Turibio Santos

Turíbio Santos ranks among Brazil’s foremost classical guitarists, having committed more than forty LPs to disc with particular emphasis on transplanting vernacular repertoire—above all the choros of João Pernambuco—into the classical domain. He is widely regarded as a preeminent interpreter of Heitor Villa-Lobos and has been awarded both the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French government and the Ordem do Cruzeiro do Sul by the Brazilian government. Born to an amateur guitarist, Santos began playing at age three; after turning ten he studied under Oscar Cáceres. His first public appearance took place in 1962 at a concert in São Luís, Maranhão, after which he performed that same year in Rio de Janeiro, where he encountered Arminda Villa-Lobos, the composer’s second wife. At her behest he recorded Villa-Lobos’s Twelve Études for guitar. The following year he gave the world premiere of Villa-Lobos’s Sexteto Místico. In 1964 Santos joined a concert series arranged by Hermínio Bello de Carvalho that also featured Clementina de Jesus, Jacob do Bandolim, Paulo Tapajós and Araci de Almeida. International recognition arrived in 1965 when he captured first prize at the Concours International pour la Guitare, sponsored by French State Radio and Television. He subsequently taught at two Parisian conservatories, made roughly ten LPs in the French capital for worldwide release, and toured Europe extensively as a soloist. Also in 1965 he recorded Villa-Lobos’s Seresta No. 5 with Elizete Cardoso for Rádio MEC and appeared in Paris alongside Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Rubinstein. In 1983 Santos founded the Orquestra de Violões do Rio de Janeiro and the Orquestra Brasileira de Violões, ensembles composed exclusively of classical guitarists who perform works by both classical and popular composers while foregrounding Brazilian popular music.