William Bennett & Friends - Heitor Villa-Lobos - Music for Flute (2000)

This boxful of ingenious vitality first came out to cries of 'Exotic!' and so forth - meaning praise or damnation according to critical standpoint. We've grown up since 1989 and Villa-Lobos's music from the Twenties sounds pretty Parisian now, a wilful, fruitful bid to compose like Stravinsky or Milhaud, only using Brazilian rhythms and melodies instead of Russian or Provençal. The ever-sparky Bennett is joined by top English players, of whom bassoonist Robin O'Neill is the ensemble star, in music ranging from the abrasive Quintet to lyrical miniatures in the mellower and more frankly Latin style he evolved once back home.