Turíbio Santos

Origin

São Luís, MA

Also known as

Turíbio Soares Santos

Genres

classical music, MPB

Instruments

guitar

Biography

Turíbio Santos is a renowned Brazilian classical guitarist, composer, and musicologist, born in São Luís, Maranhão, in 1943. Growing up in a musical household where his father played the guitar as a serenade artist and his mother encouraged his formal music education, he studied under notable teachers such as Antonio Rebelo and Oscar Cáceres. During his youth, he developed a deep admiration for the compositions of Heitor Villa-Lobos, which would eventually become a defining cornerstone of his illustrious career and international acclaim.

As a young musician, Santos embarked on an extensive global career that spanned across five continents, performing a repertoire primarily focused on Brazilian music. He achieved early international recognition by winning a prestigious prize in Paris at the ORTF in 1965, subsequently receiving critical praise from prominent publications like The New York Times and Le Figaro. His association with the Villa-Lobos legacy deepened when Arminda Villa-Lobos and Herminio Bello de Carvalho invited him to record the composer's twelve studies for the Museu Villa-Lobos archives, an institution he would later direct from 1986 to 2010.

Beyond his performance and recording legacy of over seventy albums, Santos made foundational contributions to music education in Brazil by establishing the first classical guitar courses at both UFRJ and UNIRIO. In 1983, he founded the Brazilian Guitar Orchestra, further cementing his cultural impact on the nation's musical landscape. His numerous accolades include being nominated for chairs in the Brazilian Academy of Music and the Maranhão Academy of Letters, alongside prestigious honors such as the Order of the Southern Cross and the Legion of Honour.

Discography

• Villa-Lobos Par Turibio Santos – Douze Etudes Pour Guitare (1963)
• Oscar Cáceres, Turibio Santos – Três Séculos de Música (1964)
• Rodrigo / Turibio Santos, Roland Douatte Dirige Collegium Musicum de Paris – Concierto de Aranjuez (1964)
• Maria D'Apparecida, Turibio Santos – Chants Brésiliens (1966)
• Classics of Latin America (1969)
• Villa-Lobos: 12 Études for Guitar, W235 (1969)
• Villa-Lobos - Turibio Santos – Concerto Pour Guitare & Petit Orchestre / Sextuor Mystique / Preludes (1971)
• Classiques D'Amérique Latine (1971)
• Villa-Lobos: Guitar Concerto, Sexteto Místico & Guitar Preludes (1971)
• C. Debussy, J. Rodrigo, M. Castelnuovo-Tedesco, D. Scarlatti, D. Cimarosa, M. Saumell - Turibio Santos & Óscar Cáceres – Musique Pour Deux Guitares (1973)
• Musique Francaise Pour Guitare (1973)
• Music for Two Guitars, Vol. 1 (1973)
• Rodrigo : Concierto de Aranjuez, Fantasia, Tonadilla, Zapateado & Fandango (1973)
• J.S. Bach - Turibio Santos – Prelude & Presto, BWV 995 / Prelude, BWV 999 / Fugue, BWV 1000 / Prelude & Fugue, BWV 998 / Suite No. 1, BWV 996 (1974)
• Danses Espagnoles (J. Rodrigo - L. Albeniz - J. Turina - G. Sanz) (1974)
• Spanish Dances, Vol. 1 (1974)
• Musique Brésilienne (1976)
• Brazilian Music (1976)
• Choros Do Brasil (1977)
• Danses Espagnoles Vol. 2 (1977)
• Spanish Dances, Vol. 2 (1977)
• Christian Lardé, Turibio Santos – Flute & Guitare, Pepusch - Haendel - Scheidler - Villa-Lobos - Ibert - Ginastera (1978)
• Joaquín Rodrigo - Turibio Santos , Orchestre National de l'Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Claudio Scimone – Concerto de Aranjuez - Fantaisie Pour Un Gentilhomme (1978)
• L. van Beethoven / B. Bartok - I. Albeniz - M. de Falla - L. Brouwer ... / Par Turibio Santos & Óscar Cáceres – Musique Pour 2 Guitares Vol. 2 (1978)
• Music for Two Guitars, Vol. 2 (1978)
• Turibio Santos e o Conjunto Choros do Brasil – Valsas e Choros (1979)
• Fernando Sor, Turibio Santos – F. Sor Obras de Guitarra (1980)
• Violão Brasil (1980)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos - Melodias Populares (1981)
• Turibio Santos / J.S. Bach, D. Scarlatti, J. Dowland – 4e Suite (BWV 1006a) / 3 Sonates / Gaillarde-Allemande Fantaisie (1983)
• Turibio Santos e Orquestra de Violões do Rio de Janeiro (1984)
• Paulo Moura, Clara Sverner, Turibio Santos, Olivia Byington – Encontro (1984)
• Danses Du Bresil (1985)
• Villa-Lobos / Turibio Santos – L'Intégrale Pour Guitare (1986)
• Turibio Santos, Heitor Villa-Lobos – Villa-Violão (1987)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1987): Obra Completa para Violão (1987)
• Elomar, Turibio Santos, Xangai , Participação Especial João Omar – Concerto Sertanez, Gravado Ao Vivo no Teatro Castro Alves, Dias 7, 8, 9 E 10 de Janeiro De 1988, Salvador (1988)
• Brasileiríssimo (1989)
• O violão clássico de Turibio Santos (1993)
• O Violão Brasileiro de Turíbio Santos (1993)
• Teatro do Maranhão (1994)
• Mistura Amigos (1997)
• O Guarani (1999)
• Villa-Lobos (1999)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos, Turibio Santos, Paulo Moura, Noel Devos, Orquestra de Câmara Brasileira, Bernardo Bessler – Concertos para Solista e Orquestra (1999)
• Violão: Origens - Volume I (1999)
• Johann Sebastian Bach Visita a Mata Atlântica (2000)
• Violão Amigo - Canções de Todos os Tempos (2006)
• Roland Douatte, Turibio Santos, Collegium Musicum de Paris, Rodrigo – Concierto de Aranjuez (2006)
• Turíbio Santos & Quarteto de Brasília (2006)
• Mistura Brasileira (2008)
• Sonhos, Ritmos e Danças (2011)
• A Obra Completa para Violão Solo - Heitor Villa-Lobos (2020)
• Romanceiro (2020)
• Um Violão em São Luis (2020)
• Turibio Santos Interpreta Agustín Barrios (2020)
• Turíbio Santos, Sílvio Barbato – Violão Sinfônico
• Turíbio Santos & a Orquestra de Violões
• Heitor Villa-Lobos, Turibio Santos – Panorama de La Guitarra-1