Phillip Sear plays the second of a set of 3 pieces from 1887 – ‘Past Love’ – by the tragically short-lived Brazilian composer Alexandre Levy (1864-92).
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Alexandre Levy was the brother of the much longer-lived composer Luiz Levy (1861-1935). Their father owned a music store and recital hall in São Paulo, and the brothers spent time together in Europe before establishing careers back in Brazil. Alexandre studied for a while with Émile Durand in Paris, and used his European training to achieve a synthesis of European classical style with Brazilian folk elements. He died suddenly after dining at his family’s country estate. You can read more about him here: . Some of Levy’s music (though not this piece) sounds surprisingly modern and leads straight through stylistically to Milhaud’s Brazilian tinged music. Maybe it is the popularity of Milhaud’s ‘Brasileira’ that has led people to forget the home-grown repertoire in similar styles.
My thumbnail shows my colourization of an illustration by the prolific French artist Ernest Buval (1839-?) for an 1885 song with the title ‘Amour passe’ (Love Passes), although the love remembered in this piece seems to have gone for good!
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Played by Phillip Sear
(Email: piano4@psear.33mail.com
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