A few words and a lot of memories

Con José Bragato, Daniel Piazzolla y esposas

When I was a child, I listened to my mother playing tangos on our piano, beautifully performed. In secondary school, I played accordion in a little band with other pupils playing popular songs. When I finished school I played accordion for 2 or 3 years in the quintet of Italian singer Giuliano Verna. Our repertoire included renowned Italian songs and some songs that I already had composed.

With the earnings from our performances, I paid for flight hours to become a Private Pilot and after several years at the Aeronautics National School I became a Commercial Pilot. For 4 years I flew a twin engine executive plane and after that I began to fly for Aerolineas Argentinas, our national airline, as a co-pilot of the old Douglas DC-3. After 26 years with that airline, I retired in December 1990 as a Capitan of Boeing 707.

Returning to music, many years ago I had listened to the LP titled “Sinfonía de tango” (Tango symphony), that Astor Piazzolla had recorded in France. That was a shock and seemed to me to be new and marvelous music.

At that time I was studying Harmony with Maestro Carlos García. One day I showed him a tango that I had composed, and he said to me that Piazzolla had to hear it. García introduced me to Astor and I played for Piazzolla that tango and some others of my own. He invited me to his home and gave me some advice on how to improve them. He insisted that I must continue studying. We became friends and on March 1970 I played for him my “Tango barroco” (Baroque tango), and then he told me that was OK and that now he had nothing to correct. That’s why I always say that on that day I became a composer.

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2015 Festival Mundial de Tango, 2015

After several years studying Harmony, Counterpoint, Composition and Orchestration, I released several records of my own music with the help of remarkable musicians and technicians who believed in my music and made my projects come true. I keep my eternal gratitude to all of them.

“I’m happy to hear that you continue studying, but please don’t say I am hard on you! It is no true, it’s just my honest opinion of your music. For me you still are the composer that have more possibilities than all the others, to my judgement you have the advantage of studying and you feel Buenos Aires the way I do. Don’t get stuck, keep growing. Study the other music to perform ours well. Congratulations for insisting in becoming a musician.”

Your friend, Astor Piazzolla.

For my good friend and future composer of modern tangos Saúl Cosentino.”
With all sympathy, Astor Piazzolla 2/3/61.

I shared scene with the following artists

  • Alemania: Zsuzsa Balint, Cristian Niculescu, pianistas. Cuarteto de Lothar Hensel.
  • España: Javier Laboreo y Rosa Goitia, pianistas.
  • Argentina:  Daniel Goldstein, pianista.

Artists that played or recorded my music

  • Alemania: Zsuzsa Balint, Cristian Niculescu, pianistas. Cuarteto de Lothar Hensel. Cuarteto de Juan Lucas Aisenberg. Jana Poljanovskaja, pianista. Juan María Solare, pianista
  • España: Javier Laboreo y Rosa Goitia, pianistas.
  • Japón: Noriko Tsukagoshi, marimbista.
  • Hungría: Katica Illensky, violinista y cantante.
  • Francia: Roberto Aussel.
  • Ucrania: Kyiv Classic Orchestra.
  • Rusia: Rastrelli Cello Quartet, cuarteto de cellos.
  • Austria: Cellista y directora Tilly Cernitori.
    Suecia: Kjell Edstrand, pianista.
  • Holanda: Maarten Jense y su KlarinetNsemble.
  • Italia: Donatella Alamprese, cantante. Marco Giacomini, guitarrista. Paola Fasola, pianista. Claudio Ferrarini, flautista. Fabián Pérez Terdesco, vibrafonista. Hugo Aisenberg, pianista.
  • Suiza: Roberto Sawicki, violinista. Catherine Chenu y Sylvie Koumrouyan, pianistas. Jean-Christophe Gawrysiak, violinista.
  • México: Irina Shishkina, pianista. Javier Nandayapa, marimbista.
  • Estados Unidos: Cuartetango, cuarteto de cuerdas de Leonardo Suarez Paz.
  • Canadá: Linda Lee Thomas, pianista. Coro de Vancouver.
  • Australia: Gaye Thomas, flautista.
  • Argentina: Cuarteto de cuerdas Petrus, dirigido por Pablo Saraví. Anibal Borzone, percusión. Ensemble de Percusión Fundación Cultural Patagonia. Dúo Miguel Angel Bertero y Elisa Muñoz, violín y piano. Dúo de pianos Diana Lopszyc y Alberto Bohbouth. Daniel Goldstein, pianista. Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional. Orquesta Sinfónica de Entre Ríos. Orquesta Juan de Dios Filiberto. Sergio Puccini, guitarrista. Victor Villadangos, guitarrista. Máximo Pujol, guitarrista. Los Violoncellistas de Buenos Aires. Miguel Angel Barcos.

Singers that have recorded my tracks on their discs or have sung on my discs

Raúl Lavié, María Graña, Chico Novarro, Sandra Mihanovich, Sandra Luna, Julia Zenko, Litto Nebbia, Diana María, Marikena Monti, Jairo, Patricia Barone, Néstor Fabián, Hernán Salinas, Donna Caroll, Gabriel Mores, Galo García, Andrea Tenuta, Carlos Rossi, Carlos Varela, Carlos Barral, Carlos Morel, Jacqueline Sigaut, Roberto Yanés, Mario Clavell, Siro San Román, Fernando de Madariaga, Vicky Buchino, Martín Alvarado, Walter Yonsky, Roberto Chaleán, Manuela Bravo, Luis Felipelli, Gustavo Nocetti, Carlos Cabrera, etc.

Places where I played

  • Auditorio de Belgrano | Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Usina del Arte | Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Teatro 25 de Mayo | Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Complejo Cultural Plaza | San Martin Pcia de Bs As, Argentina
  • Auditorio de Belgrano | | Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Hall del Teatro San Martín | Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Salón Dorado del Teatro Colón | Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Confitería London | Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Confitería del Hotel Avenida | Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Clásica y Moderna |  Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Bien Bohemio | Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Teatro Vera | Corrientes, Argentina
  • Anfiteatro de la ciudad de Resistencia | Chaco, Argentina
  • AMIA | Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Conservatorio Superior de Música Gilardo Gilardi de La Plata | Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • Universidad Nacional del Comahue | Neuquén, Argentina
  • Teatro Municipal de Olavarría | Olavarria Pcia de Bs As, Argentina

Places where my music has been played

  • Berliner Philharmonie | Berlín, Alemania
  • Teatro Mariinsky | San Petersburgo, Rusia
  • Hotel Las Tronas | Cerdeña, Italia
  • Teatro Cestello | Florencia, Italia
  • Fête de la Musique | Genève, Suiza
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