Brazilian guitarist Plínio Fernandes was born into the music business – his first music teacher was his father. After racking up one success after another in his homeland, the Brazilian Ministry of Education granted him a full scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he now lives. Fernandes’ debut album, Saudade, is a love letter to his is now far-away homeland. It’s filled with timeless music by some of Brazil’s greatest composers: Antônio Carlos Jobim, Milton Nascimento, Violeta Parra, and Heitor Villa-Lobos amongst others. “I chose songs that I grew up listening to,” says Fernandes, “and in many cases I fell in love with the guitar through them.”
Some of the pieces are immediately recognizable: Jobim’s “The Girl from Ipanema” is among the tracks. Some will be less known to your ears, but equally delightful. And Fernandes has some brilliant collaborators on Saudade, including cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason in a heartbreakingly lovely reading of the Aria {Cantilena) from Villa-Lobos’ “Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5.”
As Fernandes makes his name with this new CD, he’ll also be sharing his love of music as part of the Music Masters charity, working as an ambassador with performances, while teaching young musicians, just as his father did for him. It is a career that is going full circle.
