Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: Heitor Villa-Lobos ( March 5 , 1887 -- November 17 , 1959 ) was a Brazilian composer , described as `` the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music '' .
Simplified: Heitor Villa-Lobos ( born 5 March 1887 ; died 17 November 1959 ) was a Brazilian composer .