MPB4 Sinfônico: 60 Years in Full Orchestra

What is «MPB4 Sinfônico» and why does it matter?

Released on 31 July 2026, MPB4 Sinfônico documents the October 2024 concert where veteran vocal quartet MPB4 joined the Orquestra Petrobras Sinfônica on stage — a milestone in the group's 60th-anniversary celebrations. The album was recorded separately in 2025 at the orchestra's rehearsal room inside Fundição Progresso, Rio de Janeiro.

Who are MPB4 and what is their history?

MPB4 formed in 1962 in the politically charged university scene of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro state, and turned professional in 1964. For decades the quartet — Aquiles Reis, Dalmo Medeiros, Miltinho and Paulo Malaguti Pauleira — has been one of the most complete interpreters of MPB, the movement of university-educated Brazilian songwriters that flourished from the 1960s onward.

What songs appear on the album?

The 14-track set leans heavily on Chico Buarque, who authored six of the songs, reflecting his deep artistic partnership with MPB4 through the mid-1970s. Standout moments include:

• «Cálice» (Chico Buarque & Gilberto Gil, 1973) — arranged by Itamar Assiere in a sacred, almost funereal tone.
• «Angélica» (Miltinho & Chico Buarque, 1977) — appropriately mournful in character.
• «O cio da terra» (Chico Buarque & Milton Nascimento, 1977) — a standard that fits naturally within an orchestral frame.
• «Porto» (Dori Caymmi, 1975) — Paulo Malaguti's arrangement opens with melancholic violins, oboes and horns before the vocals enter.
• «Notícias do Brasil (Os pássaros trazem)» (Milton Nascimento & Fernando Brant, 1981) — given an epic orchestral treatment by Assiere; the song only entered MPB4's catalogue two years ago.
• «Última forma» (Baden Powell & Paulo César Pinheiro, 1972) — a samba-canção whose heartbreak is tenderly underscored by the orchestra.

How good are the arrangements?

Four arrangers share the credit: Itamar Assiere, Gilson Santos, Jaime Alem and Paulo Malaguti Pauleira. Conductor Felipe Prazeres leads the Orquestra Petrobras Sinfônica throughout. The G1 review awards four stars (★★★★), praising the arrangements as the album's chief asset, even while noting that most of these songs were recorded more definitively by MPB4 during their peak years in the 1960s and 1970s.