and expressively excellent". The Strad characterizes his playing as "fiery and heroic" and MusicWeb International speaks of interpretations that achieve an "almost ideal balance between the expressive and the intellectual". Gramophone finally praises his "relentless certainty and eloquence".
The pianist João Paulo Santos, born in 1959 in Lissabon, graduated from the National Conservatory of Lissabon. With the support of the Gulbenkian Foundation, he completed his piano studies in Paris with Aldo Ciccolini (1979-84). Over the past four decades, he has been associated with the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos (the opera house of Lissabon), first as head of the choir and now as director of the music and theater education. Artistically, Santos has distinguished himself as an opera conductor, concert pianist and researcher of lesser-known and forgotten works by Portuguese composers.
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