THREE WOODWIND QUINTETS by LIDUINO PITOMBEIRA (Brazil, 1962)
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[#350] April 06, 2026
Brazil | 2022 | Wind Quintet | Grade 5 | 20’ | Chamber Winds
Premiered by Quinteto Lorenzo Fernandez conducted by Lorenzo Fernandez
on July 29, 2022 in UFRJ School of Music, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
“« Ajubete jepe amo mbae » (“Even so, I genuinely love you.”)
Brazilian Landscapes No.14, Op.217
Brazilian Landscapes No.22, Op.269
In preparation for the 21st International WASBE Conference to be held in Rio de Janeiro in July 2026, we would like to feature three woodwind quintets by one of today’s most prolific Brazilian composers, Liduino Pitombeira, as our Composition(s) of the Week.
The first work featured here is « Ajubete jepe amo mbae » which in Guaraní language means “Even so, I genuinely love you” written in 1992, and recorder by the Berliner Philharmoniker Wind Quintet. The work has a duration of 5 minutes.
The two other works are part of a series called Brazilian Landscapes, which portrays the composer’s own impressions about Brazil, his native country.
Brazilian Landscapes No.14, Op. 217, in three movements, Choro Nervoso, was based on the systemic modeling of Guarnieri’s Ponteio No. 25. The second movement, Modinha Serena, uses freely the melodic materials produced in the systemic modeling. The last movement, Baião de Dois, has its central section based on the systemic modeling of Osvaldo Lacerda’s Modinha from Brasiliana No.1. This quintet has a duration of 8 minutes.
Brazilian Landscapes No. 22 Op. 269 is written in two movements. Noturno, has a tranquil mood with quasi-impressionistic sonorities, which reminds us of the nights in the rural areas of Northeastern Brazil. The second movement, Diurno, is energetic and vibrant as the life in the small villages of Brazil during the day. The piece was built using a compositional technique called concatenation, in which six unrelated fragments were juxtaposed to build larger sections. The materials for those fragments come from the theoretical contents of Joseph Straus' book on Post-Tonal Theory. Duration 7 minutes.
Both works were premiered on July 29, 2022, by Quinteto Lorenzo Fernandez, at the UFRJ School of Music, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to whom the pieces are dedicated.
You can contact Liduino Pitombeira in social media through X, LinkedIn or Facebook.
Liduino Pitombeira is professor of Composition at the School of Music of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), in Brazil. His music has been performed by The Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet (Germany), The Louisiana Sinfonietta, Red Stick Saxophone Quartet, New York University New Music Trio, Orquestra Sinfônica do Espírito Santo (Brazil), Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra (Poland), Duo Barrenechea (Brazil), The Alexander-Soares Duo, Orchestra Sinfônica de Ribeirão Preto (Brazil), Orquestra Sinfônica da Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil), The Chicago Philharmonic, and Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo (Brazil). He has received many composition awards in Brazil and the USA, including the first prize in the 1998 Camargo Guarnieri Composition Competition and the first prize in the "Sinfonia dos 500 Anos" Composition Contest. He also received the 2003 MTNA-Shepherd Distinguished Composer of the Year Award for his piece "Brazilian Landscapes No. 1". Three more pieces of his series Brazilian Landscapes (No. 2, No. 6, and No. 9) were awarded first prizes in the USA. Dr. Pitombeira received his PhD in composition from the Louisiana State University, where he studied with Dinos Constantinides. He has published many scientific articles on composition and theory and developed research as a member of the MusMat Research Group of the UFRJ. His pieces are published by Edition Peters, Bella Musica, Criadores do Brasil (OSESP), Conners, Alry, RioArte, and Irmãos Vitale. Recordings of his works were made by Magni, Summit, Centaur, Antes, Filarmonika, Blue Griffin, and Bis labels. Pitombeira was awarded in 2019 with the Villa-Lobos Medal, awarded by the Brazilian Academy of Music and honored for his life and work at the VII Festival of Contemporary Brazilian Music. He is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Music, chair Nº 28.
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