César Guerra-Peixe’s compact First Symphony and the colourful Nonet date from his years as part of the Música Viva group – a collective of young composers influenced by Hans-Joachim Koellreutter, the German composer and teacher who brought serial techniques to Brazil. Guerra-Peixe’s relationship with serial composition was intense and short-lived, but both of these earlier pieces were admired internationally and remain two of the finest works produced by this movement. From the 1950s onwards, Guerra-Peixe turned to musical nationalism with many successes including his award-winning and eloquently programmatic Second Symphony.

This release follows on from our premiere pairing of the Suítes Sinfônicas nos. 1 & 2 (Naxos 8573925) ‘expertly brought to life by the Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra, which under conductor Neil Thomson is both energetic and disciplined’ (BBC Music Magazine).

One of barely a handful of further recordings of his work is the inclusion of the Three Pieces for Violin and Piano on our Images of Brazil album (Naxos 8573923), considered a recording that ‘showcases the breadth and variety of Brazilian music by focusing on composers who use native forms, such as the bossa nova, chôro, frevo, and samba, combined with neo-Romanticism, Modernism and jazz’ (WFMT Chicago), and ‘the most delightful disc of Brazilian chamber music to come along in years’ (Fanfare).

With its world-premiere recordings of both the First Symphony and the Nonet, this is yet another Naxos album that shows us what we have been missing through neglect of South American composers and César Guerra-Peixe in particular, with even the modernist serial style of these earlier works filled with the kind of life-enhancing directness of expression that infuses all of his music.

Neil Thomson (b. 1966) studied conducting at the Royal College of Music with Norman Del Mar and at Tanglewood summer school with Leonard Bernstein. He has been principal conductor and artistic director of the Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra since 2014, leading the orchestra to national prominence with its championing of Brazilian and contemporary repertoire. He also enjoys a busy international career working with all the major UK orchestras and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (Osesp), WDR Rundfunkorchester, Lahti Symphony Orchestra and the Romanian National Orchestra, among others.