The Villa-Lobos Quintet was a Brazilian wind quintet, founded in 1962 with the proposal to promote chamber music in Brazil.
The founding members of the Quintet were: Carlos Rato and later Celso Woltzenlogel (flute), Braz Limonge Filho, and later Paolo Nardi (oboe), Wilfried Berk (clarinet), Carlos Gomes (French horn) and Airton Barbosa Lima (bassoon).
Though some indicate the group was formed in 1961 with oboist Paolo Nardi, flutist Celso Woltzenlogel, clarinettist Wilfried Berk, horn player Carlos G. de Oliveira and bassoonist Ayrton Barbosa.
This quintet was soon named Quinteto Villa-Lobos which was suggested by the widow of the composer, Mrs Arminda Villa-Lobos, who was the director of the Villa-Lobos Museum at the time. Many Brazilian composers from this time wrote music for them: José Siqueira, Oswalda Lacerda, Brenno Blauth, Raphael Baptista. Quinteto Villa-Lobos premiered many pieces by these composers as part of the Movimento Musical Renovador.
In 1964 the Quinteto Villa-Lobos participated in a long tour entitled Caravana da Culture where they performed across the various states of Brazil, giving two concerts daily. The Caravana devoted some of its concerts to school children which involved not only music but also theatre, gymnastics, opera, choir singing, poetry, painting and dance. There were 250 people in this caravan and the tour lasted for an entire month.
In the same year, the Foreign Ministry of Brazil organized a South American Tour for the Villa-Lobos Quinteto which included performances in Paraguay, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, one unforgettable encounter with the Argentinian composer Alberta Ginastera, who received us at his home and another in Santiago de Chile where they visited the home of Pablo Neruda.
The current lineup is comprised of university professors Antonio Carrasqueira (flute), Luis Carlos Justi (oboe), Paulo Sergio Santos (clarinet), Philip Doyle (French horn) and Aloysio Fagerlande (bassoon).