Mignone, Fernandez, Guarnieri: Brazilian Guitar Music after Villa-Lobos

This article challenges the widespread perception of Heitor Villa-Lobos as an isolated peak in Brazilian musical culture with no natural successors. The author focuses on the composers who followed Villa-Lobos—Francisco Mignone, Oscar Lorenzo Fernandez, and Camargo Guarnieri—arguing that their works deserve far more attention in international concert life, not least their contributions to the guitar repertoire. These twentieth-century Brazilian composers are situated within a broader historical narrative that traces the impact of European colonial models, the delayed and contested formation of musical nationalism in Brazil, and the shifting aesthetic and political conditions of the twentieth century. Analytical discussions of representative guitar works reveal contrasting approaches to nationalism, instrumental craft, and expressive intent. The article concludes with a selective survey of Brazilian guitar music composed since the mid-twentieth century, providing a categorized list of repertoire deserving of wider attention.