Villa-Lobos: The Music: An Analysis of His Style, translated by Stefan de Haan. 'Boston Symphony Orchestra: Villa-Lobos' Symphony No. 'Villa-Lobos's Commissioned Compositions'. Austin: Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Texas at Austin, 1994. Villa-Lobos: The Search for Brazil's Musical Soul. The symphony is scored for an orchestra consisting of 2 piccolos, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, tímpani, tam-tam, cymbals, triangle, matraca (a wooden rattle), bass drum, marimba, xylophone, celesta, vibraphone, 2 harps, piano, and strings. The performance was warmly received in the press. The symphony was first performed in Symphony Hall, Boston, on 2 March 1956 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the composer.
The autograph manuscript of the score, held by the Library of Congress, Washington, DC, is dedicated to Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky. In response, he composed his Eleventh Symphony, which was completed in 1955.
On 29 October 1954, along with a number of other prominent composers, Villa-Lobos was commissioned jointly by the Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress and the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a work to celebrate that orchestra's 75th anniversary. A performance lasts about twenty-five minutes. 11 is a composition by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, written in 1955.
