COMPOSER
Heitor Villa-Lobos
1887 - 1959

Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887 – November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has globally become one of the most recognizable South American composers in music history. A prolific composer, he wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works, totaling over 2,000 works by his death in 1959. His music was influenced by both Brazilian folk music and stylistic elements from the European classical tradition, as exemplified by his Bachianas Brasileiras (Brazilian Bach-pieces) and his Chôros. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Heitor Villa-Lobos is the 134th most popular composer (down from 119th in 2019), the 32nd most popular biography from Brazil (down from 31st in 2019) and the most popular Brazilian Composer.
Heitor Villa-Lobos is most famous for his compositions. He was a Brazilian composer, conductor, and pianist. He was also a pioneer of Brazilian nationalism in classical music.
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Among COMPOSERS
Among composers, Heitor Villa-Lobos ranks 134 out of 1,451. Before him are Girolamo Frescobaldi, Anton Rubinstein, Josef Strauss, Krzysztof Penderecki, Benjamin Britten, and Giovanni Gabrieli. After him are Daniel Auber, Fanny Mendelssohn, Édouard Lalo, John Field, Franz von Suppé, and Sofia Gubaidulina.
Most Popular Composers in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsGirolamo Frescobaldi
1583 - 1643
HPI: 73.24
Rank: 128
Anton Rubinstein
1829 - 1894
HPI: 73.23
Rank: 129
Josef Strauss
1827 - 1870
HPI: 73.21
Rank: 130
Krzysztof Penderecki
1933 - 2020
HPI: 73.16
Rank: 131
Benjamin Britten
1913 - 1976
HPI: 73.16
Rank: 132
Giovanni Gabrieli
1557 - 1612
HPI: 73.03
Rank: 133
Heitor Villa-Lobos
1887 - 1959
HPI: 73.01
Rank: 134
Daniel Auber
1782 - 1871
HPI: 72.91
Rank: 135
Fanny Mendelssohn
1805 - 1847
HPI: 72.82
Rank: 136
Édouard Lalo
1823 - 1892
HPI: 72.66
Rank: 137
John Field
1782 - 1837
HPI: 72.66
Rank: 138
Franz von Suppé
1819 - 1895
HPI: 72.63
Rank: 139
Sofia Gubaidulina
1931 - 2025
HPI: 72.54
Rank: 140
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1887, Heitor Villa-Lobos ranks 25. Before him are Juan Gris, Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Leonard Bloomfield, James B. Sumner, Henry Moseley, and Saint-John Perse. After him are Nadia Boulanger, Georg Trakl, Chūichi Nagumo, Georgia O'Keeffe, Felix Yusupov, and Ruth Benedict. Among people deceased in 1959, Heitor Villa-Lobos ranks 14. Before him are Ante Pavelić, Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, Gérard Philipe, Bohuslav Martinů, Billie Holiday, and Raymond Chandler. After him are Boris Vian, D. F. Malan, William Halsey Jr., Shirō Ishii, Camilo Cienfuegos, and George Grosz.
Others Born in 1887
Go to all RankingsJuan Gris
PAINTER
1887 - 1927
HPI: 75.25
Rank: 19
Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg
COMPANION
1887 - 1969
HPI: 74.88
Rank: 20
Leonard Bloomfield
LINGUIST
1887 - 1949
HPI: 74.58
Rank: 21
James B. Sumner
CHEMIST
1887 - 1955
HPI: 74.11
Rank: 22
Henry Moseley
PHYSICIST
1887 - 1915
HPI: 73.72
Rank: 23
Saint-John Perse
WRITER
1887 - 1975
HPI: 73.61
Rank: 24
Heitor Villa-Lobos
COMPOSER
1887 - 1959
HPI: 73.01
Rank: 25
Nadia Boulanger
MUSICIAN
1887 - 1979
HPI: 72.63
Rank: 26
Georg Trakl
WRITER
1887 - 1914
HPI: 72.40
Rank: 27
Chūichi Nagumo
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1887 - 1944
HPI: 72.18
Rank: 28
Georgia O'Keeffe
PAINTER
1887 - 1986
HPI: 71.65
Rank: 29
Felix Yusupov
POLITICIAN
1887 - 1967
HPI: 71.51
Rank: 30
Ruth Benedict
ANTHROPOLOGIST
1887 - 1948
HPI: 71.22
Rank: 31
Others Deceased in 1959
Go to all RankingsAnte Pavelić
POLITICIAN
1889 - 1959
HPI: 76.53
Rank: 8
Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax
POLITICIAN
1881 - 1959
HPI: 75.22
Rank: 9
Gérard Philipe
ACTOR
1922 - 1959
HPI: 74.57
Rank: 10
Bohuslav Martinů
COMPOSER
1890 - 1959
HPI: 73.98
Rank: 11
Billie Holiday
SINGER
1915 - 1959
HPI: 73.78
Rank: 12
Raymond Chandler
WRITER
1888 - 1959
HPI: 73.39
Rank: 13
Heitor Villa-Lobos
COMPOSER
1887 - 1959
HPI: 73.01
Rank: 14
Boris Vian
WRITER
1920 - 1959
HPI: 72.51
Rank: 15
D. F. Malan
POLITICIAN
1874 - 1959
HPI: 72.03
Rank: 16
William Halsey Jr.
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1882 - 1959
HPI: 71.99
Rank: 17
Shirō Ishii
PHYSICIAN
1892 - 1959
HPI: 71.63
Rank: 18
Camilo Cienfuegos
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
1932 - 1959
HPI: 71.23
Rank: 19
George Grosz
PAINTER
1893 - 1959
HPI: 70.93
Rank: 20
In Brazil
Among people born in Brazil, Heitor Villa-Lobos ranks 32 out of 2,236. Before him are Antônio Carlos Jobim (1927), Ronaldinho (1980), Romário (1966), Michel Temer (1940), Maria II of Portugal (1819), and Paulo Freire (1921). After him are Vavá (1934), Djalma Santos (1929), Carlos Alberto Parreira (1943), Nílton Santos (1925), Arthur Friedenreich (1892), and Fernanda Montenegro (1929).
Others born in Brazil
Go to all RankingsAntônio Carlos Jobim
MUSICIAN
1927 - 1994
HPI: 73.87
Rank: 26
Ronaldinho
SOCCER PLAYER
1980 - Present
HPI: 73.81
Rank: 27
Romário
SOCCER PLAYER
1966 - Present
HPI: 73.43
Rank: 28
Michel Temer
POLITICIAN
1940 - Present
HPI: 73.35
Rank: 29
Maria II of Portugal
POLITICIAN
1819 - 1853
HPI: 73.31
Rank: 30
Paulo Freire
PHILOSOPHER
1921 - 1997
HPI: 73.10
Rank: 31
Heitor Villa-Lobos
COMPOSER
1887 - 1959
HPI: 73.01
Rank: 32
Vavá
SOCCER PLAYER
1934 - 2002
HPI: 72.60
Rank: 33
Djalma Santos
SOCCER PLAYER
1929 - 2013
HPI: 72.48
Rank: 34
Carlos Alberto Parreira
COACH
1943 - Present
HPI: 72.47
Rank: 35
Nílton Santos
SOCCER PLAYER
1925 - 2013
HPI: 71.84
Rank: 36
Arthur Friedenreich
SOCCER PLAYER
1892 - 1969
HPI: 71.77
Rank: 37
Fernanda Montenegro
ACTOR
1929 - Present
HPI: 71.61
Rank: 38
Among COMPOSERS In Brazil
Among composers born in Brazil, Heitor Villa-Lobos ranks 1. After him are Antônio Carlos Gomes (1836), Egberto Gismonti (1947), Chiquinha Gonzaga (1847), Camargo Guarnieri (1907), Ary Barroso (1903), Francisco Mignone (1897), Cláudio Santoro (1919), Alberto Nepomuceno (1864), and Alexandre Levy (1864).
Heitor Villa-Lobos
1887 - 1959
HPI: 73.01
Rank: 1
Antônio Carlos Gomes
1836 - 1896
HPI: 61.59
Rank: 2
Egberto Gismonti
1947 - Present
HPI: 60.02
Rank: 3
Chiquinha Gonzaga
1847 - 1935
HPI: 58.73
Rank: 4
Camargo Guarnieri
1907 - 1993
HPI: 58.51
Rank: 5
Ary Barroso
1903 - 1964
HPI: 58.32
Rank: 6
Francisco Mignone
1897 - 1986
HPI: 57.60
Rank: 7
Cláudio Santoro
1919 - 1989
HPI: 55.40
Rank: 8
Alberto Nepomuceno
1864 - 1920
HPI: 54.49
Rank: 9
Alexandre Levy
1864 - 1892
HPI: 53.94
Rank: 10