Edu Da Gaita

Edu da Gaita earned acclaim as Brazil’s foremost virtuoso on the harmonica. His catalog exceeded two hundred recordings and featured landmark interpretations of Paganini’s “Moto Perpetuo,” captured in 1957, and Radamés Gnattali’s “Concerto Para Gaita e Orquestra,” which the composer dedicated to him and which he premiered in 1958 with the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira. Specialized critics designated both of his LPs as the finest releases of their respective years. Classical prizes awarded to him included the Euterpe and the Música Erudita. Radio listeners heard him regularly as accompanist to the leading artists of his day, and he also served as soloist in Radamés Gnattali’s sextet. Concert tours carried him through Portugal, France, England, Italy, and South America.

At the age of nine he captured first place in a competition with his reading of Chopin’s “Études No. 3.” In 1933 he relocated to São Paulo and began performing on Rádio Cruzeiro do Sul. The next year he established himself in Rio de Janeiro. Three years after that, Rádio Mayrink Veiga engaged him and César Ladeira conferred the stage name Edu da Gaita. He appeared at the Copacabana Palace Hotel, Cassino da Urca, and Cassino Icaraí in Niterói. His first recording session took place in 1939 with “Canção da Índia” by Rimsky-Korsakov. Ten years later he became soloist with several symphonic orchestras, confirming his undisputed stature.