Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887 — November 17, 1959) was a pioneering Brazilian modernist composer. He penned twelve symphonies, four operas, five ballets, and one of the most important string quartet cycles of the twentieth century. His music is noted for its exotic sound palette and formal inventiveness, influenced both by Brazilian folk music and stylistic elements from the European classical tradition. Villa-Lobos was born in Rio de Janeiro.