Claudio Santoro was one of
Brazil’s leading composers, having written a considerable amount of solo, chamber and
orchestral music, including arguably the most important symphonic cycle ever written in that
country. The fifteen Fantasias Sul América, composed as competition pieces for individual instruments, represent fascinating syntheses of his style heard in compressed form. Freely atonal and highly virtuosic, these pieces are now standard repertoire for Brazilian soloists, and were even used later by Santoro as material for his SymphonyNo.12(Naxos8.574406). The youthful Sonata for Solo Violin is a work of extraordinary density and experimentation that reveals an aesthetically consistent dialogue with the much later Fantasias.
