Rudepoema

Massive single-movement work for solo piano composed 1921-1926, dedicated to Arthur Rubinstein (whose name in pun-form gives the work its title: 'rude poem'). At approximately 23 minutes, it is Villa-Lobos's largest and most technically demanding piano work, a vast exploration of his full pianistic vocabulary: cascading runs, extreme dynamic contrasts, folk and Indian themes transformed through an intensely personal, almost surrealist compositional imagination. Rubinstein, for whom it was written, apparently found it unplayable and never performed it; it was premiered by Villa-Lobos himself.