Interpretar, compreender, explicar: fundamentos de minha pesquisa sobre Heitor Villa-Lobos

In this text, I present the theoretical and methodological foundations of my research about the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa- Lobos. The text was written after an invitation to comment on a critical article about this research, and it is structured in two parts. In the first one, I present some of my arguments about Villa-Lobos’ trajectory, and I demonstrate how they are not recognizable in the readings made about them in the critical article in question. Next, I establish a contrast between my hypotheses, and those presented by the authors of the article. This discussion shows how my investigation, that was based on an archival ethnography, restored the practices of the agents linked to the different social networks Villa-Lobos was related to. Thus, a careful examination of primary sources allowed me to present an interpretation of these practices, following the assumptions of Weber’s comprehensive sociology.