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Antônio Carlos Barbosa-Lima

Nascido na cidade de São Paulo onde iniciou seus estudos de violão aos sete anos.
Debutou em concerto aos doze no Teatro Municipal de São Paulo, quando também
gravou seu primeiro disco LP, Dez Dedos Mágicos (1958). Foi discípulo de Isaias Savio e
Andrés Segovia. Diversos compositores dedicaram-lhe composições para violão, dentre
os quais destacamos: Francisco Mignone, Guido Santorsola, Ernesto Cordeiro, Bobby
Scott, Byron Yasui e Alberto Ginastera, que lhe dedicou a Sonata op.47, uma das obras
mais importantes compostas para violão na segunda metade do século XX.

Aclamado pela crítica musical como um dos grandes Mestres do Violão do mundo, artista
da gravadora Zoho Music (New York), e com carreira internacional de sucesso, há mais
de 50 anos, Carlos Barbosa-Lima é hoje reconhecido mundialmente tanto por sua
extrema sensibilidade e virtuosismo no instrumento como pelo seu trabalho de
arranjador de uma grande variedade de obras de estilos diversos para violão.

Antonio Carlos Ribeiro Barbosa Lima (born 17 December 1944) is an acclaimed Brazilian
virtuoso guitarist, arranger and professor born in São Paulo. He has spent most of his
professional life as a resident in the United States, devoting much of his time as a recitalist
on international concert tours. He regularly appears as a soloist with numerous major
orchestras.

Early development

Born on 17 December 1944 in São Paulo, Brazil, Barbosa-Lima grew up in the Brooklyn
district of the city. He states that he began playing the guitar aged seven.

Barbosa-Lima recalls that his father, Manuel Carlos, had hired a music instructor to teach
him how to play the guitar. The guitar lessons were then transferred from the father to
the son, and the child became known in the neighborhood as a prodigy. After two years
of lessons with Benedito Moreira, the young man was introduced to Brazilian guitarist
composer Luiz Bonfá, at the time one of the leading musicians in the field. Under the
strong recommendation of Bonfá, the young Carlos was directed to the father of the
classical guitar school of Brasil, Isaias Savio. At the behest of family friends and musical
acquaintances, and with the firm support of his parents, the young Carlos publicly
debuted at a solo concert hall appearance (in São Paulo) in November, 1957, when he
was twelve years old.

The immediate rave reviews and enthusiastic public acclaim led to a subsequent
invitation for the young guitarist to make his concert debut in Rio de Janeiro, at the time
capital of Brazil, preceded by his television debut on a variety style TV show that featured
young, up and coming Artists. This was March 1958, Barbosa-Lima was thirteen. These
two public appearances led to a recording contract with the then up and coming
Chantecler label, initially part of the RCA Brasil group. The LP recording, called "Dez Dedos
Magicos Num Violão De Ouro" was released in June 1958, when he was 13 years old.

In 1960 Barbosa-Lima began life on the road, which continues extensively till this day.
Trips to Montevideo, Uruguay, and eastern Brazil became common place. In 1967 at the
age of 23, Barbosa-Lima made his American debut in Washington, D.C. Excellent reviews
followed and Barbosa-Lima's concert career expanded across the United States, Central
and South America. Barbosa-Lima was now making his own arrangements for guitar and
in 1964 he released an album of arrangements by the popular Brazilian songwriter,
Catullo. Close friends of Barbosa-Lima at the time heard these arrangements and
encouraged the guitarist to continue on the path of arranging for the guitar.

Professional life

In 1967 Barbosa-Lima gave his New York debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (then
known as Carnegie Recital Hall). This concert was met once again with excellent reviews
and truly launched the career of the young guitarist onto the global concert stage where
he remains to this day. 1968 marked the year that Barbosa-Lima would travel to Madrid,
Spain, to play for Andrés Segovia. Upon his return from Spain in 1970 Barbosa-Lima gave
a concert in New York's Town Hall. At the conclusion of this concert Barbosa-Lima was
approached by Harold Shaw and Shaw Concerts who offered Barbosa-Lima a steady
stream of concert dates within the United States. With the heavy concert schedule and
Master classes now available to him through Shaw Concerts Barbosa-Lima took a teaching
position at Carnegie Mellon University (1974–1978). It was during this time that Barbosa-
Lima's reputation as a world class guitarist began to blossom and composers began
writing works for him. One very important composer of this time was Alberto Ginastera
who composed the Sonata for guitar, op. 47 for Barbosa-Lima.The later end of the decade
(1977) saw Barbosa-Lima perform Francisco Mignone's Concerto for Guitar and
Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

As the 1980s began Barbosa-Lima moved to New York City (1981) and took a teaching
post at the Manhattan School of Music. Once in New York Barbosa-Lima began to perform
with Jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd. Upon hearing Barbosa-Lima's arrangements Mr. Byrd
immediately arranged for Barbosa-Lima to meet and perform for Carl Jefferson (the
owner of Concord records). Carl Jefferson signed Barbosa-Lima and eleven recordings
were to follow on the Concord Jazz label. In 1982 Barbosa-Lima made frequent contact
with fellow Brazilian, Antônio Carlos Jobim, one of the world's most popular composers
of all time. Barbosa-Lima would often meet him at Jobim's upper east side apartment in
New York City for impromptu jam sessions. It was out of these sessions that came the
recording Carlos Barbosa-Lima plays Music by Antônio Carlos Jobim and George Gershwin
a crossover CD before the word was popular.Jobim was immediately impressed with
Barbosa-Lima's arranging technique for guitar which Barbosa-Lima describes as "multi-
linear" basically meaning several voices moving at once like classical guitar technique. At
the time of their meetings Jobim was more familiar with the Brazilian guitar technique
which utilized a "block chord" technique as Jobim himself used. "...Barbosa-Lima brings
an ear attuned to counterpoint and technique that gives each independent line its own
voice. His transcriptions find and define every moving part, in bossa novas and
countermelodies together as he does in Gershwin, he sounds like a team of guitarists".
And in keeping with Barbosa-Lima's multi-linear technique the Cuban composer Leo
Brouwer, who has long been a personal friend of his, has said; "...when unknowingly I
[Brouwer] walked by a hotel room and heard guitar music I thought I was listening to a
guitar duo and then suddenly recognized the music and realized it was Barbosa-Lima
playing solo. If I weren't a guitar player and guitar composer who noticed a mistake by
one of the violinists during a rehearsal of a seventy-member orchestra my confusion
could be justified. I believe that Carlos Barbosa-Lima is a genius of transcriptions of Latin
American music for guitar."

Currently Barbosa-Lima records for the Zoho music record label and has released five
recordings under this label and the direction of Barbosa-Lima's recordings as well as his
concert programing have a definite Latin American concept. In April, 2010 Barbosa-Lima
celebrated the release of his fiftieth recording release, Merengue (Zoho Music, CD
200911) at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Discography

 1958 Chantecler Dez Dedos Magicos Num Violão De Ouro (LP)


 1958 Chantecler Favorite Solos (78 rpm)
 1959 Chantecler O Menino e o Violão (LP)
 1959 Chantecler Selected Solos (45 rpm)
 1960 Chantecler Concerto de Violão (LP)
 1961 Chantecler Recital Brasileiro I (LP)
 1962 Chantecler Recital Brasileiro II (LP)
 1962 Chantecler Viola Brasileira (Orchestral & Solos) (LP)
 1963 Chantecler Missa de N. Sra. dos Navegantes (viola brasileira & choir) (LP)
 1964 RGE Concerto em Modo Frigio (orchestra & solos) (LP)
 1964 Chantecler Imortal Catullo (LP)
 1965 Chantecler Modinhas (LP)
 1966 Chantecler Recital Brasileiro III (LP)
 1971 Westminster Carlos Barbosa-Lima Plays Scarlatti Sonatas (LP)
 1971 Westminster Solo Pieces Recital (LP) unreleased
 1974 ABC Dunhill Scarlatti Sonatas (rerelease) (LP)
 1978 Phillips of Brasil Mignone Twelve Etudes (LP)
 1981 Private Label Leonardo Balada's Suite No. 1 (LP)
 1980 Continental Brasil e o Violão (LP)
 1982 Concord Carlos Barbosa-Lima Plays Jobim & Gershwin (LP)
 1983 Concord Motion picture soundtrack "Deal of the Century"
 1983 Concord Carlos Barbosa-Lima Plays Scott Joplin (LP)
 1984 Concord Carlos Barbosa-Lima Plays Bonfa & Porter (LP)
 1985 Concord Impressions (LP)
 1986 Concord Brazil, With Love (with Sharon Isbin) (LP & CD)
 1987 Concord Rhapsody in Blue/West Side Story (with Sharon Isbin)
 1988 Private Label Music of Bobby Scott (five projects-cassette)
 1989 Concord Carlos Barbosa-Lima Plays Jobim & Gershwin (extra tracks CD)
 1989 Concord Carlos Barbosa-Lima—The Entertainer/Joplin (extra tracks CD)
 1989 Concord Carlos Barbosa-Lima Plays Bonfa & Porter (extra tracks CD)
 1989 Concord Impressions (extra tracks CD)
 1990 Concord Music of the Brazilian Masters (with Charlie Byrd & Laurindo Almeida)
(CD)
 1990 Private Label Brasil, With Love (w/Sharon Isbin rerelease project CD)
 1991 Concord Music of the Americas (CD)
 1991 Private Label Guitar Solo Brasil Holiday Project (CD)
 1992 Concord Chants For The Chief (w/Thiago de Mello CD)
 1993 Concord Ginastera's Sonata (CD)
 1994 Concord Twilight in Rio (CD)
 1995 Concord Quintet Music for Guitar (w/C. Byrd CD)
 1996 Mel Bay Brazilian Guitar (CD)
 1997 Concord From Yesterday to Penny Lane (Orchestral) (CD)
 1998 Concord O Boto (Orchestral CD)
 1999 Concord Christmas Compilation CD
 2000 Private Calle de la Luna (Venezuela) Guest of Gustavo Colina
 2001 Zoho Siboney (with guests CD)
 2001 Labor Records Music of Tribute Vol. II-Debussy (soloist compilation CD)
 2001 Jazz Station Rio-Solo Guitar (CD) unreleased
 2002 Zoho Frenesi (with guests CD)
 2003 Labor Records Between Two Worlds (CD)
 2005 Zoho Carioca (with guests CD)
 2006 Private Label Guitar Duets (w.Victor Pellegrini unreleased CD)
 2007 Zoho O Boto (re-release CD)
 2008 On Music Alma y Corazon (with Berta Rojas CD)
 2009 Zoho Merengue (with other guests CD)
 2010 River Bank Romance of the Guitar (guest-duets with Byron Yasui)

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