César Guerra-Peixe is one of the leading composers associated with musical nationalism in Brazil. A Retirada da Laguna is a programmatic suite that describes one of the most dramatic moments in the Paraguayan War of 1864–70, while his Concertino is a clever hybrid between folk music timbres and sophisticated high art ambitions. Museu da Inconfidência is one of the composer’s most admired works, taking us through a museum of 18th-century rebellion and heroism. Guerra-Peixe’s Symphonic Suites nos. 1 and 2 can be heard on Naxos 8573925, acclaimed by ClassicsToday.com as ‘absolutely world-class’.

This release joins César Guerra-Peixe’s Symphonic Suites in the series (Naxos 8573925), a recording much acclaimed by critics: ‘Neil Thomson leads some sparkling performances from the Goiás Philharmonic, and the engineering allows instrumental detail to shine through’ (Gramophone).

Neil Thomson has been the principal conductor and artistic director of the Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra since 2014, leading the orchestra to national prominence with its championing of Brazilian and contemporary repertoire. He also enjoys a busy international career working with all the major UK orchestras and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (Osesp), WDR Rundfunkorchester, Lahti Symphony Orchestra and the Romanian National Orchestra, among others. He has performed with many distinguished soloists including Dame Felicity Lott, Sir Thomas Allen, Sir James Galway, Nelson Freire, Jean Louis Steuerman and Antonio Meneses.

Since its creation in 1980, the Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra has committed itself to promoting classical music in the Brazilian state of Goiás by placing particular emphasis on Brazilian music in its programmes. Neil Thomson was appointed principal conductor and artistic director in 2014, and under Thomson’s leadership the orchestra has rapidly grown into an ensemble of national importance and is now widely regarded as one of the top three orchestras in Brazil.

The orchestra has also recorded symphonies by Claudio Santoro for our ‘Music of Brazil’ series, joining forces with violinist Abner Landim in their second volume of this complete edition (8574406) with its ‘impressive and rarely heard works all played with absolute conviction and panache’ (Gramophone).